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New Article Explores Ethical Decision-Making in Educational Narrative Inquiry
How do researchers ethically engage with other people’s life stories? How do researchers’ emotional experiences shape the development of research in education? A new article by André Freitas offers a unique behind-the-scenes perspective on the ethical and emotional complexities involved in narrative inquiry in education.
Published by the International Journal of Research & Method in Education (Taylor & Francis), the article, titled “Decision-making in narrative inquiry in education: ethical gathering, transcription, validation and analysis of lived experiences”, explores how the researcher navigated methodological decisions and personal vulnerability when working with lived experiences, particularly in school settings.
The article draws on Freitas’s doctoral research (University of Porto), carried out in Portugal and Brazil, where he examined how teachers’ and pupils’ art experiences reveal new insights into cultural production, professional development, and educational trajectories and meanings. His autobiographical stories - centred on desire, passion, love, and freedom - anchor ethical reflections across four key stages of qualitative research: gathering, transcription, validation, and analysis.
“I wanted to show that narrative research is not only about collecting data - it is about establishing relationships built on responsibility and care with ourselves, with others, and with institutions”, explains Freitas. “Ethical decisions often emerge in moments of silence, emotional connection, or even exhaustion.”
The study presents a compelling case for embracing emotional honesty and reflexivity in research, especially for early-career scholars working in educational contexts. Freitas highlights how strategies such as drawing, digital storytelling, and music were intentionally used to honour the complexity of human experience and uphold ethical integrity.
Key highlights from the article include:
- The use of arts-based narrative methods to explore the lived experiences of teachers and pupils.
- A focus on reflexivity and emotion as essential components of ethical research practice.
- Ethical analysis of how desire shapes data gathering, how passion informs transcription, how love underpins validation, and how freedom guides analysis.
- Advocacy for a creative, flexible, and relational approach to ethics in educational research.
The findings are especially relevant for researchers, educators, and postgraduate students involved in qualitative studies, as well as institutions seeking to strengthen ethical frameworks in educational research.
To cite this work:
Freitas, A. (2025). Decision-making in narrative inquiry in education: ethical gathering, transcription, validation and analysis of lived experiences. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743727X.2025.2543261
To request full access to the article, please contact the author:
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Researcher defends PhD thesis on online educational communities and proposes new pathways for education in the digital age
Walline Alves Guimarães, a doctoral researcher at CeiED, defended her PhD thesis in Education, with a focus on Communication and Education,
PhD Thesis Defense in Education – Walline Alves Guimarães
On July 22, 2025, at 2:30 p.m., the public defense of Walline Alves Guimarães’ PhD thesis in Education took place at the José Araújo Auditorium, Lusófona University. Walline is a researcher in training at CeiED.
Her thesis, titled "Education and Communication in the Digital Age: Strategies and Challenges for Building Online Educational Communities", explores how educational communities are built in digital environments, and proposes innovative approaches for fostering engagement, connection, and knowledge-sharing on social media platforms.
The examination committee was composed of:
- Chair: Rosa Maria da Silva Serradas Duarte – Lusófona University
- Member: João José de Carvalho Correia de Freitas – NOVA University Lisbon (FCT)
- Member: José Reis Lagarto – Portuguese Catholic University
- Member: Carlos Manuel Pimenta – Lusófona University
- Member: Rui Carlos de Lemos Correia Estrela – Lusófona University
- Member: Lucimar Almeida Dantas – Lusófona University
- Supervisor: Vítor Manuel Neves Duarte Teodoro – Lusófona University
The thesis was approved with distinction and honors, a result that brings pride to CeiED and to the entire academic community at Lusófona University.
CeiED Scientific Council Meeting Discusses Strategic Future of the Centre
On July 9, 2025, another meeting of the Scientific Council of CeiED took place,
New Executive Committee of CeiED
At the meeting of the CeiED Scientific Council held on 9 July 2025, the new composition of the Executive Committee was approved, in accordance with Article 10, paragraph 1 of the CeiED Statutes.
International Summer School brought together participants from multiple nationalities to explore learning and research in intercultural contexts
From July 14 to 18, 2025, Universidade Lusófona hosted the in-person component of the Summer School “Learning and Becoming a Researcher in Intercultural Contexts”, part of the Erasmus+ BIP programme (ID: 2023-1-PT01-KA131-HED-000116521-1). The initiative gathered master's and doctoral students, as well as researchers from several European institutions, for an intensive week of learning, sharing, and reflection on the journey of becoming a researcher in culturally diverse contexts.
This innovative course aimed to provide a concrete and immersive experience, based on a culturalist approach to learning, in which culture is seen as a fundamental framework for thought and knowledge construction (Bruner, 1990; Illeris, 2008). For five days, Lisbon became the privileged setting for this intercultural experience, where academic knowledge was interwoven with collaborative practices and cultural activities.
The programme included practical workshops, thematic panels, and moments of discussion, with special highlights such as participation in the 6th WCCES Symposium 2025, and the international panel on learning in intercultural contexts, which featured contributions from students and researchers from Portugal, Spain, Estonia, and Austria. The cultural visit to Sintra and Cascais, along with social moments, helped strengthen the bonds among participants.
Topics addressed included arts-based research, multimodal literacy in multicultural contexts, and visual methodologies such as Photovoice and Linguistic Landscape. The course culminated in a fishbowl session focused on the challenges of equity, diversity, and inclusion in research.
This BIP is the result of a partnership between Universidade Lusófona (Portugal), Tallinn University (Estonia), and University of Seville (Spain), and aims to contribute to the development of intercultural competence as an essential dimension in the training of future researchers and educators.
The online component of the course took place between June 2 and 16, 2025, preparing participants for the in-person sessions. The main challenge proposed to students was the development of a critical essay on the challenges and opportunities of conducting research in intercultural contexts, promoting theoretical reflection combined with collaborative practice.
The scientific coordination was led by Lucimar Dantas, with the support of Carla Galego and João Filipe Matos, and included the collaboration of CeiED researchers Sónia Cardoso, Cristina Sin, and early-stage researchers Susana Oliveira, Felisberto Costa, among others.
The Summer School was a space of encounter, dialogue, and learning, reinforcing the importance of interculturality in the production of knowledge and in the strengthening of more inclusive and diversity-sensitive academic communities.
