Clandinin & Connelly

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Clandinin & Connelly (2006) talk of using narrative in research into education because of the way it allows them to construct their own ’research puzzles’ about how people learn and teach, allowing them to reflect on their methods and experience. Thus a narrative is formed. Clandinin and Connelly see the use of the narrative as a response to the oft-used methods of research in education, which focuses on numbers scores and results. Their concept of narrative inquiry has been built up from research into how others constructed their concept of narration.

Clandinin & Connelly talk about this book not being about what is narrative, nor how to do it but:

It is a book that tells stories of how we do narrative inquiry. (P187).

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It is the use of the term 'stories' that is important for me. This talks about and describes the flow of the narrative. However that does not mean that this book is one long endless story. It is a concise questioning of process, divided by headings. They write of the use of the grand narrative talking them away from the central focus. They therefore change from this grand narrative to become inquirers who focus on experience. As you study the experience this must be placed in context. It is the placing in context that centres this narrative back within the subject and the direction of narrative inquiry.