When the Subject Is Difference: Conditions of Voice in Policy-Oriented Qualitative Research

Abstract

This article reflects on Me Mahi Tahi Tatou, a government-sponsored study of race relations in New Zealand schools. It focuses on ways in which the New Zealand bicultural framework shaped conditions of communication and voice among those involved in conducting the study. In Me Mahi Tahi Tatou, well-intentioned attempts to support the voice of a historically marginalized group were undermined by a reductive identity politics. Political and institutional pressures and a positivist-empiricist research culture further supported a mechanistic approach to social inclusion. The article argues that a meaningful approach to difference and voice in inclusive research requires critical attention to the conditions of communication and the micro-politics of the day-to-day interactions that shape the meaning of social categories in practice.