This paper examines autoethnography as a research methodology, pedagogical practice, and tool for professional reflection within adult education and human resource development. Autoethnography allows practitioners to critically examine work and life experiences by integrating autobiographical narrative with ethnographic inquiry, situating personal experience within broader cultural, historical, and institutional contexts. Drawing on scholarship from both fields, the paper traces the emergence of autoethnography alongside shifts in qualitative research that challenged positivist assumptions and emphasized reflexivity, subjectivity, and ethical responsibility. Within adult education, autoethnography aligns with long standing traditions of experiential learning, critical pedagogy, and life history approaches that treat learners’ stories as sites of knowledge production. Within human resource development, it offers a means of examining workplace learning, professional identity, organizational culture, and power relations that are often overlooked by rational technical approaches. The paper explores how autoethnography is used to support critical learning, surface barriers and inequities, deepen understanding of learners and practitioners, inform curriculum and organizational practice, and contribute to advocacy and institutional change. Ethical considerations are examined, including vulnerability, consent, relational responsibility, and power dynamics in research and instructional contexts. Together, these perspectives position autoethnography as a method that connects lived experience to broader educational and organizational concerns while foregrounding the responsibilities that accompany writing from the self.
AdamsT. E. (2017). Critical autoethnography, education, and a call for forgiveness. International Journal of Multicultural Education, 19(1), 79–88. https://doi.org/10.18251/ijme.v19i1.1387
AlexanderB. K. (2012). Teaching autoethnography and autoethnographic pedagogy. In Holman JonesS.AdamsT. E.EllisC. (Eds.), Handbook of autoethnography (pp. 538–556). Left Coast Press.
BlackK.WarhurstR. (2019). Career transition as identity learning: An autoethnographic understanding of human resource development. Human Resource Development International, 22(1), 25–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2018.1444005
8.
BlalockA. E.AkehiM. (2018). Collaborative autoethnography as a pathway for transformative learning. Journal of Transformative Education, 16(2), 89–107. https://doi.org/10.1177/1541344617715711
9.
BochnerA. P. (2013). Putting meanings into motion. In Holman JonesS.AdamsT. E.EllisC. (Eds.), Handbook of autoethnography (pp. 50–56). Left Coast Press.
10.
BohonosJ. W.KwonC.GerkenL.ArcherM. (2024). Artistic autoethnography in human resource development: Deepening empathy and affective understanding to forward diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice in the workplace. New Horizons in Adult Education and Human Resource Development, 36(3), 162–175. https://doi.org/10.1177/19394225241264370
11.
BordonaroK. (2020). Adult learning theories and autoethnography: Informing the practice of information literacy. IFLA Journal, 46(2), 163–171. https://doi.org/10.1177/0340035219874046
12.
BoydD. (2008). Autoethnography as a tool for transformative learning about white privilege. Journal of Transformative Education, 6(3), 212–225. https://doi.org/10.1177/1541344608326899
13.
BoylornR. M.OrbeM. P. (Eds.). (2021). Critical autoethnography: Intersecting cultural identities in everyday life. Routledge.
14.
ButlerJ. (2005). Giving an account of yourself. Fordham University Press.
ChangH.NgunjiriF. W.HernandezK. C. (2013). Collaborative autoethnography. Left Coast Press.
17.
ClarkM. C.RossiterM. (2006). “Now the pieces are in place…”: Learning through personal storytelling in the adult classroom. New Horizons in Adult Education and Human Resource Development, 20(3), 19–33. https://doi.org/10.1002/nha3.10258
18.
CrenshawK. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1989(1), 139–167. https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/uclf/vol1989/iss1/8
19.
DominicéP. (1990). Composing educational biographies: Group reflection through life histories. In MezirowJ. (Ed.), Fostering critical reflection in adulthood: A guide to transformative and emancipatory learning (pp. 194–212). Jossey-Bass.
20.
DominicéP. (2000). Learning from our lives: Using educational biography with adults. Jossey-Bass.
21.
DuarteF. P. (2007). Using autoethnography in the scholarship of teaching and learning: Reflective practice from “the other side of the mirror.”International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 1(2), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.20429/ijsotl.2007.010221
22.
EllingsonL. L. (2009). Engaging crystallization in qualitative research: An introduction. Sage.
GnanadassE.PrivottD. R.RamdehollD.MerriweatherL. R. (2022). “I’ll take two please…sike”: Paying the Black tax in adult education. Adult Learning, 33(2), 61–70. https://doi.org/10.1177/10451595211069075
GrantB. (2003). Mapping the pleasures and risks of supervision. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 24(2), 175–190. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596300303042
31.
