“What to Tell, How Much to Tell, How to Tell It?”: Behind the Scenes of Biographical Narrative Construction—An Inquiry into Life Storytelling in Teacher Education

Abstract

While most research on biographical narratives has concentrated on the analysis of the final textual product as a means of understanding the narrative, the present study explores the underlying processes of narrative construction and presentation within peer groups in a teacher education college, drawing on the narrators’ own reflections and accounts. Employing on a qualitative grounded theory design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 current and former special education college students. Participants reflected on the deliberative and interpretive processes, shaping both disclosure decisions and modes of self-presentation. Findings indicate that peer groups constitute a significant force in narrative co-construction. Boundaries of disclosure and degrees of vulnerability were continuously negotiated, through engagement with others’ narratives. Participants employed various narrative strategies, including redemption and normalization frameworks, in order to sustain a coherent and resilient professional self-concept. A key theoretical contribution of the study is the conceptualization of emotional regulation, as an integral component of narrative construction. Participants actively modulated the emotional intensity of their storytelling. Overall, the study suggests that Biographical Narrative practices function as a collaborative and meaning-making process that supports reflective capacity, peer-based scaffolding and resilience, thereby contributing to teacher well-being and professional identity development, in preservice education contexts.