Hsiang-Chun Lin
Center of Life Study, Fo Guang University
The present essay is a methodological reflection on self-narrative inquiry through the view of Praxis, following three dialectical circulations within the time line of the author’s self-narrative inquiry. The first circulation starts with a reflexive inquiry using selfnarrative during the writing of the author’s doctoral dissertation, resulting in an impact on self-reframing and realization toward multiple truth and knowledge social construction. The second circulation is participation in educational reform action experiences in a high school, during which the author identified the differences between praxis and hermeneutic phenomenology, as well as the differences between critical-ethnographical self-narrative and reflexive selfnarrative inquiry in praxis orientation. The third circulation details, through collaborations with the action research community and participation in the praxis of collective narrative society learning, deeper understanding of the four kinds of social praxis that construct the important social value of self-narrative: self-conscientization, autonomous action, organization learning and cooperative community participation, all of which aid personal development. In closing, this essay discusses the four types of self-narrative research in Taiwan over the past decade and compares them to the five paradigm categories proposed by Lincoln and Guba to further justify the choice of placing this self-narrative research within a practical, participatory paradigm.
Keywords: self-narrative inquiry, praxis orientation, reflective narrative, reflexive inquiry, participatory paradigm