Realist triadic interviews: enhancing narrative co-construction in educational research

This article introduces a novel methodological approach termed ‘realist triadic interviews’ which was used to explore pupils' experiences during COVID-19. Unlike traditional methods that treat multiple accounts separately, this approach incorporates pupils, parents, and teachers in a single interview, facilitating real-time co-construction of narratives. This article examines how power dynamics and pre-existing relationships within these triads influence the generation of shared accounts, while still prioritizing the pupils’ experiences. This approach enabled pupil-led accounts to be supported, elaborated and sometimes gently challenged by parents and teachers. The research demonstrates that this method supports a rich, nuanced understanding of student experiences, by adopting a middle-ground perspective between essentialist and social constructionist approaches. The findings highlight how participants collaboratively navigate consensus and disagreement, co-elaborating on memories and meanings. While acknowledging limitations, the article argues that realist triadic interviews offer an embedded form of triangulation, enhancing the credibility and depth of qualitative research, offering an alternative to post-hoc triangulation. Ultimately, the method has potential to provide valuable insights, broadening the qualitative research toolkit.