Journeys into inner/outer space: reflections on the methodological challenges of negotiating insider/outsider status in international educational research

This article highlights key theoretical and methodological issues and implications of being an insider/outsider when undertaking qualitative research in international educational settings. It first address discourses of ‘self’ and ‘other’, noting that identity and belonging emerge from fluid engagement between researchers and participants. It considers the benefits and challenges of being an insider or outsider and question the traditional insider/outsider dichotomy. The role of ‘critical reflexivity’ in helping researchers conscientiously negotiate through ‘the space between’ is examined. The discussion is illustrated with examples from the authors’ research focusing on the opportunities, challenges and tensions experienced as insiders/outsiders. They argue that engaging in critical reflexivity is important for working towards ethical and credible research as it enables the researcher to consider and make transparent how their positionality impacts on the entire research process

Family Ties and Marital Happiness: The Different Marital Experiences of Black and White Newlywed Couples

This paper explores the relationship of family ties to black and white couples' marital happiness over the first 3 years of their marriages. Respondents were 115 black and 136 white couples interviewed as part of the Early Years of Marriage study. Although there were many similarities in the way blacks and whites felt about and interacted with their families, black couples were less likely to argue over matters pertaining to family, visited their families more often but perceived fewer family members able to help if needed. Hierarchical panel regressions showed that close family ties had no effect on the marital happiness of whites but significantly predicted black couples' marital happiness, particularly the ties to the husband's family. Predictions of marital happiness further varied by low and high structural stress (low income combined with early family formation), such that low-stress blacks' increased closeness to their in-laws from year 1 to year 3 predicted marital happiness. For high-stress blacks, the couple's closeness to the husband's family in year 1 and increases in that closeness by year 3 predicted increased marital happiness. Findings point to the importance of accounting for both ethnicity and structural context for understanding the paths couples take in establishing happy marriages.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68592/2/10.1177_0265407596133003.pd