Narrative Mediation Path - An Innovative Tool for Developing the Reflective Function of Non-Traditional Students

Within the European funded project Innovative Solutions to Acquire Learning to Learn a qualitative methodology - Narrative Mediation Path (NMP) consisting in a group training process targeted to nontraditional students was developed. Based on the psychological concept of mentalization, this type of intervention combines into one methodology, four discursive modules (metaphoric, iconographic, written and bodily) in order to increase the understanding of the meaning of the university experience and foster the different levels of the reflective process. The use of a “multidimensional” narrative promotes a progressive cognitive and emotional involvement of the student; a gradual evolution from a reconstructive function of the formative experience to a planning function that allows students to act in an effective way in academic settings. The current study aimed at gathering first-hand information related to the lived experience of students involved in this formative experience using the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The emerging themes refer to the relational context of the training (common/shared experiences with other colleagues), the change as such (awareness about changes) and the impact of the NMP both in terms of academic and personal life (post training/secondary effects). The results suggest that the use of different discursive modules supports the students in developing their reflexive competence during a formative experience that enables them to better adjust to the university context.