Centering Relationships and Crossing Borders in Narrative Inquiry

• In Event: The turn towards narrative methodologies in comparative and international education

Proposal

This paper explores the centrality of relationships in narrative inquiry through an examination of our recent life history work with young women in Tanzania. In sharing stories from our time conducting longitudinal research on notions of female empowerment and schooling, we pose questions about how our relationships with our participants, each other and ourselves have transformed our work. As we reflect on how participants’ stories have shaped our own, we ask how our research approach and analysis has been shaped by our relationality, and vice versa. We explore questions of power, voice and ethics inherent in conducting research built on relationships with young people that cross borders of language, nationality, ethnicity, educational access and attainment, and socio-economics. Finally, we consider whether the intentional cultivation of caring relationships facilitated our ability to explore, and perhaps support, young women’s empowerment processes through collaborative narrative inquiry.

Authors

• Laura Wangsness Willemsen, Concordia University, Saint Paul

• Judith Merinyo, Project Zawadi Tanzania