Using Narrative Inquiry for Educational Research in the Asia Pacific

Narrative inquiry is being used more widely in the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Northern European countries to conduct research across a range of disciplines. It is gaining popularity in Hong Kong, Macao and Mainland China, but research in these contexts continues to be dominated by quantitative and more traditional qualitative approaches. Narrative inquirers in these areas can, therefore, find it problematic to have the value of their work acknowledged. This book demonstrates creatively, accessibly and rigorously the ways in which narrative inquiry as a methodological approach, already more firmly established in Australia and New Zealand, is gaining a foothold in other parts of the Asia Pacific region. Contributors to the book write about their use of narrative inquiry in, for example, the Confucian heritage cultures (CHC) of Hong Kong, Mainland China, Singapore, Macao and the Anglo-Celtic cultures of Australia and New Zealand.

Chapters in the book include:

• Creative Non-Fiction Across Cultures in Asia Pacific Contexts
• Riding the Wave of Education Reform: Using a Reflecting Team to Explore the Professional Identities of School Counsellors in Hong Kong
• Is the Silent Mode On? Re-searching Teachers' Voices in Macao through Narrative Research
• Narrative Inquiry and the Exploration of Culture for Improving Teacher Education

This book will appeal to researchers across all sectors of education, in particular those who are exploring, the use of qualitative research methods in their context. Those interested in comparative education and cross-cultural studies will also find this book valuable.

Sheila Margaret Trahar is a Reader in International Higher Education at the University of Bristol Graduate School of Education, UK.

Wai Ming Yu is Assistant Professor and Associate Head at the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Hong Kong Institute of Education.