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Ethical Issues in Applied Linguistics Scholarship
Edited by Peter I. De Costa, Amr Rabie-Ahmed and Carlo Cinaglia
[Research Methods in Applied Linguistics 7] 2024
► pp. 122–135

Chapter 7
The zero-sum game of beneficence

Conducting ethical critical inquiries in K-12 schools

| Lehigh University
Critical research by nature is emancipatory, seeking to disrupt existing structures of systems, such as those in K-12 schools, that privilege particular groups while disenfranchising others. With such critical frameworks in research studies, however, competing interests among participants can emerge, exacerbating broader issues of privilege and oppression. Yet, applied linguists in the earliest years of their doctoral studies and careers are left ill-equipped to manage such conflicts and the ethical dilemmas they present. This chapter aims to lessen this oversight in training in two ways. First, the chapter draws upon the experiences that one critical applied linguist encountered in her research in schools. The researcher discovered that attempting to safeguard the well-being of all participants in a study is an untenable endeavor, especially when participants have disparate interests that contend with one another. Drawing upon illustrative examples from her research on multilingual learners with disabilities, the chapter lays bare the ethical dilemmas often present in critical inquiries and yet that do not surface in typical empirical publications. Second, the chapter offers recommendations for doctoral students and early-career applied linguists to consider as they conduct critical studies in schools with minoritized student groups.
Article outline
  • Ethics-in-context
  • Ethically important moments up close
    • Ethically important moment #1: Bureaucratic errors
    • Ethically important moment #2: Teacher burnout
  • Recommendations for researchers
    • 1.Count on competing interests
    • 2.Develop productive coping mechanisms
    • 3.Consider individuals over institutions
    • 4.Collaborate with transparency
    • 5.Do what you can, the best you can
  • Conclusion
  • References
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