That processes of interpretation are unavoidable in any educational experience has not received serious attention in teaching and teacher education. One of the authors devised an exercise for her graduate class to help them understand practical aspects of hermeneutic theory in connection with rationality, truth and the nature of teaching and…

Using Habermas' Theory of Communicative Action and concept of communicative rationality, the paper proposes that narrative inquiry can be a rational enterprise, presenting narrative inquiry as a narrative discourse which has the dual function of being a method of inquiry and a means of personal and professional development in teacher education.…

Describes the development of narrative inquiry, highlighting one institutional setting, and discussing how narrative inquiry moved from being a research tool to a vehicle for curriculum within both graduate and preservice teacher development. After discussing theoretical resources for narrative inquiry, the paper examines criteria and terms…