Unveiling the stories that illuminate our path: The pedagogical significance of autobiographical study and the method of currere

Abstract

In today’s educational landscape, instrumentalist ideologies embedded in politically entrenched school curricula often overshadow the richness of diverse human experiences, perpetuating colonial shadows within educational experiences. In this paper, through the sharing of our juxtaposed autobiographical stories, we intend to exhibit the pedagogical significance of autobiographical inquiry and the method of currere as empowering individuals to transcend the limitations of an arrested self – a persona moulded by a factory-like schooling system that merely serves instrumental ends. We seek to address the question: How might the process of autobiographical study and the method of currere impact pedagogical praxis attuning it to individual lived experiences? By examining the specificities of each event in an individual's life and reflecting on the interplay between personal experiences and education, teachers and students can better comprehend their world through the lens of their lived experiences. Therefore, this paper underscores the pedagogical importance of autobiographical study and the method of currere encouraging educators to attune with an educational praxis anchored in personal experiences. Furthermore, it introduces the transformative potential of these methods to reimagine the different possibilities of praxis in education.