Spaces for Difference: opening doorways for challenges to the hegemony

Abstract

As ASRHE marks its fifth year of publication, this editorial reflects on the journal's evolution and announces significant changes to both our editorial team and publishing arrangements. We farewell Dr Geof Hill, whose expertise and energy have been instrumental in establishing ASRHE as a space for diverse scholarly voices in higher education research. This moment of transition invites deeper reflection on what it means to create genuinely inclusive research publication spaces. Through critical examination of our editorial practices, particularly encounters with Indigenous scholars whose epistemological approaches challenged traditional Western research writing conventions, we have recognised how journal practices can inadvertently create barriers to publication. This recognition has prompted us to reconsider what counts as research in an era of evolving paradigms, technologies, and ethical commitments. In response, ASRHE now welcomes a new submission format: poster-based research-in-progress papers that combine scholarly poster content with reflective commentary on the experience of developing and presenting research in this mode. This format acknowledges posters as legitimate scholarly communication while creating space for methodological innovation and diverse cultural approaches to knowledge sharing. Additionally, we announce ASRHE's move to the Open Access Publishing Association (OAPA), a transition that aligns with our commitment to diamond open access publishing and strengthens our position within an independent, society-owned publishing ecology. These changes reflect ASRHE's ongoing commitment to challenging hegemonic practices in research publication and creating authentic spaces for difference in higher education scholarship.