ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses the contextual and relational aspects of researching family practices and young children's early learning in remote communities within the Northern Territory in Australia. It provides valuable insight into how powerful, productive relationships based on trust and collaboration can enable rich research that fosters new knowledges. In seeking to better understand how educators draw on experiential knowledge to navigate complexity in their daily work, Guevara highlights several important research dilemmas. Reflections of researchers working across a variety of domains help to improve and deepen understanding of the thinking, forces and actors that shape decisions made during the research process. The initial prompt for the philosophical reflection was after an event in which children cut images out of magazines of soldiers with guns against scenes of war conflict. The initial sharing of the case is told from the perspective of the researcher.