Abstract
M.Ed.
South African psychologists have been called upon to question the appropriateness of the
theories and methodologies employed to frame their experiences and inquiries. This
study offers an alternate theoretical orientation to traditional Western modernist thought
with regard to the development of human identity. A narrative understanding of self is
presented as such an alternative. The research aim and its consequent methodology
evolved from the understanding that knowledge is socially constructed and that there are
many valid ways of thinking about and working with persons. To present a narrative
interpretation of a female adolescent's self, based on her life story as it emerged within
the context of narrative therapy, is the research purpose. That self can be viewed as
narrative, comprises the central thesis of this work. This study supports the contention
that narrative is fundamental in the presentation, preservation and transformation of
personal identity