Listening to girls' voices: Narratives of experienc

The research literature points to a gap in our knowledge of the development of adolescent girls. This narrative inquiry describes the lived and told experiences of four girls' lives inside and outside of school. This study also tells my story as researcher, woman, learner and mother. Data for the study included conversations and photographs. The inquiry is represented and given meaning through narrative accounts constructed from the conversations with the girls and through their photography. Four narrative accounts are presented. School and society form the context of the girls' development of a sense of self. This is explored in themes of (1) relationships built within an ethic of care; (2) relationships with families; (3) invisible work; (4) girls' friendships; and (5) the beauty myth. This narrative inquiry suggests new ways to understand girls' development, what it means to be educated as a girl and possibilities for developing more appropriate school curriculum for girls.