The school that inhabits adult life: Reflections on an alternative qualitative methodology

Abstract

This article critically analyses the methodology of a qualitative study that investigated the impact of school experience on the adult lives of individuals from working-class backgrounds, with an emphasis on the development of individual dispositions. Methodological triangulation was used with three complementary approaches: sociological portraits; a visual technique, with personal photographs as memory triggers; and a projective technique, constructed from a mathematics worksheet. The article contributes to the debate on the use of alternative approaches in qualitative research, proposing a new categorisation of projective technique that mobilises subjectivity through emotional, bodily, sensory, affective and symbolic dimensions.