Critical Evocative Portraiture: Feminist Pathways to Social Justice

Abstract

The authors developed a methodology they call critical evocative portraiture to write Shaping Social Justice Leadership: Insights of Women Educators Worldwide (Lyman LL, Strachan J, Lazaridou A, Shaping social justice leadership: Insights of women educators worldwide. Rowman & Littlefield Education, Lanham, 2012). The book explores social justice leadership in the actions of 23 women researchers and educational leaders representing 14 countries, all members of Women Leading Education across the continents (WLE). Each woman featured responded to the call from a WLE research team to submit “the story of your personal and/or professional journey in whatever format and with whatever emphasis makes sense and is comfortable for you.” The first narrative was submitted in October 2007, with the book in print almost 5 years later in June 2012. This chapter includes attention to the purposes of the book and the phases of data gathering and analysis of themes that led to the book’s unique structure and content. Beginning with evocative narratives submitted by the WLE members, the authors gave each thematic chapter a critical frame and then turned the original narratives into portraits, each with its own critical frame. In this chapter, the authors ground the methodology in the literature on qualitative research associated with the terms critical, evocative, and portraiture. Explaining the distinguishing features of critical evocative portraiture, they offer it as a research approach that honors the complexity of powerful social justice leadership in difficult contexts and challenging times.