Decolonial perspectives on intercultural research in a study of educational inclusion in rural Cambodia

• Published in: International journal of educational research Vol. 128; p. 102466
• Main Authors: Ravet, Jackie, Mtika, Peter, McFarlane, Amy, MacDonald, Catriona, Khun, Bunlee, Tep, Vandy, Sam, Rany, Yoeng, Hak
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 2024
• Subjects: Cambodia; Decolonial methodologies; Decoloniality; Educational inclusion; Interculturality; Interculturality; Educational inclusion; Decoloniality; Cambodia; Decolonial methodologies
• ISSN: 0883-0355
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijer.2024.102466

•The reciprocal ‘more knowledgeable other’ (MKO) enabled mutual knowledge exchange.•The collective ‘zone of proximal development’ enabled joint problem-solving.•Communication adaptations eased the language processing burden enabling inclusion.•Western research orthodoxies and funding conditionalities are an ongoing challenge. This paper presents a critique of intercultural research in the context of a study of Educational Inclusion in Rural Schools in Cambodia undertaken by four U.K. researchers in partnership with four Cambodian researchers. Interculturality is an endeavour to recognise and engage with different ways of being and knowing across cultural boundaries and to address barriers to reciprocal understanding. This endeavour is a complex one and there is little research on the reality of intercultural research, especially in a Cambodian context. We therefore explored this reality within our own research team to address a gap in the literature. Our research question is: What are participants’ perceptions of interculturality based on their experiences of a 5-year research study in educational inclusion? Using a decolonial framework and decolonial methodologies, this paper presents the findings of a qualitative study that draws on questionnaire, research diary and interview data. We critically examine affordances and challenges relating to knowledge exchange, cultural differences, language/translation effects and research orthodoxies. We found that whilst our decolonial approach proved mutually beneficial, fostering co-construction and enhancing power-sharing, the quest for epistemic justice is inevitably constrained by powerful, Western research orthodoxies and funding conditionalities necessitating ongoing, joint reflexivity. The significance of the paper lies in the examination of the lived experiences of these affordances and challenges using a decolonial framework. The paper will be of relevance to international development researchers, international research funding agencies, international NGOs and others working in low and lower middle-income countries (LMICs) in the Global South.