A Narrative Approach to Development: Implications for Adult Education

Adult educators have relied heavily on stage and phase theories of human development to understand adults as learners and the place of learning in their lives. Such models of development have been questioned in terms of the developmental ends posited and the related implications for practitioners. This article describes a narrative approach to adult development and suggests that such a perspective holds rich potential for enhancing our understanding of adult learners and the possible roles educators might play in learners' developmental processes. Key orientations that constitute a narrative approach are discussed; they focus on narrative knowing and meaning making, and the temporal, retrospective, contextual nature of narrative development.