In this dissertation, I study how Taiwanese vocational students as an oppressed group within the higher education system perceive, interpret, adapt or resist, and struggle to change the inequitable social structure. The theoretical framework in this research is constructed from Paulo Freire's ideas in "Pedagogy of the Oppressed,"…

Changing views of learning in the workplace necessitate new assessment approaches. Narrative provides a vehicle for self-reflection and examination of complex realities. Related techniques are scenario building and process mapping. (SK)

In this article the author argues that the current state of educational inquiry, particularly as it relates to action research and qualitative inquiry, is in high flux. If this were true, several possible implications follow. First is the idea that with this flux all inquiry occurs in a context that is political, organisational, and geographical.…

The aim of the study was to understand why the dynamic of sexual abuse is perpetuated across successive generations. A qualitative analysis was conducted on therapy session transcripts and diaries written during the therapy of 24 mothers who were survivors of incest, and whose children were the victims of incest. Four types of mothers were…

The standardized patient (SP) examination is used in a majority of medical schools to test clinical skills. This exam usually yields both numerical ratings of clinical skill and narrative comments by patients or observers, yet most empirical studies of SP assessment focus on the numerical ratings only. This study analyzes the comments on a recent…

Details the development of a career-counseling intervention program for veterans based on narrative or storytelling principles. The usefulness of stories as an organizing principle for counselors and clients is discussed, and suggestions are offered for further uses of storytelling interventions. (Author/GCP)

Narratological research is defined in relation to narrative theory and a cultural psychology perspective. Narrative concepts and methodology are explained, including the configural mode of understanding and principles of narrative analysis. Examples of application in psychological and counseling research are presented, with a discussion of issues…

Descriptions by 12 therapists of their experiences receiving tangible gifts from clients are examined. Using consensual qualitative research (C. E. Hill, B. J. Thompson, & E. N. Williams, 1997) therapists' overall gift encounters and specifically identified gift events were explored. Results indicated that although clients rarely gave gifts, all…

More than ten years have passed since the widely publicized debate about personal and academic writing that played out in the 1990s between Peter Elbow and David Bartholomae. But the question of the relative merits of these two different types of writing for student writers continues to be an issue of concern for teachers of composition,…

The author recounts a qualitative investigation of the influence of an open-discourse reform effort on technicism in a college-level computing course which was discontinued when the study was seen to be unethical. A psychology-oriented heuristic inquiry into the causes of this failure resulted in a growing awareness of the importance of art,…

Examination of writing and reading graduate theses from the perspectives of theorists, graduate students, and faculty advisors resulted in the conceptualization of the process as dialogical storytelling and rewriting of each other's metaphors. Instead of modernist beginning-to-end narratives, postmodern qualitative research is perceived as…

Analyzes public debates over the authenticity of Wilkomirski's "Fragments: Memories of a Childhood 1939-1948" and Menchu's "I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala," arguing that they explain how audiences read and understand disclosures of the experience of trauma and how cultural memory frames these discourses.…

Uses 10 months of field research in a high technology start-up to identify six basic narratives types in three main categories deemed essential in founding and governing a new company. Shows how these stories enable founders to justify the existence of the company; convince others to devote funds and other key resources to the company; and make…

This study explores the meaning of the death of a companion animal through autoethnographic poetry in conjunction with narrative reflections. This method expands the depth and scope of poetry in qualitative research by transforming expressive works into both the subject and product of inquiry.

This paper summarizes practical strategies that qualitative researchers can employ to improve their interviewing skills. The first section, "The Art of Questioning: Wording Makes a Difference," presents several guidelines: (1) questions should be short and precise; (2) ask only one question at a time; (3) avoid questions in which the…