Weaving a whole cloth: Metaphor as a response to representational challenges in critical narrative research

Research with young people who ‘do not fit the mould’ requires innovative and unconventional methods. This paper reports on the development of such a method with students diagnosed Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (Prosser, 2006). In doing so, it offers one researcher’s view of aspects of the ‘borderland spaces and tensions’ (Clandinin & Rosiek, 2007) between critical theory and narrative inquiry. In particular, the paper details representational issues that emerge when combining narrative and critical approaches within a PhD dissertation. This paper’s rendition of narrative methodology and explanation of the use of a tapestry metaphor to weave together the work will be supported by a conference presentation that powerfully demonstrates the use of poetry to unravel its discoveries. Together, this paper and the subsequent presentation demonstrate the potential of narrative for sociological, educational and socially just research with marginalised youth.

Keywords: arts-based educational research, narrative inquiry, poetry, Attention Deficit Disorder