Two researchers’ journeys towards healing and safety doing community-engaged scholarship with immigrant and refugee populations

Abstract

ABSTRACT In conducting qualitative research, scholars often grapple with positionality. Researcher positionality refers to how various social identities (i.e. gender, race, class, ethnicity, ability, geographical location) influence research methods. It examines the impact of researchers’ social identities on their understanding of the research design, question, context, process, and participants . Scholars of colour who research their own communities have added complexity in this research process, including having to address the question of being an insider-outsider. This duality sometimes has an emotional toll. Two community-centred researchers asked What is the emotional labor that goes into conducting research with our own communities? Gerardo Mancilla immigrated to the United States when he was seven years old. He was undocumented and grew up in the U.S. with this identity for more than 20 years. Phitsamay Uy came to the United States as a child refugee at the age of six. Her refugee identity influenced her understanding of U.S. schools. In this paper, the two scholars of colour share their methodology and experiences of becoming academics who study their own communities. They discuss commonalities in their shared stories: Being Accidental Academics, Utilising a Relational Approach, Developing Reciprocity with Our Communities, and Experiencing Radical Healing.