Investigating Creative Arts Practices in Australian Home Education Through Design-Based Research: Entering the Research Maze with the Spirit of Adventure

Abstract

The research journey is rarely a straightforward process. Instead, the many complexities and contextual requirements that a researcher faces, including their specific research focus, chosen approach and desired outcomes present the researcher with a veritable maze of decisions throughout their journey. Like decisions made in the maze, where the “way ahead” is not able to be clearly seen, decisions made throughout the research process are rarely guaranteed to achieve a straightforward outcome and may lead to further complexities, dead ends where work is wasted, or a “wrong turn” that leads down a path that is later found to thwart the intended objectives. And yet, the maze is compelling. The lure of the hard-won victory for those who conquer the maze makes it all the more enticing; easily attained goals rarely hold the same appeal.