The Role and Contribution of Narrative Interviews in Educational Research

Aviva Avidan^{1, 2,}

¹Department of teaching and Learning, M.Ed. Study Program, Gordon College of Education, Haifa, Israel

²Education Management and Organization Program, M.Ed. Study Program, Hakibbutzim College of Education, Tel-Aviv, Israel

Cite this paper:
Aviva Avidan. The Role and Contribution of Narrative Interviews in Educational Research. American Journal of Educational Research. 2017; 5(4):419-427. doi: 10.12691/education-5-4-10

Abstract

This article explores the role and contribution of narrative interviews in educational research, by studying its application as data collecting technique in two different case studies: narrative interviews with directors of an academic college of education and with preschool teachers in Israel. The paper presents two case studies in which the narrative interview was used as a key methodological tool reflecting and describing the historical, cultural and educational contexts in which the subjects act, thus enabling a better understanding of the meaning of their behavior. Moreover, the interview allowed the subjects to reflect on their work processes and reconstruct their past experiences in relation to their roles and self-identities.

Keywords:
qualitative research life history narrative interview educational research history of education

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