Working toward equitable research practices: the value of highlighting complexity and respecting context

In this response paper, we reflect upon the contributions of Gallard Martínez, Pitts, Brkich,
and Ramos de Robles (this issue) in their manuscript “How does one recognize contextual
mitigating factors (CMFs) as a basis to understand and arrive at better approaches to
research designs” and elaborate the ways in which we work toward highlighting the contextual
complexities within our own research. Our research focuses on working toward
equitable practices for culturally and linguistically diverse children in science education,
in order to draw on the many cultural and communicative resources they bring to primary
school science investigations. We draw upon our previous and current research projects in
this forum contribution to tease-apart CMFs related to issues of equity in teaching science
with culturally and linguistically diverse primary school children in our national context in
Luxembourg. We conclude with a consideration of how the process of unpacking a diverse
array of CMFs relative to our work with students helps us select and employ theoretical
lenses and research methodologies that position us to gather rich understandings of the
complexities within our research contexts and in our work with children and teachers