•  
  •  
 

Abstract

This article draws explicitly on the fieldwork challenging experiences of an ongoing PhD study which seeks to explore the role of the community in the inclusion of people with disabilities in the Northwest Region of Cameroon. It is apparent that every qualitative researcher undertaking fieldwork anticipate being confronted with challenges and difficulties in the process. Nevertheless, in spite of the anticipation of these challenges and complexity that exist in the field, as well as prior preparation, fieldwork can still be a very intense and challenging experience. This is because many unanticipated encounters arise during fieldwork, which the researchers did not see coming. Whilst acknowledging that fieldwork in qualitative research can be challenging and complex, the unanticipated and underestimated magnitude and intensity of the challenges that occurred in undertaking qualitative fieldwork in the Northwest Region of Cameroon is the interest of this paper.

Keywords

Qualitative Fieldwork, Challenges, Complexities, Unanticipated, Magnitude, Cameroon

Author Bio(s)

Beryl Ndongwa Bamu is currently a PhD student at Ghent University, Belgium. Her research focuses on inclusive education and the role which the local community plays in education of people with disabilities. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: berylbamu@yahoo.co.uk.

Elisabeth De Schauwer has a PhD and is working in the field of Disability Studies at Ghent University, Belgium. Her research centers around “difference” and the influence on relationships. She is interested in strengthening interdisciplinary links between pedagogy and other disciplines like philosophy, feminism, anthropology etc. She works closely together with children, parents and schools in the praxis of inclusive education. Activism, research and teaching go hand in hand. Following people and their stories is a never ending source of inspiration for her daily work. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: Elisabeth.DeSchauwer@UGent.be.

Geert Van Hove is a professor in disability studies at Ghent University (Belgium) and Free University Amsterdam (the Netherlands). His Research interest is in education and disability studies – cross over arts and science, qualitative research. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: Geert.VanHove@UGent.be.

Publication Date

2-23-2016

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2016.2217

Share

Submission Location

 
COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.