Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

Positionality statements are becoming more common in social sciences research. Such a statement is "meant to introduce the author and show the reader the personal lens through which the researcher approached their work." I'm not todally comfortable with the idea; I don't see myself as a 'lens' or any other objectification as an instrument or tool for someone else's research. But if you must know, beyond what you can deduce from my picture, I'm from a working class background, paid my own way though a non-elite university, earned my way through post-gradate work through a series of assistantships, see myself as a journalist, educator, computer programmer and philosopher, and have defined research in my own way as exploration and discovery, not building on some sort of 'accepted canon' but reflecting my perception of the world through words, ideas and photographs. I try to be useful, but it's not a requirement; mostly I try to be honest and open and sharing. I care most for the weak and the powerless - the sparrows among us.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

Copyright 2024
Last Updated: Mar 28, 2024 10:57 a.m.

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