Life History Research in Educational Settings

It has long been recognised that life history method has a great deal to offer to those engaged in social research. Indeed, right from the start of the twentieth century, eminent sociologists such as W.I. Thomas, C. Wright Mills and Herbert Blumer have suggested that it is the best, the perfect, approach for studying any aspect of social life. In recent years, life history has become increasingly popular with researchers investigating educational topics of all kinds, including: teachers' perceptions and experiences of different areas of their lives and careers; curriculum and subject development; pedagogical practice; and managerial concerns. Life History Research in Educational Settings sets out to explore and consider the various reasons for this popularity and makes the case that the approach has a major and unique contribution to make to understandings of schools, schooling and educational experience however characterised. The book draws extensively on examples of life history research in order to illustrate theoretical, methodological, ethical and practical issues.

Ivor Goodson is Professor of Education and Professional Development, University of East Anglia (UK), and the Margaret Warner Graduate School, University of Rochester (USA).

Pat Sikes is Lecturer in Education, at the University of Sheffield.

Series editor's preface

ix

Acknowledgements

xiv

Introduction

1

(5)

Developing life histories

6

(13)

The story of life history: origins of the life history method

6

(5)

Reasons for the decline of life history in early sociological study

11

(3)

From modernism to postmodernism

14

(5)

Techniques for doing life history

19

(20)

Introduction

19

(1)

Reasons for choosing research approaches and methods

20

(2)

Research populations

22

(3)

Negotiating access and participation

25

(2)

Strategies for collecting data

27

(5)

Working with life history data

32

(3)

Analysis using computer programs

35

(2)

Data presentation

37

(1)

In conclusion

37

(2)

What have you got when you've got a life story? Epistemological considerations

39

(18)

Introduction

39

(2)

Life history from the perspective of the life story teller

41

(7)

Life history from the perspective of the life historian

48

(8)

In conclusion

56

(1)

Studying teacher's life histories and professional practice

57

(18)

Introduction

57

(1)

Our starting points

57

(5)

Introducing computers into a teacher's life: issues of professional practice and development

62

(8)

Raising issues

70

(2)

Life history as a strategy for personal professional development

72

(2)

In conclusion

74

(1)

Life stories and social context: storylines and scripts

75

(14)

Introduction

75

(1)

A script to live and work from

75

(2)

Scholarship scripts

77

(9)

In conclusion

86

(3)

Questions of ethics and power in life history research

89

(16)

Introduction

89

(2)

Research design and conduct

91

(5)

The nature of the topics that life historians tend to study allied with the nature of the methodology

96

(3)

Claims that life history research can be emancipatory and empowering

99

(4)

Further considerations

103

(2)

Confronting the dilemmas

105

(8)

Introduction

105

(1)

The dilemmas

106

(4)

Alternative lives

110

(2)

Finally

112

(1)

Bibliography

113

(9)

Index

122

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Life History Research in Educational Settings : Learning from Lives

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials