Narrative Theory Versus Truth: A Poststructuralist Reading in Environmental Education

Abstract

Narrative theory has attracted a great deal of attention in education research over the last 20 years; however, the attention has not all been positive. Some leading education theorists have appealed to the notion of truth to declaim narrative theory. However, such theorists have invoked intuitive notions of truth. This paper discusses narrative theory in relation to correspondence, coherence, pragmatic and poststructuralist theories of truth. The discussion demonstrates that any attempts to repudiate poststructuralist narrative knowledges on the basis that they fail to uphold classical theories of truth miss the mark.