, PLEASE USE THIS DOCUMENT AS A GUIDE ONLY
1. In light of this, you are required to write an essay of about 2000 – 3000 words in which you
discuss what you think (1) constitutes an activist researcher of education, and (2) what role do
you think such a researcher can play in a time of crisis characterised by many genocides
including epistemicide, ontocide, linguisticide, culturcide and scholasticide.
The Activist Researcher of Education: Confronting Genocide in Times of Crisis
Introduction
The landscape of educational research has long been dominated by the pursuit of objectivity, the
measurement of outcomes, and the dispassionate analysis of systems. However, in an era marked by
overlapping crises—from military conflicts and forced displacements to the slow violence of
institutional decay—the traditional role of the researcher as a neutral observer has become not only
inadequate but ethically untenable. This essay responds to the pressing question of what it means to
become an educational researcher in a time of profound crisis, specifically a crisis characterised by
multiple forms of genocide: epistemicide (the killing of knowledge systems), ontocide (the
annihilation of ways of being), linguisticide (the destruction of languages), culturcide (the erasure of
cultural practices), and scholasticide (the deliberate destruction of education itself). In light of this,
the essay will argue that the activist researcher of education is not merely an advocate but a
necessary, insurgent figure whose work is fundamentally about survival, resistance, and
reconstruction. The first part of the essay will define the activist researcher, distinguishing this role
from traditional and even critical research paradigms. Drawing on decolonial theory, critical
pedagogy, and participatory action research, I will argue that the activist researcher is characterised
by a commitment to solidarity, a reflexive positioning of the self within power structures, and a
methodological approach that prioritises community agency over detached data collection. The
second part of the essay will then examine the specific roles such a researcher can play in a time of
multiple genocides. I will demonstrate that the activist researcher acts as a documenter of
scholasticide, a defender of epistemic plurality, a facilitator of counter-narratives against ontocide
and culturcide, and a participant in the re-construction of decolonised educational futures. Ultimately,
this essay contends that in the face of systematic destruction, the most rigorous educational research
is that which actively takes sides in defence of life, language, land, and learning.
Part 1: What Constitutes an Activist Researcher of Education?
To understand the activist researcher of education, one must first unlearn the dominant positivist
image of the researcher as a neutral, objective, and detached observer. Traditional educational
research, while valuable in certain contexts, often reinforces existing hierarchies by treating
communities as objects of study rather than subjects of their own liberation (Smith, 2012). The
activist researcher emerges from a different genealogy, one rooted in the work of Paulo Freire, action
research paradigms, and Indigenous and decolonial methodologies. Freire’s (1970) critique of the
“banking model” of education extends directly to research: just as education should not be a mere
deposit of information into passive students, research should not be an extraction of knowledge from
passive communities. Thus, the activist researcher is first and foremost a problem-poser, not a
problem-solver in the traditional sense. They do not arrive with predetermined answers but engage in
a dialogical process of inquiry with the community.
1. In light of this, you are required to write an essay of about 2000 – 3000 words in which you
discuss what you think (1) constitutes an activist researcher of education, and (2) what role do
you think such a researcher can play in a time of crisis characterised by many genocides
including epistemicide, ontocide, linguisticide, culturcide and scholasticide.
The Activist Researcher of Education: Confronting Genocide in Times of Crisis
Introduction
The landscape of educational research has long been dominated by the pursuit of objectivity, the
measurement of outcomes, and the dispassionate analysis of systems. However, in an era marked by
overlapping crises—from military conflicts and forced displacements to the slow violence of
institutional decay—the traditional role of the researcher as a neutral observer has become not only
inadequate but ethically untenable. This essay responds to the pressing question of what it means to
become an educational researcher in a time of profound crisis, specifically a crisis characterised by
multiple forms of genocide: epistemicide (the killing of knowledge systems), ontocide (the
annihilation of ways of being), linguisticide (the destruction of languages), culturcide (the erasure of
cultural practices), and scholasticide (the deliberate destruction of education itself). In light of this,
the essay will argue that the activist researcher of education is not merely an advocate but a
necessary, insurgent figure whose work is fundamentally about survival, resistance, and
reconstruction. The first part of the essay will define the activist researcher, distinguishing this role
from traditional and even critical research paradigms. Drawing on decolonial theory, critical
pedagogy, and participatory action research, I will argue that the activist researcher is characterised
by a commitment to solidarity, a reflexive positioning of the self within power structures, and a
methodological approach that prioritises community agency over detached data collection. The
second part of the essay will then examine the specific roles such a researcher can play in a time of
multiple genocides. I will demonstrate that the activist researcher acts as a documenter of
scholasticide, a defender of epistemic plurality, a facilitator of counter-narratives against ontocide
and culturcide, and a participant in the re-construction of decolonised educational futures. Ultimately,
this essay contends that in the face of systematic destruction, the most rigorous educational research
is that which actively takes sides in defence of life, language, land, and learning.
Part 1: What Constitutes an Activist Researcher of Education?
To understand the activist researcher of education, one must first unlearn the dominant positivist
image of the researcher as a neutral, objective, and detached observer. Traditional educational
research, while valuable in certain contexts, often reinforces existing hierarchies by treating
communities as objects of study rather than subjects of their own liberation (Smith, 2012). The
activist researcher emerges from a different genealogy, one rooted in the work of Paulo Freire, action
research paradigms, and Indigenous and decolonial methodologies. Freire’s (1970) critique of the
“banking model” of education extends directly to research: just as education should not be a mere
deposit of information into passive students, research should not be an extraction of knowledge from
passive communities. Thus, the activist researcher is first and foremost a problem-poser, not a
problem-solver in the traditional sense. They do not arrive with predetermined answers but engage in
a dialogical process of inquiry with the community.
