Insider-Outsider Research, Qualitative Discovery, and the Enhancement of Social Justice

Authors

Randa Abbas, Arab Academic College, HaifaFollow
Deborah Court, Bar-Ilan University, IsraelFollow

Abstract

We have for over twenty years researched the Israeli Druze community in an insider- outsider research partnership, coming to deep understanding of the family and communal factors that limit the access of Druze and Muslim women to higher education and academic and professional advancement. These research insights have enabled us, in the academic institution where we work, to enact practices that increase academic and professional access for these women. While we did not plan this as a research focus or goal, we have lately come, in inductive fashion, to the realization that this is social justice work. According to John Rawls, social justice means fair distribution of resources, but this conception does not go far enough. Extending Rawls, Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum suggest that even when resources are distributed according to fair rules of law, personal, social and communal factors can inhibit individuals and groups from being fully capable of exploiting resources. This is true especially of women in societies where their freedom of choice is restricted. In this article we describe specific practices we have instituted that increase access and success for these women in our college. And we celebrate the unexpected discoveries that qualitative research can afford.

Keywords

insider-outsider, social justice, Druze and Muslim women, capabilities and functionings

Author Bio(s)

Professor Randa Abbas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9120-8813) is the first Druze Israeli to gain a Ph.D. from Bar-Ilan University. She is associate professor, president, academic head and rector of the Arab Academic College. Her research centers on the cultural, religious and family structure of the Druze community in Israel, and the changes in them as modernization sweeps this community. She works also in women's rights and the advancement of Arab women in the professional landscape. Please direct correspondence to Randaabbas3@gmail.com

Professor Deborah Court (Corresponding Author; ORCID: https://orcid.ord/0000-0001-6332-9637) is associate professor at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, and academic advisor at the Arab Academic College in Haifa. Her research centers on educational cultures, the development of teacher knowledge, multiculturalism and social justice in education. Please direct correspondence to Deborah.court@biu.ac.il

Publication Date

12-1-2024

Creative Commons License

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

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2024.7427

Recommended APA Citation

Abbas, R. K., & Court, D. (2024). Insider-outsider research, qualitative discovery, and the enhancement of social justice. The Qualitative Report, 29(10), 2750-2760. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.7427

ORCID ID

Randa Abbas https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9120-8813 Deborah Court https://orcid.ord/0000-0001-6332-9637