Positions, positionality, and relationality in educational research

Abstract

In this paper, we provide a critical genealogy of position statements and take up the questions of why positionality and position statements have become a presence in the field of qualitative education research, what these statements do and don’t do, and how relationality may serve purposes of mutuality that reach beyond an individual’s social locations. Using content analysis of fifty position statements found in high-impact educational research journals, we theorize and trace how positionality statements have become a genre, with concerns about power and representation from the field of anthropology and in educational research. We also include a conversational interlude as praxis to lift up our own experiences with positionality statements and our interpretations. We provide provocations about positionality statements and what they operationalize in knowledge making projects.