Podcasts

Team collaboration: What did we learn?

23 October 2025

In this episode, host Elizabeth Ascroft invites four members of the Ibali team: Yusra Price, Katie Collins, Jennifer Agbaire and Alison Buckler to unpack the inner workings of the Ibali research team and how collaboration, culture, and communication shaped their three-year journey. Together, they explore what it really means to do research as a team: balancing diverse roles, navigating cross-cultural and interdisciplinary dynamics, and learning from one another in the process. The conversation moves between the practical and the personal, touching on moments of insight, challenge, and growth. From ethnographic practice to the subtle art of inclusive teamwork, this episode offers an honest reflection on what it takes to collaborate meaningfully — and what happens when research becomes a shared story.

Storytelling as method

23 October 2025

Host Elizabeth Ascroft welcomes four members of the Ibali team: Yusra Price, Joanna Wheeler, Jennifer Agbaire, and Alison Buckler, to reflect on three years of research and the power of storytelling as a creative method.
Together, they unpack the Ibali research methodology and what they learned along the way. They reflect on their storytelling work with young people and teachers across the UK, South Africa, and Nigeria. The conversation delves into the challenges, surprises, and transformations that emerged through this process.
The team explores the art and ethics of storytelling, the importance of collaboration and context, and how stories can reshape understanding in education. They also share practical insights and advice for anyone interested in using storytelling to spark inclusion, connection, and change.

The art of inclusive storytelling with young creators

23 October 2025

In this episode, we are joined by four of the young storytellers from the UK strand of the Ibali project: Evidence Anene, Siddiqah Afinowi, Tracey Gunda, and João de Almeida , alongside co-investigators Alison Buckler and Jennifer Agbaire at the Open University. Podcast host Elizabeth Ascroft invites the team to reflect on the storytelling process. The speakers reflect on inclusion/exclusion in educational settings and discuss the role of educators and the need for young voices to be heard in shaping educational policies. The dialogue emphasises the fluid and relational nature of inclusion and the significance of creating spaces where individuals feel welcomed and valued.

Students as Co-researchers and Storytellers in South Africa: Decolonial Approaches (Part 3)

10 November 2023

Based on experiences and lessons from the Southern African Rurality in Higher Education (SAHiRE) project, this is the third episode of a three-part series reflecting on the potential of co-creative methodology to contribute to decolonial research approaches. Hosted by Jennifer Agbaire (Ibali researcher and Project Manager), members of the SAHiRE team engage in further conversation exploring broader challenges around power – including the negotiation of funding regimes and multiple partnerships. This episode features Nathi Madondo (Academic Literacy lecturer) of Mangosuthu University of Technology and Kibbie Naidoo (Director of the Centre for Academic Staff Development in the Division for Teaching Excellence) of the University of Johannesburg in South Africa. It also features Sheila Trahar (Professor Emerita of International Higher Education), Lisa Lucas (Associate Professor in Higher Education and Co-Director of the Centre for Higher Education Transformations) and Sue Timmis (Associate Professor in Education) of the University of Bristol in the UK. The podcast series was produced by Jennifer Agbaire and Motunrayo Oladeji. For more about the SAHiRE project, visit SARiHE – Southern African Rurality in Higher Education. For other engagement activities from Ibali, visit Knowledge Hub | Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies (open.ac.uk).

Students as Co-researchers and Storytellers in South Africa: Decolonial Approaches (Part 2)

10 November 2023

Welcome to the second of a three-episode series with Ibali researcher and Project Manager, Jennifer Agbaire, in conversation with five team members of the Southern African Rurality in Higher Education (SARiHE) project from the UK and South Africa - Sue Timmis (Associate Professor in Education), Sheila Trahar (Professor Emerita of International Higher Education) and Lisa Lucas (Associate Professor in Higher Education and Co-Director of the Centre for Higher Education Transformations) of the University of Bristol as well as Kibbie Naidoo (Director of the Centre for Academic Staff Development in the Division for Teaching Excellence) of the University of Johannesburg and Nathi Madondo (Academic Literacy lecturer) of Mangosuthu University of Technology. Leading from the first episode on the background and decolonial perspectives informing the SARiHE project, this episode focuses on the research design of working with participants as ‘co-researchers’. The conversation highlights issues around access and power as well as the processes of navigating important ethical implications and managing data analysis in context. This podcast series was produced by Jennifer Agbaire and Motunrayo Oladeji. For more about the SARiHE project, visit SARiHE – Southern African Rurality in Higher Education. For other engagement activities from Ibali, visit Knowledge Hub | Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies (open.ac.uk).

