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Active Imagination, Wellbeing And Ways Of Seeing: A Phenomenological Inquiry Into Experiences Of Adult Learners With Visual Impairments, Steinberg Henry

Educational Studies Dissertations

Six female and two male adult learners who became blind between the ages of 20 and 75 years participated in this study conducted by a blind researcher. The purposely sampled eight were interviewed virtually by way of Zoom. In combination with Johnny Saldana’s work on codes, this study used the NVivo framework for determining structuring categories, selecting node themes, code frameworks and final codes from the first interview. 291 codes were clustered under 26 node themes. NVivo’s word frequency search and Word Tree were applied to clarify and lend a number value to participants’ codes. The second interview, administered after …

Examining Career Decisions: Exploring The Interest Of Gifted Graduates On Working In Education, Alexandria K. Ryan

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Students who are gifted are often pulled in a variety of career directions because of their tendency to have many interests and passions. This study was designed to better understand the experience of adults who are gifted and their career choice. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore what career paths adults who are gifted follow, specifically whether they choose to work in the education field or not. This phenomenological study explored four main themes in an individual who is graduated from a gifted education program’s life: Gifted Program Experience, Career and Interests, Family Influence, and Social Emotional. …

Paying Attention: The Lived Experiences Of Female Adhd Graduate Students In Higher Education, Tiffany Michelle Devol

Doctoral Dissertations

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) rates have been increasing, and while adult learners with ADHD have maintained some success to get to college, they still underperform their non-ADHD peers despite having normal intelligence. There is some research on the impact ADHD has on adult learners as they enter college, but there is little research on how ADHD impacts graduate students seeking to continue their education. Given the fact that this population of adult learner is still struggling, it begs the question, why? And what can be done about it? The purpose of this study was to understand the essence of …

Faculty Facilitation Of Help-Seeking On Campus: A Phenomenological Study, Lillian V. Clark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An ever-increasing number of students on college campuses are experiencing distress, and not all students in need of care are being reached (Kitzrow, 2009, LeViness, et al., 2019). Faculty are one of the most valuable resources for identifying and connecting students to care (Kitzrow, 2009). Despite this, we know very little about the experiences of faculty working with students in distress. This study sought to understand those experiences, as well as identify the barriers to connecting students to care. A qualitative study using an Interpretive Phenomenology framework was conducted (Smith & Osborn, 2007, Moustakas, 1994). Four themes were interpreted from …

How Children Understand Disability: A Qualitative Exploration, Meredith Edelstein

Counseling and Psychology Dissertations

Disability research is broad in nature and covers a variety of experiences and conditions. Of critical importance in disability research is the delineation between the social and medical models of disability, and how these varying definitions inform one’s understanding of disability and internalization of the meaning-making of living with disabling impairments. Research exists on the adult experiences and retrospective accounts of individuals with disabilities. However, missing from these studies is the voice of children with disabilities. While there is an awareness that decreased self-concept and stigma exist surrounding childhood disability, there is limited data that considers how children make meaning …

A Phenomenological Study Of First-Generation Latin@ Community College Students As They Successfully Persist In College, Michelé Elaine Smith

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Research has shown that community colleges are essential to the economic development of the communities they serve; therefore, it is imperative attention be given to ensuring the academic success of today’s fastest growing college population: first-generation Latin@ students. This study was founded on the principle that understanding the supports (experiences that decrease individual stress levels), challenges (experiences that increase individual stress levels), and coping strategies (behaviors used by the individual to relieve stress) described by first-generation Latin@ community college students who successfully persist in college will provide valuable information for reform efforts in higher education for all students.

Utilizing the …

Faculty Members' Lived Experiences With Open Educational Resources, M. Troy Martin

Theses and Dissertations

The cost of textbooks has continued to increase, and the financial effect on students in higher education is significant. Numerous studies have been done to learn more about student and faculty perceptions toward Open Educational Resources (OER) use. Recent studies confirm that most instructors would use OER in order to alleviate the financial burden placed on students; however, OER adoption rates do not reflect this belief. In my study I sought to better understand what instructors experience when they search for OER. In this phenomenological study, I interviewed faculty who expressed a desire to use OER and to capture their …

Students' Lived Experiences Of The Realization Of Academic Wrongness (Raw), Dana Carol Kemery

Theses and Dissertations

Being wrong is a common phenomenon for students in academic environments; however this phenomenon has yet to be described from the student perspective. The purpose of this phenomenologic inquiry is to describe the realization of academic wrongness (RAW) as experienced by senior level nursing students during a high stakes testing period. Observations, class documents, communications, and semi-structured interviews were collected to gain a full description for the realization of academic wrongness within context and as this phenomenon unfolded for the students. The data were analyzed using Moustakas (1994) 7 step phenomenological process. Fourteen invariant constituents emerged during data analysis which …

Am I A Bully? A Mixed Methods Phenomenological Study Of The Perspectives And Experiences Of Girls Who Are Relationally Aggressive, Laura A. Hogarth

