‘Once Upon a Practice’: Fairy Tales, Folk 
Knowledge and the 
Scholar-Practitioner

This study explores how doctoral candidates in a Philosophy of Education course engage with epistemological formation through a three-part narrative assignment sequence. By crafting original and flipped fairy tales followed by a reflective essay, students critically examine their educational experiences and assumptions. The conceptual framework draws on humanist and constructivist traditions, emphasizing personhood, discernment and epistemology as interrelated processes. Through literary analysis of students’ folk knowledge reflections, the study reveals how counter-narratives foster epistemological humility, critical consciousness and an evolving scholarly identity. The findings suggest that engaging with imaginative genres like fairy tales not only disrupts taken-for-granted cultural beliefs but also scaffolds the development of reflective scholar-practitioners. This approach offers a powerful methodology for cultivating equity-minded educational leaders capable of navigating the complexities of knowledge, culture and pedagogy in diverse learning environments.