A yarning place in narrative histories

Abstract

In this article I will first explore current research definitions, uses and roles of yarning. From this I will argue yarning is undervalued and underutilised as a potentially rich source of data collection. Second, I will discuss how yarning can be used in research design development, application and data collection. Last, I will use my research in the history of education to demonstrate the effectiveness of yarning in historical narratives, in particular my study of an Aboriginal community’s journey towards Aboriginal student integration in Collarenebri, a small, remote and rural town, in northern New South Wales (NSW). I show how the local Aboriginal community lobbied successfully for their children to be transferred from a segregated Annex to the main school during the mid 1940s to the early 1950s. Utilising yarning as a research methodology added depth and relevance for participants, their local communities and the narrative paradigm that informs it.