Fostering reflexivity in Higher Education: transformative functions of narration

This work aims at contributing to the debate on the human psychic reflexive process as well as on the role that narrative devices can play to foster it. We present a reflexive process model and draw a distinction between reflection and reflexivity. Specifically, we discuss the role of narrative modes and media in promoting reflection, and the role of a narrative group in promoting reflexivity. We assume that whereas human reflexivity is always characterized by a relational dimension, in order to reflect, a relationship is always necessary. Finally, we present a novel formative method based on a qualitative multimodal approach including a narrative group and various narrative modes and media. This narrative method, that we named Narrative Mediation Path (NMP), has been devised and tested in INSTALL1 Project and it addresses to underachieving university students lagging behind in their studies.