Applying

We end this book with considerations that are so often at the start of books. By now, you will have at least some idea as to how and why the stories in Part 1 were written. In this final chapter, we present a number of applications of the stories to our chosen fields and audiences of enquiry. Each of us will demonstrate how our narratives contribute to thinking in terms of theory, practice and policy. We know that researching life stories is not writing stories for writing’s sake – though perhaps we should be celebrating this in itself. To the reader who is left asking, ‘Okay, but what does all this life story stuff tell us about the world?’ we hope that this chapter at least partly answers your question. Our research preoccupations involve sociology, disability studies, feminist psychology, inclusive education, educational policy analysis. We feel that our stories have many things to say that are of use to these disciplines, their related practitioners and policy makers and – crucially – those people who have allowed their stories to be told.