Chapter4
‘Beverycarefulthatresearchanduniversitiesdonot
becomeanextensionoftheglobalisingeconomy’
byArjenWals
(day2,transcriptbyMaartjeJanssens)
Transformativemoment
Iwillstartmyreflectionswithapersonalstory.WhenIwasaPhDstudentattheUniversityof
Michigan,myresearchgroupwasaskedtohelpwithaproblemtheDetroitBoardofEductionhadin
someofthepoorestschooldistricts.African-Americanmiddleschoolswerestrugglingtheretokeep
studentsinschool.Therewerealotofdrop-outs,teenpregnancies,crackcocainebeingdealt.And
thequestionwas:Howcanwemakeeducationmorerelevant,moremeaningfultotheseyoung
people?Thecurriculumwasobviouslynotacurriculumthatresonatedverywellinthoseschools.
Togetherwiththeteacherswedevelopedaprogrammecalled:Actionresearchandcommunity
problemsolving.Fortwoyears,Iparticipatedintheseprojectsofobserving,talkingtoyoungchildren
andteachers.AndIusedinawaymyreflectionsonthoseexperiencesasthemainsourceformyPhD
research.
Nowtheseschoolswereratherbigschools,andIdidn’tknowalltheteachers.Oneday,Icameinto
thestaffroom,andoneoftheteacherscametomeandsaid:‘I’veseenyoualothere,butwhatare
youdoingexactly?’IwasalittlebittiredImustsay–itwasalongday–,soIsaid:‘We’refromthe
UniversityofMichiganandwe’redoingresearchonhowyoungpeopleconnectwiththeir
environment’.Andshelistenedtome,lookedatmeandsaid:‘Ihatepeoplelikeyou.Youcomein
ourschool,useouryoungpeople,todoresearchandwriteaboutitinsomejournalthatnobodywill
read.Whatdothesekidsgetoutofthat?It’sjusthelpingyourcareer.’Thatwasatransformative
momentforme.AndalthoughItriedtodefendourproject,intheendIcouldnothelpbutrecognize
thatherpointwasverytrue.IstoodtogainfarmorethananyofthepeopleIwasworkingwiththere
fromthisresearch.
Knowledgeproduction
So,let’sjumptowherewearetoday.Ithinkit’sveryimportanttousethemetaphorofknowledge
production–Idon’tlikethatmetaphorverymuch.Idothinkthere’salotofproductionandfactory
publishinggoingon,andIthinkthat’shighlyproblematic.We’reforcedtowritemanyarticles,peerreviewed,intopqualityjournalswithhighimpact.Butonlyonaverage2.1peoplereadthesearticles.
Andthere’realotofresourcesputintothem.It’snotthesamehavingscientificimpactandsocietal
impact.SowhenIdoresearchandteachaboutit,Iusuallymakeadistinctionbetweenthreestrands
ofresearch.
Researchasmining
OneIcallresearchasmining.Youdistractdatafromacommunityandconvertthemintoscientific
articlesthatarepublishedinpeer-reviewedjournals.Andifyouaregood,youmakesomekindof
policynote,orsomethingthatyoucanstillshare,sothatthere’ssomeotherkindofimpactaswell.
It’skindofarippleeffect.Youcanputthattypeofresearchinakindofempiricalanalyticaltradition,
whereoftenobjectivityisstrivedfor.Theresearchisdistantfromthecommunity,andtriestoremain
neutral.We’vedonealotofthattypeofempiricalanalyticalresearch.Oftentimesthere’saworld
viewunderneath–youcouldcallitacyberneticworldview,thattheworldisathreedimensional
clock.Andifwereallyunderstanditwell,wecanunderstandcausality,usestatisticstohelp
understandit,measure,control,andreduceuncertaintyandcomplexity.
Researchaslearning
ThesecondstrandIcallresearchaslearning.Asaresearcher,youtrytobecomepartofa
community,tofullyunderstandit.Tounderstandthelifeworldofchildren,thebiographiesof
teachers.Youdon’tstriveforobjectivity,butforintersubjectivity,orasharedsubjectivity.This
researchasco-learningalsorecognizesthattherearemultiplewaysofknowing.Notjustscientific
knowing,alsointuitiveandindigenousknowing.It’simportanttorecognizethateachwayofknowing
isvalidandneedstobeworkedwith.Andnotjusthierarchicallyputtingscientificknowingontop.
Oftentimesthereareinterpretativehermeneutictraditionsthatfitwellwithinthistypeofresearch.
Researchasactivism
ThethirdstrandIcallresearchasactivism.Asaresearcheryouaresympathetictoaparticularcause.
Oryou’reworriedaboutmarginalizationofwomen,indigenouscommunities,thedisappearanceof
species.Oryouhavesomekindofglobalconcern.Asaresearcheryoufeelyouhaveamoral
responsibilitytobecomeanadvocateofpeoplewhoarebeingsurpressedormarginalized.You’re
explicitlybiased.Youdeclareyourvantagepoint,whichmakesyouveryvulnerable.Youuseyourrole
asanacademic,yournetworks,yourrelationships,yourcapacities,tohelpadvanceacertaincause.
Youshouldaskthequestion:who’squestionsareweresearching?Howcanweinvolvepeoplein
askingtherightquestions?Whatkindsofchangesaredesired?What’sworkingwithustorealize
thosechanges,andwhat’sworkingagainstus?What’skeepingthingsfromchanging?Soitbecomes
morepolitical.Thisisasociallycriticaltypeofresearch,andobviouslyinthecurrentmainstream
academiathemostcontroversial.It’snoteasytofindjournalsthatwouldpublishthattypeof
research.Althoughthereareniches,andthere’sscienceintransitionatthemoment,sustainability
science,post-normalscience.Thereareallkindofalternativeformsofresearchandmethodologies,
andthesenichesaregettingmoretraction.Inpartbecausescience,anduniversitiesingeneral,tend
tobepublicstill.Butiftheseuniversitiesdonotshowthattheyarerelevanttosociety,thenwerisk
thatweloosethepublicmoney,anditbecomesaprivateenterprise–whichweseealready
happening,alot.Wemustbeverycarefulthatresearchanduniversitiesdonotbecomeanextension
oftheglobalisingeconomy.That’snottheroleofhighereducationandresearch.