Narrating biopedagogy: a small story analysis of identities and parenting practices for healthy living.

Objective: The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to analyse the identities of a mother and her biopedagogical practices regarding physical activity as well as healthy eating. Method: The participant of the study was a mother of two children who immigrated to Aotearoa/New Zealand from Indonesia. We collected the small story through open-ended interviews, fieldnotes, and online chats. We approached the narrative data with positioning analysis to examine the participant's identities in the story. More specifically, three positioning levels recommended by Bamberg and Georgakopoulou (2008) framed our analytical work. Results: Results showed three positioning levels as well as thematic aspects surrounding the narrator's positioning. Positioning level 1 described the narrator's identities as she located herself in relation to the social networks within the told story including her children, husband, and relatives. This positioning level also culminated in a description of her familial context. On level 2, the analysis focused on her positioning and identity construction as she interacted with the researchers. The theme generated from this particular positioning level included the informal pedagogical practices for healthy living which included microtechniques of surveillance, normalisation, and regulation. The last positioning level was the narrator's positioning to establish herself regarding the master narrative, especially dominant obesity discourse. Conclusion: In short, the analysis of small stories has helped the construction of identities within the shared story as well as the thematic description surrounding each positioning level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]