The Importance of Narrative Inquiry in Education

This article presents an analysis of the importance of narrative inquiry for investigating the everyday actions of teachers. From a narrative bibliographic review, based on relevant texts on the subject, we describe the relevance of this type of inquiry and its contribution to the articulation of theory and practice and the social and the individual for the education. We also highlight the main characteristics of this approach, distinguishing between two forms of cognition (narrative and paradigmatic). Through the description of these forms we point out the positive and negative points of each one of them, showing that the two types of research are not dichotomous, they can be complementary and have much to contribute to educational research. Finally, to answer the doubts that mark any research effort, it is essential to consider all questions, including theoretical and practical one, as well as take greater care in the search for the narrative bases of research in education. We propose that the task of narrative analysis is to shed light on dilemmas of practice, which generate thoughts. Thus there is no better place for it to "spread" than in education, because, by taking a closer look at their past, teachers have the opportunity to retrace their path, reanalyzing your current practices. This approach shows great potential for bringing new meanings to past experiences and reformulating future practices. Narrative inquiry in education faces a number of challenges, including the need to broaden units of analysis so that researchers can stay close to the experience, those who live it, practical language, and teachers' lives.