Narrative Inquiry: Scherer’s new book chronicles her journey as a researcher

Publication Title

Narrative Inquiry: Touchstones for Understanding Experience

Co-Authors

Stephanie Scherer

Publisher

Kendall Hunt Publishing Company

Publication Date

2026

About the Book

Written for emerging researchers, the author invites readers to journey with her from her early days as a doctoral student to the present. Grounded in nine years of classroom-based with rural teachers, paraeducators, and administrators, Scherer’s work is deeply personal, relational, and community focused. Each chapter offers glimpses into narrative thinking and illuminates the touchstones that have shaped her journey with narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly, 1988, 2000). Think of this book as pulling back the curtain on narrative inquiry, offering a behind-the scenes look at decision-making, pondering with uncertainty, confronting tensions, and blissful moments of wonder. This book is not a “how to” manual, but is, rather, to intentionally explore the why: how she came to think narratively and to create using narrative forms. At its heart, this book is about a research puzzle: what is it about narrative inquiry that drew me in and continues to sustain me as a researcher?

About the Author

Stephanie Scherer is a clinical associate professor of curriculum studies in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and Director of the Center for Rural Research, Education, and Outreach at Purdue University. As a qualitative researcher specializing in narrative inquiry, her work concentrates on rural education, specifically preparing undergraduate students to teach in rural schools and supporting rural teachers in enhancing instructional quality and student learning. For ten years, she taught Social Studies and English Language Arts to students in grades 6-12 in both rural and urban environments across Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Idaho. She resides on a farm in rural Indiana with her husband.