The relation with the Other in an educational research with young people

Abstract

The article discusses the dominant narratives about school failure based on two empirical studies. Our position drew from Charlot’s (2000) notion of savoir in order to use it as an alternative for rethinking the discourse surrounding school “failure”. This inquiry led us to undertake a study based on the life stories of young people who did not complete the requirements of secondary school. In the second project, we explored the relationship young people have with savior, producing (collaboratively with the youth participants) biographical narratives of young people who either did or did not succeed in meeting the expectations of their secondary school. In light of these results, this paper discusses what this research experience has meant for the investigators who were involved. We consider what it has meant to position ourselves in relation to the Other in an investigation where we looked at how young people position themselves inrelation to savior, the world, and to others.

Key words: narrative inquiry, researching with youth, youth research, school failure andsuccess, savior.