Students as Co-researchers and Storytellers in South Africa: Decolonial Approaches (Part 1)

10 November 2023

Thank you for listening to Talking Story with Ibali. We are excited to bring you a series of this podcast hosted by Ibali researcher and Project Manager, Jennifer Agbaire. In this three-part series, Jennifer is joined by a dynamic team of researchers and scholars in South Africa and the UK - Kibbie Naidoo (Director of the Centre for Academic Staff Development in the Division for Teaching Excellence) of the University of Johannesburg and Nathi Madondo (Academic Literacy lecturer) of Mangosuthu University of Technology in South Africa as well as Sue Timmis (Associate Professor in Education), Sheila Trahar (Professor Emerita of International Higher Education) and Lisa Lucas (Associate Professor in Higher Education and Co-Director of the Centre for Higher Education Transformations) of the University of Bristol. Throughout the series, the team shares experiences and lessons from their innovative project, titled Southern African Rurality in Higher Education (SARiHE). This introductory episode highlights the background and decolonial aims of SARiHE. The team also introduces their interesting positioning of student participants as ‘co-researchers’ within an eclectic methodological approach involving storytelling. You can find out more about SAHiRE on SARiHE – Southern African Rurality in Higher Education. For other engagement activities from Ibali, visit Knowledge Hub | Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies (open.ac.uk). This podcast series was produced by Jennifer Agbaire and Motunrayo Oladeji⁠.

Storytelling as Fluid Folds: Moving Universes of Meaning from within and Outside Academia (Part 2)

2 August 2023

This is the second of a two-episode series featuring Carmen Martinez Vargas in conversation with Ibali researcher, Faith Mkwananzi.  The series was produced by Jennifer Agbaire and Motunrayo Oladeji. Carmen is a transdisciplinary scholar whose work is focused on the politics of knowledge and knowledge inequalities embedded in higher education practices, especially focusing on participatory research and the Capability Approach. Her research and writing are rooted in a lifelong ongoing conversation between Western and Southern thinkers but especially embedded in recent years within decolonial, cultural hybridity and intersectional lines of thought. In this episode, Carmen shares her thoughts on sustainability in relation to storytelling and participatory approaches. You can get in touch with Carmen by sending a message to ⁠[email protected]⁠.

Storytelling as Fluid Folds: Moving Universes of Meaning from within and Outside Academia (Part 1)

2 August 2023

We bring to you a two-episode series of Talking Story with Ibali, involving a conversation between Ibali researcher, Faith Mkwananzi, and Carmen Martinez Vargas.  Carmen is a transdisciplinary scholar whose work is focused on the politics of knowledge and knowledge inequalities embedded in higher education practices, especially focusing on participatory research and the Capability Approach. Her research and writing are rooted in a lifelong ongoing conversation between Western and Southern thinkers but especially embedded in recent years within decolonial, cultural hybridity and intersectional lines of thought. In this first episode, she talks about the transdisciplinary potential of storytelling work. If you would like to continue the conversation, you can drop Carmen a message: ⁠[email protected]⁠. This series was produced by Jennifer Agbaire and Motunrayo Oladeji.

Stories are not the answer but they can shape our imagination towards the answer...

2 February 2023

Hosted by Alison Buckler and produced by Motunrayo Oladeji and Jennifer Agbaire, this episode of Talking Story with Ibali features Baeletsi Tsatsi, a South Africa-based storyteller, facilitator and writer. Baeletsi’s stories are distributed by FunDza, Cover2Cover and Book Dash. In 2020, she was a storyteller in residence at Play Africa's African Storytelling Project, happening in collaboration with ASSITEJ SA.

Storytelling and the Ibali Project

15 October 2022

This episode explores the use of storytelling in education research through conversation with the Ibali project research team.

Originally published in the BAICE student podcast, exploring issues of interest to students studying international and comparative education.