Transitions: Researchers' Positionality and Malleability of Site and Self over Time

Abstract

In this research article, Sarah Dryden-Peterson explores the concept of researcher positionality, focusing on its malleability over time. The methodological analysis is situated in an empirical study of history teaching and learning in Cape Town, South Africa, schools in 1998 and 2019. Dryden-Peterson argues that researcher positionality is often articulated as static, ignoring temporal shifts. She analyzes the ways shifts in identities, comparative frames, and positions on expertise and vulnerability have implications for how researchers collect and interpret their data.