The Power of Narrative: Students
Daring to Dream in Lao PDR
Kara Burnett, Ed.D.
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, California
USA
Research Issue:
Young adults in Laos, as they complete school and attempt to enter the
workforce, experience the traditional challenges of this transition accompanied
by challenges by living in an economically developing nation. This research
identifies the places selected Lao students inhabit as they explore who they
are, and who they may be becoming, i.e. their identity. Identity development (Ricoeur
1992) is formed through narrative. Telling one’s story bridges life’s stages,
whether they refer to age, or cultural and economic changes. This research seeks
to interpret selected Lao students’ stories of their past, their present, and
how they envision and plan their future. The purpose of this research is to
ferret out policy recommendations that may serve to strengthen and broaden the
Lao education system.
Research Process:
This research is grounded in critical hermeneutic participatory theory (Herda
1999) supported by concepts of understanding and narrative identity (Ricoeur
1992). Three categories used for data collection and analysis are Mimesis1,
figuration: reflection and remembering the past, Mimesis2, configuration:
narrative emplotment, and Mimesis3, refiguration: imagining the future. Data
were collected through both formal and informal conversations with selected
participants at Lao American College in Vientiane, Laos. Transcriptions of the
conversations provided the text for analysis. This process offered the
researcher opportunities to work collaboratively with Lao students to explore
the present and reflect on the past and future.
Research Implications:
Lao students are aware that the Lao way of life is slow to change in light of
the development process. They know their country compares unfavorably, in terms
of socioeconomic development, to some of their neighbors. They see an education
system in need of change. Students can and should be given the opportunity to
explore education development in conversations with others who shape policy. If
education in Laos would become a primary priority, socioeconomic development
would greatly benefit and, moreover, would be strengthened by the possibility
that the dreams of students could become a reality.