Chapter 6: Realities and Dilemmas

As I identified issues in the Honduran educational system, I tried to find alternatives that would guide me to its improvement. This search led me to the literature on a revolution taking place in education, the grassroots community schools movement, and information on how these schools have demonstrated success in educating students in developing countries, often under conditions similar to those in Honduras. I provided a brief history of the grassroots community school movement; in doing so, I presented grassroots community school examples under four specific principles I derived from an extensive review and analysis of the literature: perpetuate community values, meet community needs, involve the community in the planning of programs and foster community development. I discussed narrative inquiry as the framework for my book and found that narrative inquiry enabled me to not only focus on the participants’ stories and experiences and to make meaning of their stories and experiences but also to understand the participants themselves through their stories and experiences (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000; Phillion & He, 2008). I also endeavored to develop a critical approach that would help me learn more about my participants’ experiences at Esperanza School, and I decided to use multicultural, cross-cultural narrative inquiry as “a means of understanding experience across linguistic, cultural, educational, and social boundaries” (He, 2003, p. 18). By being aware of the commitment of Esperanza School to equity and social justice, I was able to link my participants’ stories to their sense of obligation to educational change (Phillion & He, 2008).