行動／敘說探究與相遇的知識

Narrative/Action Research and the I-Thou Knowledge

本文的目的，是整理並分享過去二十年來，個人投入行動與敘說探究所累積的理論與實踐知識。我試圖指出，主客對立的知識與相遇的知識之間，有根本的差異，兩者應該並存。然後我介紹了相遇的知識的生成方法，行動敘說的研究目的就是研究者自身以及相關的參與者；研究流程需要撐開一個以人為本位的探究空間。\r行動敘說裡的看與聽更在乎閱聽者聽的姿態與看的眼神，而且要進行多層次的聽與多面向的看。最後我指出，在分析資料時，我心中關切的圖像，不是如何建構知識的城堡，而是如何理解與回應文本背後那人的一張臉。敘說探究者是以截然不同的方式與存在狀態面對著眼前的文本資料。因為他打從所要追尋的知識典範與研究目的就已經作了不一樣的抉擇。這樣的抉擇自然反映在他對待資料的方式上，最後也將貫徹於他的書寫以及他如何看待書寫的行動之中。

In the paper I intend to share my practical knowledge acquired from my experience in doing action/narrative inquiry during the past twenty years. In the paper I employed the term action research combined with the term narrative inquiry， as the researcher was the same person whose status varied depending upon his/her position at different stages of the inquiry process. The researcher is conducting action research if s/he is aiming at the present toward the future. On the other hand， the inquirer is doing narrative inquiry if s/he focuses upon the past in relation to the present.I argued that there were substantial differences between subject-object knowledge and I-Thou knowledge. Then I discussed systematically the process of inquiry under the I-Thou knowledge paradigm from the end of research， the researcher’s inner attitude towards seeing and hearing， to the state of being while analyzing data. I cited extensively Levinas’s concept of face-to-face relationship as a basis for building the knowledge theory for action/narrative inquiry. I contended that love had to be the essential element in human research and should not have been ignored by the research community.I claimed that action/narrative inquiry was based on a different knowledge foundation from that specific scientific approaches were based upon. This fact is reflected systematically in every aspect of the research process. It is important to clarify that the characteristics and the significances of such a distinction between the I-It knowledge theory and the I-Thou knowledge theory that the action/narrative researcher is grounded upon should be considered as a legitimate knowledge basis.