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This explanatory mixed-methods, phenomenological study investigated how relationally aggressive females perceive and experience their social world. The first, quantitative phase of the study included 237 students (85 males, 152 females) in grades 6 to grade 8 from four different schools. All students completed the quantitative measures of the study; a peer nomination scale of relational aggression, the Basic Empathy Scale (Joliffe & Farrington, 2006), and a self-concept measure, the Self-Description Questionnaire Short Form (Marsh et al., 2005). Female students whose mean relational aggression score was greater than 1 SD about the class mean, and received votes from more than 30% …

The Student Experience Of Other Students, Brian Kelleher Sohn

Doctoral Dissertations

The literature on higher education classroom climate and its relationship to teaching and learning is dominated by studies and theorizing regarding the role of the instructor. But when instructors use learner-centered approaches and diffuse the role and authority of the teacher, students gain a higher level of influence in the learning experience of their peers. In this phenomenological case study of a unique graduate seminar, I interpreted the thematic structure of the student experience of other students (SEOS). Data sources included field notes, audio recordings of class sessions, weekly student post-class reflections, and individual and focus group interviews with students. …

Lived Experiences Of Beginning Counselors In Harmful Supervision, Alessandra Joy Rhinehart

Doctoral Dissertations

When supervision moves beyond poor oversight to inciting personal and professional impairment, it becomes harmful. Although there is much in the literature regarding ineffective supervision in general, empirical data explicating harmful supervision is significantly less available. In fact, the negative effects of harmful supervision may be notably more severe than those reported of ineffective supervision (Unger, 1995). The purpose of this study was to provide rich description and meaning of beginning counselors’ experiences in harmful supervision. The research question addressed was, “What is the lived experience of beginning counselors in harmful supervision?” Transcendental, existential phenomenology (van Manen, 2014; Thomas & …

Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions And Experiences Of Family Engagement: A Phenomenological Investigation, Tiffany Janise Dellard

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand pre-service teacher’s perceptions and experiences with family engagement in the education of students. The phenomenological method developed at the University of Tennessee was utilized to explore the following research questions: (1) How do pre-service teachers view the roles of parents in their interactions with teachers, administrators and other school staff to facilitate family engagement; and (2) What influences do pre-service teachers cite as helping to form their views of the role of families in the education of students the pre-service teacher’s experiences in the teacher education program as well as personal experiences …

A Story Of Change: Adult Learners’ Experiences Of Questioning Their Beliefs And Assumptions In A Graduate Course In Reflective Practice, Megumu Doi Burress

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand the experience of students in a graduate course on the topic of Reflective Practice (RP). A phenomenological method was utilized to frame interviews with eight students discussing challenges to their beliefs and assumptions that arose during the course.

Based on a thematic analysis of the interview data, three major figural themes and one ground theme emerged. The three figural themes indicated that participants experienced changes in their beliefs and assumptions about student-to-student and student-to-teacher relationships and about similarities and differences among their own and others’ belief systems, in addition to their own …

Conversations With A Phenomenologist: A Phenomenologically Oriented Case Study Of Instructional Planning, Karen Anne Franklin

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the instructional planning practices of one university professor as he prepared to teach weekly classes for a seminar in existential phenomenology. I applied the phenomenological pedagogy of van Manen and the phenomenological philosophy of Merleau-Ponty, Husserl, Heidegger, and Gadamer in order to understand the process this professor undertook as he planned instruction for his graduate course. The study is a phenomenologically oriented, illustrative, and descriptive case study of this professor’s planning practices over the course of one semester in the context in which those practices occurred.

Findings from this study demonstrate that Dr. Pollio’s instructional planning is …

The Acquisition Of Cultural Competence: A Phenomenological Inquiry Highlighting The Processes, Challenges And Triumphs Of Counselor Education Students, Douglas L. Garner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Although research has effectively isolated and identified the key characteristics of a culturally competent counselor, there are few studies regarding the acquisition of these characteristics. To close the gap between theory and practice, studies are needed researching the emergence and, acquisition of these characteristics. This study explores how Masters-level Counselor Education students narrate the encounters, challenges, triumphs and epiphanies associated with their preliminary attempts to practice in a culturally competent manner. This phenomenological inquiry seeks to shed light students attitudes, beliefs and dispositions; defines the processes related to the acquisition of cognitive awareness and learning, skills and abilities; and illuminates …

"Your World Stops": The Relationship Chiasm Between Teachers And Students In Court-Mandated Adult Education, Rondal David Mottern

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the experiences of teachers working with court-mandated students in GED/ABE programs. While there is a considerable body of literature on adult correctional education, this literature almost exclusively deals with teachers and students working within incarceration settings, where students are in jail or prison. There is a lack of research on the experiences of teachers working with students who are a part of the correctional system but are placed within the community, i.e., students who are in community corrections programs such as probation and parole. This study begins to fill that void in the research literature. This research …

Suspended Students’ Experiences With In-School Suspension: A Phenomenological Investigation, Katherine Rene Evans

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation study was to consider the ways in which middle school students made meaning of their experience with exclusionary discipline, specifically in-school suspension (ISS). While ISS has historically been positioned as an alternative to exclusionary discipline, ISS programs are often designed in ways that are exclusionary. Current research on exclusionary discipline points to the ways in which suspensions and expulsions impact students academically, socially, and emotionally. Very little of that research, however, considers the perspectives of the students who have been the recipients of exclusionary discipline. Thus, seeking to more fully understand the lived experiences of …