Study of educational trajectories through biograms and semantic exploration, an approach to narrative studies

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to describe an approach to the study of the educational trajectories of students at risk of exclusion and to discuss the suitability of this methodological procedure for a narrative approach. In this research, the theory of the life course by reconstructing life stories has been used to observe how the different experiences in the educational trajectory of these students develop and how these affect their involvement with their studies and school. Through this paper, the research process will be exposed, from the epistemological foundation of research to the method employed for the analysis and discussion of results. A way to delve into an insufficiently explored form of research will be proposed. The application of Barton and Lazarsfeld’s qualitative analysis procedures is novel in the paper; not only for the depth achieved in the analysis of the trajectories of the subjects, but also for the possibility of its integral application in the data analysis software ATLAS.ti. The main conclusions reached in this text are: (1) the full validity of the analysis procedures established by Barton and Lazarsfeld; (2) the progress that supposes its application with the support of the software ATLAS.ti; (3) Semantic exploration through the tools available facilitates the deepening of the development of biographical-narrative research.