In this narrative collage of ancient and contemporary storytelling, modern theory, and personal reflection, Ian William Sewall seeks to infuse western pedagogy with a folkloral teaching voice. Through multilayered conversations with individuals and groups—traditional storytellers, teachers, children—he examines the dynamic nature of oral culture, its embodied nature, its connection to place, and its use of metaphor, laughter, ethnicity, and intergenerational conversation to create unique kinds of interactions and learning. Offering storytelling as an “ancestral template” of good teaching, Sewall demonstrates how teachers can use the folkoral voice to inform and transform classroom practice.

In a climate of increasing emphasis on testing, measurable outcomes, competition and efficiency, the real lives of children and their teachers are often neglected or are too messy and intricate to legislate and quantify. As such, curricula are designed without including the very people that compose the identities of schools. Here Clandinin takes issue with this tendency, bringing together a collection of narratives from seven writers who spent a year in an urban school, exploring the experiences and contributions of children, families, teachers and administrators. These stories show us an alternative way of attending to what counts in schools, shifting away from the school as a business model towards an idea of schools as places to engage citizenship and to attend to the wholeness of people’s lives. Articulating the complex ethical dilemmas and issues that face people and schools every day, this fascinating study puts school life under the microscope raises new questions about who and what education is for.

Composed by international researchers, the Handbook of Narrative Inquiry: Mapping a Methodology is the first comprehensive and interdisciplinary overview of the developing methodology of narrative inquiry. The Handbook outlines the historical development and philosophical underpinnings of narrative inquiry as well as describes different forms of narrative inquiry. This one-of-a-kind volume offers an emerging map of the field and encourages further dialogue, discussion, and experimentation as the field continues to develop. Key Features: Offers coverage of various disciplines and viewpoints from around the world: Leading international contributors draw upon narrative inquiry as conceptualized in Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology, and Philosophy. Illustrates the range of forms of narrative inquiry: Both conceptual and practical in-depth descriptions of narrative inquiry are presented. Portrays how narrative inquiry is used in research in different professional fields: Particular attention is paid to representational issues, ethical issues, and some of the complexities of narrative inquiry with indigenous and cross-cultural participants as well as child participants. Intended Audience: The Handbook of Narrative Inquiry is a must have resource for narrative methodologists and students of narrative inquiry across the social sciences. Individuals in the fields of Nursing, Psychology, Anthropology, Education, Social Work, Sociology, Organizational Studies, and Health research will be particularly well served by this masterful work.