Reflections on Narratives of Others’ Lives in Critical Educational Research

Critical stance in educational research stands for a pluralistic, dialogic, collaborative action in order to deconstruct the social imaginary on the Other and to bring new possibilities into being through research endeavour and daily practice (Kincheloe et al., Critical pedagogy and qualitative research: Moving to the bricolage. In N. K. En Denzin, & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds), The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research (pp. 163–179). Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2011). In particular, in this chapter I explore the potentials and limitations of narrative-based and biographical research in critical educational research underlying the value of both the research process and the narrative as resistance to power structures (Denzin and Lincoln, The Sage handbook of qualitative research (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2011). Based on a biographical study of a young Spanish girl of Chinese origin and her family in Spain to reflect on this form of inquiry and its potential for understanding migrant children’s (“second generation”) lived experiences from their own point of view. Dilemmas and concerns associated with social relations of this type of research production (in terms of power, “voice” and agency) are also addressed.