Researching adult transformation as autobiography

From secondary school blues to lifelong learning? - aspects of the retrospective re-evaluation of formative educational experience by adults

“…The ® rst is a positive fascination for this area of enquiry which, among teachers and lecturers, may in some cases lead to a fundamental reconsideration of their approach to the educational task. This reaction is mirrored in the literature on biographical method by, inter alia, Pinar (1981), Casey (1990), Grumet (1990), Norquay (1990), Nelson (1994) and Schulz (1996).…”

“…Further, through one' s self-understanding one comprehends ± from a participant' s rather than observer' s point of view ± the functions of ideas ± and texts ± in one' s intellectual life, and the function of one' s intellect in one' s life. (Pinar 1981 :186) Similarly Nelson (1994), describing his own experience of undertaking a systematic exercise in retrospective re-evaluation, had said: I had claimed a larger measure of authority for my own life ¼ I was aware ¼ that experiences of transformative adult learning like mine were found in other lives also ¼ others had made choices which required a reconstruction of their personal and social identity ¼ He then went on to link this to his current research work : However, I am interested principally in investigating ways in which people might informally and autonomousl y create meaning for themselves from their life experience, thereby becoming the authors of both their own life and its account.…”

Narrative and Chaos Acknowledging the Novelty of Lives-in-Time

“…It can vary too in terms of the types of texts through which it gets expressed (e.g., words, gestures, or actions), and the levels of meaning we can glean from reading them (Randall & Kenyon, 2002). I see reading as a pivotal capacity within our narrative intelligence, which as just noted, different individuals will develop to different degrees, and along with it, their capacity for autobiographical learning (Nelson, 1994) or "literary self-literacy" (Randall, 1999, p. 22). In short, there is no limit to what we can read into or out of our own texistence, and thus no limit to the meaningfulness of our lives; once again, all the more so as we age.…”

Visualising the Doctoral Research Process: An Exploration into Empirical Research Processes of Emerging Researchers

“…Employing a co-constructed, systemic, iterative approach served as a way to explore the topic while minimising the risk of incorporating unidentified bias through our assumptions. It was our hope that weaving together aspirations, conceptions and practices would have a transformative effect on both the student and the researcher (Nelson, 1994) through the awareness of different doctoral research processes and practices that exist.…”