ABSTRACT
Narrative and life history research tends to favour particular qualitative methods, such as a series of in-depth semi-structured interviews, time-line interviews and the keeping of personal diaries. This chapter describes narrative in education and argues that narrative operates in a number of ways and at a number of levels. If education research is about 'what' happens to people, it is also concerned with 'where' that happens in terms of place, setting and context. When a story is told, it becomes a narrative when it draws upon its context and culture for its significance both for the narrator and listener. Context is both epistemological, ideological and linguistic. Culture and context are the two parents of narrative enquiry, and it is worth devoting some attention to the opportunities and challenges involved in taking this approach. A range of narrative functions will produce knowledge of self and cultural identity, entertainment news and moral evaluation.
