Fictional writing, educational research and professional learning

Abstract

This article argues that fictional writing has the potential to make a distinctive contribution to educational scholarship but brings challenges to conventional ways in which educational research is judged. It focuses on the discipline required by fictional writing and on the interplay between reader and text. It is argued that the rigour and validity of fiction can be tested by an informed critical readership, rather than by assessing authorial claims about methodology and the significance of a text. This approach allows for ambiguity and ‘spaces’ in fictional writing that may be necessary for its distinctive potential to be realized. There is emphasis on a professional readership for educational research and how fiction, through the quality of its engagement with practitioners, may inform professional learning and practice.

Keywords:

• fiction
• narrative
• arts‐based research
• professional learning

Notes

1. In this article Gillie Bolton writes under the name of ‘Gillie Rowland’.