Seeing red: poetry and metaphor as responses to representational challenges in critical narrative research

Abstract

Research with young people who 'do not fit the mould' requires innovative and unconventional methods, but what are the implications of such methods for scholarly representation? This paper reports on the development of such a method with students diagnosed Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and offers one view of the borderland spaces and tensions between critical theory and narrative inquiry. In particular, the paper defines the methodology that underpins the 'critical cover narratives' method, describes the application of this approach within a doctoral study, and identifies resultant issues of representation when combining narrative and critical approaches. The paper then details the use of a tapestry metaphor to reconcile these issues. The central premise of the paper is that differing methods produce different knowledge, which demands different forms of representation. In making this case, the paper discusses the importance of a balance between the epistemological and aesthetic within scholarly representations of narrative inquiry.

Non-Pharmacological Interventions for ADHD in School Settings: An Overarching Synthesis of Systematic Reviews

“…Stigma toward pupils who display symptoms of ADHD may be common in schools and findings suggest this is likely to influence how well interventions work (Cooper & Shea, 1998; Hjörne, 2006; Ljusberg, 2011b; Prosser, 2006). Stigma acts as a protective device for existing social practice (Thornicroft, 2006), and therefore may be a barrier to change in addition to marginalizing the pupil, and possibly the pupils’ family (Carpenter & Austin, 2008).…”

“…The purchase of interventions, training for teachers about ADHD, and time available for teachers to implement classroom interventions and/or collaborate with colleagues and parents may receive lower priority than academic considerations for the majority of pupils (Hong, 2008). Finally, studies suggested that pupils and parents often held the least amount of power in the school setting, as their treatment preferences were rarely acted on (Hibbitts, 2010; Malacrida, 2001; Prosser, 2006; Watson, 2011).…”

“…Younger children, however, were considered to benefit from social skills training (Hjörne, 2006; Ljusberg, 2011a; Ozdemir, 2006). However, the Qualitative Experience Review suggested that social demands increased in secondary school (Prosser, 2006), suggesting a continuing but changing need for social skills training. There was insufficient variance in grade level (as a proxy for age) to assess this potential moderator in the Effectiveness Review .…”

“…These findings suggest that the development and delivery of interventions need to be highly age-sensitive. The Qualitative Experience Review also suggests that differences in the structure of primary and secondary schooling could be predicted to influence the school experience of ADHD (Prosser, 2006). For example, greater academic and social demands in secondary schools with less pastoral support and more diffuse relationships with multiple teachers were cited as grounds for additional difficulties (Koro-Ljungberg et al, 2011; Prosser, 2006).…”

Narratives From YouTube

“…Narrative analysis has been suggested as one means that writers might better engage, interest and really move readers, for example, through the use of stories (Dowling, 2012;Prosser, 2009;Richardson & Adams St Pierre, 2005). Some time ago, Sparkes (2002) mapped out a variety of different ways in which research in PE and sport might be differently constructed and written to offer a challenge to the hegemony of the so-called "gold standard" of the realist, or scientific, tale.…”