An Exploration of Narrative Inquiry into Multiculturalism in Education: Reflecting on Two Decades of Research in an Inner-City Canadian Community School

Abstract

In this article we explore the connection between multicultural education and narrative inquiry. We trace the history of multiculturalism as a form of public discourse in Canadian social life. With this as background we consider life in an inner-city Canadian school as a microcosm of Canadian social life more generally. Following the ebb and flow of 20 years of narrative inquiry in this Canadian inner-city school, we realize that this inquiry, though defined in various terms, is ultimately a study of multicultural life. We argue that an understanding of multicultural life as a democratic life process is central to an understanding of the social purposes of multiculturalism. We believe that multicultural education and narrative inquiry have the potential for profoundly productive links in the pursuit of democratic life. We conclude by puzzling over the meaning of multicultural inquiry and of the significance of cross-cultural studies for understanding multicultural life.