Narrative inquiry: Designing the processes, pathways and patterns of change

Abstract

Narrative inquiry, as a component of systems design, provides a method of exploring systemic change and the design of educational systems from the perspectives of the facilitator of the change process, the invested participant in the change process, and the resistive participant in the change process. Systems design furnishes the construct within which to consider change, while narrative inquiry facilitates the design conversations that develop the processes, pathways and patterns that lead to the unfolding idealized school as a socially constructed reality of the participants. Rather than deal with discrete events individually, the personal stories that evolve in narrative inquiry allow people to build larger frames of reference and examine underlying assumptions and beliefs that guide our actions. Stories recreate experience in ways that allow the personal, cultural, and historical ground to remain present. As a relationship method, it emphasizes the human connections consistent with the interrelatedness found within members of a school. Using a three-dimensional change model and narrative inquiry, this paper addresses the question: How can the stories embedded in the history context and culture of a school inform the change process? How can narrative inquiry mediate the process of moving across boundaries to the educational future? How can narrative inquiry identify symbolic boundaries that exist within an educational organization? Copyright ©2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.