Premium
On narrative method, personal philosophy, and narrative unities in the story of teaching
Author(s) -
Connelly F. Michael,
Clandinin D. Jean
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
journal of research in science teaching
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.067
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1098-2736
pISSN - 0022-4308
DOI - 10.1002/tea.3660230404
Subject(s) - narrative , narrative inquiry , narrative network , meaning (existential) , action (physics) , character (mathematics) , psychology , narrative criticism , teaching philosophy , epistemology , pedagogy , sociology , mathematics education , linguistics , philosophy , physics , geometry , mathematics , quantum mechanics
This article outlines a narrative method for the study of classrooms. The main feature of the method is the reconstruction of classroom meaning in terms of narrative unities in the lives of classroom participants. The theoretical character of the work is introduced through comparison and contrast with Schön's The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action (1983). The empirical basis of the work is drawn from an in‐depth, long term, case study with selected science teachers in schools. Paradigmatic material drawn from studies with two teachers is used to illustrate the narrative method in this article and to develop the notions of personal philosophy and narrative unities as part of participants' personal practical knowledge. The article concludes with possibilities of the narrative method for the study of teaching and outlines how the notion of participants' narrative unities contributes to our understanding of science classrooms and of school improvement.