Narratives of change: the role of storytelling, artefacts and children’s literature in building communities of inquiry that care

ABSTRACT

Xenophobic discourse surrounding migration, resulting in marginalisation of the other, is on the rise. This article tracks the formation of a professional community of teacher inquirers who wanted to challenge the prevalent negative discourse by generating narratives of change. Using narrative inquiry methods to capture ‘stories of experience’ told in response to artefacts of value, the community of inquiry revealed through their storytelling the value of excavating knowledge connected to language, culture and identity. This personal knowledge evoked care and empowered the teachers to confidently select and use children’s literature alongside creative response strategies to re-imagine their classrooms as spaces to welcome refugee and new-arrival children. The article argues that communities of inquiry provide potential ways forward for educators to pre-figure ‘an imperative of mutual care’.

KEYWORDS:

• Children’s literature
• artefacts
• care
• pre-figurative practice
• communities of inquiry

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. The artefacts shared at the workshop ranged from a cheap bracelet from Portugal, to a sample of Bulgarian folkloric music, a tea set from Japan, a Scottish Quaich, photographs of family members, a hand-drawn charcoal picture, a bible, a prayer mat, a pen and a tea cosy. One participant also discussed how she should have brought her mobile phone because this contained all her memories, music and photographs.

2. Umrah is a pilgrimage to Mecca undertaken at any time of year and is distinct from Hajj, which can only take place during the month of Zil Hajj.

3. The cultural suitcases were first encountered during a visit to a Citizen’s Theatre, Glasgow workshop on ‘Migration’, drawing on an exhibition of work from a local further education college that used a similar arts-based visual task with unaccompanied minors.

4. Reputable examples include: https://www.mercycorps.org.uk/photoessays/jordan-syria/we-asked-refugees-what-did-you-bring-you June 2015; http://time.com/4062180/james-mollison-the-things-they-carried/ October 2015; https://medium.com/uprooted/what-s-in-my-bag-758d435f6e62$.9fs0wku6p September 2015.

5. From Nel Noddings’ (2013) perspective this could be critiqued as an example of verbal care, which can occur without subsequent action. The use of the word manifesto has been used to convey the sense that these ideas are actions in waiting.

Additional information

Funding

The research was funded by an internal fund of the University. The Sustainable Glasgow Knowledge Exchange Fund.