Narrative Inquiry and the Uses of Narrative in Music Education Research

Abstract Narrative inquiry is a relatively recent edition to qualitative scholarship, related to the narrative turn in social science research. Three distinct pathways to narrative are summarized in the first half of this chapter: narrative knowing as described by Jerome Bruner; narrative inquiry as described by F. Jean Clandinin and Michael Connelly; and critical storytelling as described by Tom Barone. Descriptions of each pathway include theoretical underpinnings as well as examples of studies from various disciplines, including music education, in which authors claim narrative inquiry or make use of narrative techniques. The second half of the chapter includes descriptions of five markers or characteristics of narrative scholarship and the tensions within those markers given the three narrative pathways and the diverse uses of narrative by scholars in the social sciences. Comments on assessing narrative scholarship conclude the chapter.