The title for ECER 2012 implies that freedom, education and development are not distributed equally. As university researchers, we have undoubtedly benefited especially from education but we cannot be so certain about the people with whom we engage in research. Indeed, since we are motivated to work toward environmental justice, we have organized our work to involve people who have been comparatively less privileged in these areas. Presumably we excel in the language, culture and practices of education systems; after all, we have earned the highest degree and are now teaching in higher education. We believe that if we use the tools, chiefly text/words that have given us unequal privilege, we will not learn much about the people for whom the tools do not work as well, and we will continue to construct a discourse and world that privileges some (us, PhD types) over others. We have learned to use various type of art and image to help embrace complexity and ambiguity in order to disrupt unequal privilege (Neilson, 2008) and transcend cultural differences (Cajete,1994) something particularly important within a European context of interacting/imposed educational policies. Also, concern for the difficulties of postnormal times has brought further calls for the use of creative methods (Montuori, 2011; Sandar, 2010).

This presentation is about exploring how using these creative tools affects us, as  researchers and as educators. What are the ways that our practice (both education and research) is changed? What is the nature of these changes?

Beilin, R. (2005). Photo-elicitation and the agricultural landscape. Visual Studies 20(1), 56-68. Berger, P. L., & Luckmann, T. (1966). The social construction of reality: A treatise in the sociology of knowledge. New York, NY: Doubleday. Cajete, G. (1994). Look to the mountain: An ecology of indigenous education. Skyland, NM: Kivaki Press. Clandinin, D. J. & Connelly, F. M. (2000). Narrative inquiry: Experience and story in qualitative research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Cole, A. L., Neilsen, L., Knowles, J. G., & Luciani, T. C. (2004). Provoked by art: Theorizing arts-informed research. Halifax/Toronto: Backalong Books/Centre for Arts-informed Reseach. Doyle, A. (2001). The colliery aesthetic: Cultural responses at the end of industry. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Durham University, UK. Hurworth, R. (2003). Photo-interviewing for research. Social Research Update, 40. Lather, P. (1986). Research as praxis. Harvard Educational Review, 56(3), 257-275. Montuori, A. (2011). Beyond postnormal times: The future of creativity and the creativity of the future. Futures, 43(2), 221-227. Neilson, A. L. (2008) Disrupting privilege, identity, and meaning: A reflexive dance of environmental education. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Sardar, Z. (2010). Welcome to postnormal times, Futures 42(5), 435–444. Smith, L. T. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples. New York, NY: Zed Books. Weber, S. (2008). Visual images in research. ( pp. 41-53) In: J. Gary Knowles & Ardra L. Cole. Handbook of the arts in qualitative research. London: Sage Publications.