Narrative in Teaching, Learning and Research

A distinguished group of contributors surveys the topics from various perspectives. Part I includes chapters by Philip W. Jackson, Sigrun Gudmundsdottir, Carol Witherell, and Shirley Pendlebury, and looks at narrative in the practice of teaching, while considering the use of stories in organizing teaching and curriculum content and the moral and personal features of teaching that a narrative focus brings to the fore. In Part II, Brian Sutton-Smith, Vivian Gussin Paley, Sophie Haroutunian-Gordon, and Kieran Egan examine narrative's meaning for the learner, leading us beyond simplistic characterizations of children as "concrete" thinkers whose cognition is radically different from adults'. Part III, with chapters by Michael Huberman, Hunter McEwan, Ivor Goodson, Robert J. Graham, and Nancy Zeller, examines narrative accounts that help teachers make sense of their professional lives; how narrative can bridge the gaps between teachers and others, especially students; the crucial centrality of literature as opposed to other media; the how of storytelling; and the narrative form's special appropriateness for case reports.