2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

IIn this full theory/methods paper, we introduce a narrative research approach designed to elicit and interpret meaning from graduate students lived experiences in STEM education. Jerome Bruner theorized a uniquely human mode of understanding, wherein knowing comes from retrospectively joining events and actions into stories. According to Self Determination Theory (SDT), long-term success in any field depends on the development of disciplinary and/or role-based identities (autonomy), feelings of belonging (relatedness), and beliefs about one’s competence in relevant knowledge and tasks. In our NSF-funded collaborative project, we are implementing a co-curricular storytelling intervention designed to enhance graduate student self-beliefs and perceptions of STEM fit and, ultimately, improve graduate student retention in STEM. Analyses of non-narrative Year 1 and 2 project data (i.e., participant survey responses and semi-structured interview transcripts) establish that core activities of our storytelling intervention—writing, sharing, and refining personal stories—enable graduate student participants to reflect on and derive transformative meaning from their experiences in STEM.
In this paper, we introduce the analytic process developed to interpret narrative project data (i.e., written stories) generated by participants. We posited that our ability to interpret within the holistic complexity and richness of these stories requires a theoretically informed approach able to identify and examine the interplay of narrative structure and meaning beyond identifying plots and ordering events. Thus, we frame our approach using Critical Incident Techniques (CIT), identifying key events by tracing the emotional arc of each narrative. This approach enables identification of common structural patterns, while maintaining the narrative meaning participants derive from their journeys that we interpret considering SDT constructs.
We share our collaborative process, detailing each step using an example from project data. We present three preliminary insights from our nine participants stories. First, the deeply layered stories reveal the interwoven nature of SDT constructs of identity, belonging, and competence. Second, active meaning-making illustrated how participants constructed and interpreted the importance of their own resilience in relation to turning-point moments. Third, use of CIT and emotional arcs supports a systematic process to sort and synthesize narrative themes while retaining the richness and uniqueness of each story.
We recognize limitations of our approach, namely a potential for social desirability bias to affect story construction. While most stories analyzed end as redemptive stories (i.e., positive arc), they also describe emotional ups and downs wherein participants show themselves as vulnerable and flawed and make their storied journeys realistic, relatable, and compelling. Because we encourage participants to share “scars not wounds”, narratives tend to reflect growth and transformation, moving beyond the simplest redemptive narrative structures. Despite limitations, our approach enriches narrative qualitative inquiry in STEM, providing a framework for identifying turning points and positive responses to support graduate student STEM journeys. Additionally, our approach enhances organization development (OD) efforts and planned change processes by communicating critical-event driven change at the individual (storytellers’) level to inform systematic institutional-level STEM interventions.