Negotiating Narrative Inquiries: Living in a Tension-Filled Midst

The authors explore the place of tension in understanding narrative inquiry as a relational research methodology. Drawing on a narrative inquiry into children's, teachers’, and families’ experiences in schools shaped by achievement testing practices that flow from accountability policies, the authors show how attending to tensions is central to the relational aspects of composing field texts as well as writing interim and final research texts. Through a fictionalized interim research text, the authors make visible the centrality of relational narrative ethics as we live in the midst of tensions. Finally, the authors offer a starting point for considering the dangers of counterstories as we work with participants and attend to tensions. Keywords: narrative inquiryrelational ethicstensionsstandardized assessment Notes 1. A Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada funded research project: “A Narrative Inquiry into Children's and Teachers’ Curriculum Making Experiences in an Achievement Testing Era” held by D. Jean Clandinin, Janice Huber, M. Shaun Murphy, and Anne Murray Orr. 2. Beginning in the 2006–2007 school year, for approximately 2 days per week for 1 full school year, Anne Murray Orr and graduate student Jennifer Tinkham participated alongside a teacher, children, and families in a Grade-4 classroom in a small town school in eastern Canada. Jean Clandinin and graduate students Jennifer Mitton and Simmee Chung participated alongside a teacher, Song Lee, children, and families in a Grade-3 classroom in a suburban school in a western Canadian city. Beginning in the 2007–2008 school year, for approximately 2 days per week for 1 school year, Shaun Murphy and graduate student Erin Lawrence participated alongside a teacher, children, and families in a Grade-5 classroom in a school in a community located close to a large urban center in western Canada. Each school context was marked by the significantly diverse lives of children and families. This life diversity was less evident in each school's staff. Our participation in each school context was centrally shaped through relationships with the teachers. During the 2008–2009 school year, Janice Huber engaged in an inquiry alongside a mother and child as they shared with her their experiences of negotiating the child's year in kindergarten. 3. Because of the multiage organization of Ravine Elementary School, a former research site, we refer to the children's year in school rather than grade. Year 6 refers to children 11 years of age. 4. We borrowed the idea of narrative coherence from CitationCarr (1986) who wrote, “coherence seems to be a need imposed on us whether we seek it or not…what we are doing is telling and retelling, to ourselves and to others, the story of what we are about and what we are” (p. 97).