Chapter 5: The New Narrative Research in Education:

TLDR: For instance, this paper pointed out that narrative research, in all of its various manifestations, is deeply implicated in contemporary conflicts over theory, methodology, and politics in scholarly investigation, and pointed out the emergence of a post-paradigmatic age: new configurations emerge while earlier formulations persist, and various versions deconstruct and recombine.

Abstract: Throughout the 1980s, a different kind of academic inquiry gained momentum, one that invited the interpretations of previously ignored informants. It is difficult to imagine a scholar who has not noticed the many new publications featuring life stories and personal narratives. Yet, like the concurrent, and not unconnected, proliferation of volumes on \"the self and \"the postmodern,\" this phenomenon can seem both pervasive and elusive. Narrative research, in all of its various manifestations, is deeply implicated in contemporary conflicts over theory, methodology, and politics in scholarly investigation. Rather than providing evidence of a paradigm shift, however, an examination of these unruly developments would more likely confirm the arrival of a postparadigmatic age: New configurations emerge while earlier formulations persist, and various versions deconstruct and recombine. Nevertheless, I believe that it is possible to perceive some complex patterns of growth and change in this area. The aim of this chapter is not to curb the exhilarating experimentation that characterizes the current enthusiasm for narrative research. Rather, my purpose here is to familiarize readers with contemporary examples of narrative research in education while deliberating over definitions, examining explanations for the present popularity of such research, considering social purposes, addressing existing criticisms, and indicating innovative contributions.