This narrative inquiry explores the lifelong learning experiences of Black women participating in a book club's related activities. Specifically, this study will focus on how book club participation sheds light on literature's role(s) in their lives. The underrepresentation of Black women and the omission of non-formal learning sites in adult education literature guide the focus of this research study. Using lifelong learning, the situative approach, and intersectionality for this study's conceptual framework, the (re)presented narratives provide insight into the learning trajectories of Black women across diverse settings and within personalized contexts embedded in broader social and cultural contexts. Semi-structured interviews and the researcher’s participation in the book club serve as the primary sources for data collection. For data analysis, I operationalized Polkinghorne’s (1995) distinction between ‘analysis of narratives’ and ‘narrative analysis’. The ‘analysis of narratives’ encompasses the iterative coding process, whereas the ‘narrative analysis’ involves re-storying the themes developed to represent the book club member’s learning experiences from both life-long and life-wide perspectives. To present the research findings, the screenplay format is used as a creative form of narrative representation. This research contributes to the understanding of lifelong learning in marginalized communities, fosters connections between adult education and educational psychology, and enriches educational psychology with qualitative approaches.

Authors:
Diana Quito, University of Alabama, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Diana Quito is currently a doctoral candidate in Educational Psychology at The University of Alabama, United States.

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