GrenierR. S. (2015). Autoethnography as a legitimate approach to HRD research: A methodological conversation at 30,000 feet. Human Resource Development Review, 14(3), 332–350. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534484315595507
32.
GrenierR. S.CollinsJ. C. (2016). “Man, Have I Got a Story for You”: Facilitated autoethnography as a potential research methodology in human resource development. Human Resource Development Review, 15(3), 359–376. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534484316656658
33.
GrummellB.FinneganF. (Eds.). (2020). Doing critical and creative research in adult education: Case studies in methodology and theory. Brill Sense.
34.
HansonC. (2024). Stepping forward, stepping back, and into the unknown: An autoethnography of solidarity. Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education, 36(2), 33–47. https://doi.org/10.56105/cjsae.v36i02.5778
HenningT. B. (2012). Writing professor as adult learning: An autoethnography of online professional development. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 16(2), 9–26. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v16i2.251
37.
HerrmannA. F.AdamsT. E. (2025). Assessing autoethnography: Notes on analysis, evaluation, and craft. Routledge.
38.
HigginsP. (2024). ‘I don’t even recognize myself anymore’: An autoethnography of workplace bullying in higher education. Power and Education, 16(1), 29–41. https://doi.org/10.1177/17577438231163041
39.
HinchcliffE. (2025). Learning to paint: An autoethnographic exploration of adult learning beyond formal learning contexts. Adult Learning, 36(1), 3–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/10451595231213091
40.
Holman JonesS. H.AdamsT. E.EllisC. (2013). Introduction: Coming to know autoethnography as more than a method. In Holman JonesS.AdamsT. E.EllisC. (Eds.), Handbook of autoethnography (pp. 17–48). Left Coast Press, Inc.
41.
Johnson-BaileyJ.AlfredM. V. (2006). Transformational teaching and the practices of Black women adult educators. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 109, 49–58. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.207
42.
KaswormC. (2008). Emotional challenges of adult learners in higher education. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2008(120), 27–34. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.313.
43.
KoukpakiA. S. F.AdamsK. (2020). Enhancing professional growth and the learning and development function through reflective practices: An autoethnographic narrative approach. European Journal of Training and Development, 44(8–9), 805–827. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-09-2019-0165
44.
KwonC. (2024). Resistance from the margin: An autoethnographic account of academic ableism. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 35(1), 89–107. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.21498
LawrenceR. L. (2002). Adult development from the inside out: Constructing knowledge through life history writing [Paper presentation]. Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing and Community Education. Northern Illinois University. https://scholarworks.indianapolis.iu.edu/items/3e7eadad-8b3f-4ee1-b7f3-9ee58b44c7c2
48.
LindemanE. C. (1926). The meaning of adult education. New Republic.
49.
ManathungaC. (2007). Supervision as mentoring: The role of power and boundary crossing. Studies in Continuing Education, 29(2), 207–221. https://doi.org/10.1080/01580370701424650
50.
MatthewsD. Y.JonesT. B. (2021). HBCUs: The foundation and future of social justice, leadership, and leadership development. In CrosbyG. B.WhiteK. A.ChanayM. A.HiltonA. A. (Eds.), Reimagining historically Black colleges and universities (pp. 41–55). Emerald. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80043-664-020211005
McClainA. L. (2024b). Embracing a perspective with the dark side: Using second wave positive psychology to navigate emotions throughout transformative learning. Journal of Transformative Education, 22(3), 304–323. https://doi.org/10.1177/15413446241234231
53.
McCormackD.O’NeillJ.RyanM. B.WalshT. (2020). Autoethnography in, and as, adult education: Eavesdropping on a conversation. In GrummellB.FinneganF. (Eds.), Doing critical and creative research in adult education: Case studies in methodology and theory (pp. 73–85). Brill.
54.
MerriamS. B.BieremaL. L. (2014). Adult learning: Linking theory and practice. Jossey-Bass.
55.
MizziR. C. (2010). Unravelling researcher subjectivity through multivocality in autoethnography. Journal of Research Practice, 6(1), Article M3.
MunnS. L.CollinsJ. C.GreerT. W. (2014, September). The “nontraditional” dissertation: An autoethnography of three early career scholars [Conference session]. Annual Research-to-Practice Conference (R2P) in Adult and Higher Education Conference Papers, Muncie, IN, USA.
58.
MunnS. L.HuylerD.RoccoT. S.DelgadoP.JamesJ.RoqueG. (2023). A critical discussion of the work-life experiences of scholar-practitioners. Adult Learning, 34(1), 40–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/10451595211060078
59.
