Ethicality of Narrative Inquiry as a Tool of Knowledge Production in Research

Abstract

The sociocultural ways of conceptualizing human learning in general education have given rise to various sensitive and time-consuming tools of knowledge production for both the researcher and the researched. The gravity of the situation is more noticeable in narrative inquiry methodology, which has gathered momentum in both general education and second language teacher education (SLTE) because it requires long engagement with participants and (re)telling of tales of success and failure. However, the ethicality of this knowledge production tool has remained in the periphery of academia. Grounded in our data, we present a case for a critical-event approach to narrative inquiry, indicating how the participants’ engagement in the research process enabled them to externalize their feelings, verbalize their everyday and scientific theories and, ultimately, systematically examine their teaching philosophy and develop ecologically valid pedagogical practices. These 3 functions of narrative inquiry seem to enhance the ethicality of narrative inquiry research methodology.