Producing storied accounts from data - a teacher's narrative

Abstract

The research described in this paper is aimed at exploring the knowledge teachers have of their learners, using a particular approach to data analysis and presentation. The participants of the study were three classes of learners from townships in the Western Cape. The first step in data collection was to find out more about the participants in the study, from three teachers and the learners themselves. In the analysis I presented the first level as a story, using Polkinghorne's (1995) approach. Instead of presenting the data as a number of narratives, it was presented as a story of a fictitious teacher. This narrative shows the nature of the knowledge these teachers have of their learners and how they use this knowledge in the design and delivery of their lessons. This produced a storied account of who these learners were, what they were interested in and what they regarded as useful knowledge. A number of themes which provide a useful guide for teachers in this context emerged from this account.

Keywords:

• narrative account
• teachers' knowledge of learners
• children's experiences and interest