NeumannA.PetersonP. L. (1997). Learning from our lives: Women, research and autobiography in education. Teachers College Press.
60.
OhitoE. O. (2019). Thinking through the flesh: A critical autoethnography of racial body politics in urban teacher education. Race Ethnicity and Education, 20(1), 39–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2017.1294568
61.
OlszewskiC. A.PontikosK. P.ZnamenakK. A.SelkerM. L.PaolettaT. M.CoffmanK. A.HansmanC. A. (2022). Utilizing autoethnography within a course structure to support developing scholars. Adult Learning, 33(2), 82–88. https://doi.org/10.1177/10451595211060080
62.
PeliasR. J. (2011). Leaning: A poetics of personal relations. Left Coast Press.
63.
PeliasR. J. (2018). Writing into position: Strategies for composition and evaluation. In DenzinN. K.LincolnY. S. (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (4th ed., pp. 659–668). Sage.
64.
PickardA. (2022). Shorthand for racism: Grade-level equivalencies and everyday anti-Blackness in adult “basic” education. Adult Learning, 33(2), 89–92. https://doi.org/10.1177/10451595211055719
65.
PolkinghorneD. E. (1998). Narrative knowing and the human sciences. State University of New York Press.
66.
PoulosC. N. (2021). Essentials of autoethnography. American Psychological Association.
67.
PoulosC. N. (2022). Self and others: Ethics in autoethnographic research. In AdamsT.Holman JonesS.EllisC. (Eds.), Handbook of autoethnography (2nd ed., pp. 369–374). Routledge.
68.
RamboC. (2005). Impressions of grandmother: An autoethnographic portrait. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 34(5), 560–585. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891241605279079
69.
RamdehollM. (2010). From grassroots adult literacy to navigating academia: An autoethnography. Adult Education Research Conference. Sacramento, CA, USA. https://newprairiepress.org/aerc/2010/papers/65
70.
RedCornA.McGillC. M. (2024). Autoethnography: A methodology for disrupting social studies status quos. In MathewsS. A. (Ed.), (Re)envisioning social studies education research: Current epistemological and methodological expansions, deconstructions, and creations (pp. 133–144). Information Age Publishing.
SambrookS. (2017). Making sense of our self in HRD: Self-less, self-ish and selfie?Human Resource Development International, 20(5), 382–292. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2017.1331085
73.
SambrookS. (2025). An organizational autoethnography of learning to manage academic workplace bullying through micro-resistance and activism. Management Learning, 56(4), 684–702. https://doi.org/10.1177/13505076241289174
74.
SiscoS.Hart-MremaT. S.AderibigbeE. (2022). Engaging in race-conscious research and applying racial equity in human resource development: A collective autoethnography. Human Resource Development International, 25(1), 59-75. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2020.1860387
75.
SparkesA. C. (2024). Autoethnography as an ethically contested terrain: Some thinking points for consideration. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 21(1), 107–139. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2023.2293073
76.
SykesB. E. (2014). Transformative autoethnography: An examination of cultural identity and its implications for learners. Adult Learning, 25(1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1177/1045159513510147
77.
TillmannL. M. (2009). Body and bulimia revisited: Reflections on “A secret life.”Journal of Applied Communication Research, 37(1), 98–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/00909880802592615
78.
TisdellE. J.WhalenG. C.JohnsonM. (2022). The super-vision of autoethnographic dissertation studies: Transformative stories of the supervisor and the supervised revealed. Adult Learning, 33(2), 51–60. https://doi.org/10.1177/10451595211059568
79.
TorracoR. J.LundgrenH. (2020). What HRD is doing–what HRD should be doing: The case for transforming HRD. Human Resource Development Review, 19(1), 39–65. doi.org/10.1177/1534484319877058
80.
TullisJ. (2022). Self and others: Ethics in autoethnographic research. In AdamsT. E.Holman JonesS.EllisC. (Eds.), Handbook of autoethnography (2nd ed., pp. 101–114). Routledge.
81.
Van MaanenJ. (1988). Tales of the field: On writing ethnography. University of Chicago Press.
Wilson-GolabS. (2023). Context impacts evolution: An autoethnography of a teacher leader’s professional growth and identity [Doctoral Dissertation, University of Michigan]. University of Michigan Library Deep Blue Documents. https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/191548
84.
WithornT.CarolynC. G.JoannaM. K.EslamiJ.AndoraA.ClarkeM.PatchN.KarlaS. G.LunsfordS. (2019). Library instruction and information literacy. Reference Services Review, 47(4), 363–447. https://doi.org/10.1108/RSR-08-2019-0047
