Powerful voices and powerful stories: Reflections on the challenges and dynamics of intercultural research

Familial circumstances, language, religion, ethnicity, social location and life experiences impact on the increasingly diverse and complex composition of individuals and their communities. While the influence of these factors has been recognised in terms of our research and theorising, arguably these intellectual activities have been predicated on an unequal relationship between researcher(s) and participant(s). The production of knowledge as a consequence of research has not necessarily positioned participants (the ‘researched’) as powerful with respect to issues of access, the conduct of the research and ownership of the intellectual and cultural products of the research process. Yet, as this paper will ask, how might research be conducted and reported with/in diverse communities that recognises the powerful position and voices of participants? This paper reports on the challenges of conducting research with Indigenous women leaders in educational organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia and suggests how research based on a collaborative cross-cultural partnership might be conducted, nurtured and sustained.