Giving voice to the unheard in higher education: Critical autoethnography, Tongan males and educational research

Abstract

When considering higher education, the voices and experiences of minority researchers are often absent. Within educational research, in particular, the voices and cultural realities of minority teachers are rarely valued and are often ignored. This paper is my attempt to “be heard”, particu- larly in relation to the education of Tongan males in Aotearoa. I am a Tongan teacher–researcher, and, through the autoethnographical approach, I have discovered a way to tell my story and, in doing so, legitimise my knowledge. This paper unfolds some of the competing discourses and articulates the relevance, appropriateness and usefulness of autoethnography as a method to understand my experiences as a Tongan male teacher and researcher within higher education.