Stories of Practitioner Enquiry: Using Narrative Interviews to Explore Teachers’ Perspectives of Learning to Learn

Source: International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, Volume 27, Issue 3, 2014, pages 397-411

This article describes the decision to use narrative interviews in conjunction with an iterative validation process between the researchers and the participating teachers in research project at Newcastle University.

The teachers who participated in this research project, called the Campaign for Learning’s Learning to Learn Phase 4, undertook practitioner enquiry to explore innovative pedagogies under the umbrella term of learning to learn.

In 2008, to gain greater understanding of what this process meant to the participating teachers the research team at Newcastle University undertook narrative interviews.
These interviews examined three key areas: the motivation for undertaking practitioner enquiry, the experience for both teachers and students, and the support needed to facilitate success.

This article examines how the decision to use narrative interviews supported a meaningful and ethical exchange between the teachers and researchers.
The article also explores where knowledge generation was foregrounded, and how despite each teacher producing a unique, highly contextual story, cross-narrative themes emerged which have enabled the research team to broaden our understanding of practitioner enquiry.