Interviewing Female Teachers as a Male Researcher: A Field Reflection from a Patriarchal Society Perspective

Abstract

This article examines the role of gender difference in a qualitative interview from the theoretical lenses of the sociocultural perspective of teachers' identity in a localized context of Ph.D. field research. The study blends the researcher's critical reflections during interviewing female teachers in exploring their teacher identity and existing literature on gender differences in a qualitative interview. In addition, a research diary is used as the data source to unpack the complexity of gender dynamics in a qualitative interview. To add to the discussion of gender difference in a qualitative interview, we argued that gender difference between the interviewer and the interviewee mediates and shapes the data collection in a qualitative interview. Thus, to understand the role of gender difference in a qualitative interview, it is necessary to do a comprehensive analysis of the complex dynamics of gender matching, the cultural background of the interviewee, and possible power relations between the researcher and participants. This study contributes to the dynamics in interviewing women by a man outside the Western cultural setting, particularly during a field research experience by a Ph.D. scholar.