Abstract:
This paper employs the arts-based representational technique of polyphonic narrative construction to explore my journey as an academic margin-walker, and my process of becoming an educational researcher within (and in spite of) the current academic environment. The first steps in my educational journey involved training as a drama teacher - a role which involves working in the margins (artist/educator; personal/professional) on a daily basis. At the completion of this degree I disrupted the expected career path, moving further into the margins of education, by deciding not to pursue a classroom career, instead engaging in full-time doctoral studies. Rather than positioning me firmly within the borders of 'researcher', this decision undermined the credibility and security I held in the full range of educational roles - as teacher, learner, and researcher. My final act of educational transgression is taking place in the present, as I attempt to engage with my role as (post-doctorate) educational researcher within a non-traditional academic role. In this paper, I position this professional margin-dwelling, and these transgressions, as signal moments in my career development, by presenting interweaving narratives of key experiences from each moment. Ultimately, this paper is about being and becoming an educational [Margin-walkerObserverParadoxNon-participantFraud] researcher.