Restorying Public Education: How Learners in Nontraditional Secondary Education Narrate Public School Experiences

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 38
  In Roundtable Session: Designing for and Engaging With Civic and Social Issues

Abstract

A significant portion of students enter adulthood without the benefits of a complete public education (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017), but the complex constellation of proximal and longitudinal factors resulting in high school non-completion are poorly understood (Dupéré et al., 2015). This paper examines some of these individuals’ experiences with education’s dreams and possibilities, analyzing the high school narratives of two groups of youth and adults (n = 96) taking alternative educational paths. Functional linguistic (Finegan, 2011; Martin & Rose, 2007) and social practice (Holland, et al., 1998) approaches revealed the importance of joint agency, relational supports, and re-narration--storying public education experiences anew as sources of strength or motivation.

Authors

• Abigail W Konopasky, George Mason University

• Gavin Tierney, California State University - Fullerton