Education Commons^™

Older Adults And A Writing Workshop: A Phenomenological Study, Jennifer Lynn Alex

Dissertations

This study examines how older adults experience the phenomenon of participating in a writing workshop and how older adults interpret their experiences, understandings, and realities of writing. Ten older adults, ranging in age from 62 to 83 with varying degrees of experiences in writing, participated in this study. Through a semi-structured interview, each participant related his or her experience first as a writer and then as a member of a writing workshop offered through a Community Literacy Center in a mid-sized Appalachian city.

A phenomenological analysis method was used to identify and analyze themes of meaning that emerged in the …

Quality Of Life Despite Back Pain: A Phenomenological Study, Margaret B. Blair

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The investigator in this phenomenological study examined the lived experience of Quality of Life (QOL) in 15 Registered Nurses (RNs) with chronic back pain (CBP) participating in structured journal writing. Hermeneutic analysis of interviews and journals revealed eight themes under two domains: Making Normal (Fighting and Denying; Being Consumed: Anger and Frustration; Surviving the Three Ds: depression, devastation, and despair; and Choosing, Adapting, and Accepting) and Living with the Shadow (Losses and Limitations, Being Less than Whole, Having Intimate Knowledge, and Living Through Fatigue). The essence of the experience is Dancing with the Shadow: Re-Visioning Quality of Life. The Shadow …

Pre-Service Teacher Training Experiences Viewed As A Cultural Activity, Ronald Knorr

All Dissertations

What are the experiences of career-changing pre-service middle school teachers undergoing a group-based activity as part of their training? This series of studies explored two aspects of answering this question. In the first manuscript, a methodology of a novel virtual phenomenology interview technique attempts to determine the influence of a virtual world interviewer compared to a traditional face-to-face setting. While syntactical and other significant differences were found, there was no significant difference found comparing meaning units derived from both settings. In the second manuscript, these meaning units were analyzed to create an essence of the experience for the study's participants, …

Understanding Teachers' Change Towards A Reform-Oriented Mathematics Classroom, Linnae Denise Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Within the current mathematics teacher population there are teachers that want to change from traditional teaching styles to become more reform-oriented (i.e. focusing on student understanding rather than procedures). Many of these teachers do not know how to begin this change. This research looks into the tools that are most valuable for teachers as they change from traditional teaching practices to include more reform-oriented teaching practices. Through this phenomenological study, six successful reform-oriented teachers were interviewed to understand what tools they found to be most valuable in their process of change. The interviews uncovered a common guiding principle that facilitates …

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Women's Experiences With Personal Training, Cherilyn N. Hultquist, Melissa N. Madeson, Amy Church, Leslee A. Fisher

Faculty and Research Publications

Personal training is a rapidly growing industry in a country that is in dire need of physical fitness and health improvements. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to better understand women's experiences with personal training. To address the research question, eight female participants ages 24 to 54 years were interviewed using the following phenomenological question: "When you think about your current experience with personal training what stands out for you?" The interviews were conducted, transcribed, and qualitatively analyzed to identify themes in participants' responses. The ground that emerged was positive experience within which existed four figural themes: Relationships, trainer …

Language Learning Strategy Use By Colombian Adult English Language Learners: A Phenomenological Study, Elsie E. Paredes

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe how Colombian adult English language learners (ELL) select and use language learning strategies (LLS). This study used Oxford’s (1990a) taxonomy for LLS as its theoretical framework. Semi-structured interviews and a focus group interview, were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed for 12 Colombian adult ELL. A communicative activity known as strip story (Gibson, 1975) was used to elicit participants’ use of LLS. This activity preceded the focus group session. Additionally, participants’ reflective journals were collected and analyzed. Data were analyzed using inductive, deductive, and comparative analyses. Four themes emerged from the inductive analysis …

University Staff Perspectives On Change Management Strategies In Student Information System Adoption, Winnie W. Tsang-Kosma

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations

The process of information technology adoption and use is critical to deriving benefits of information technology. Thus, one of the most challenging issues in information systems research is to understand how people have experienced the adoption process that may lead to insights to why they accept or reject the information technology (Davis, Bagozzi, & Warshaw, 1989). There are many factors affecting the adoption process of information technology innovations within an organization. To ensure successful adoption of information technology innovations, organizations develop a planned approach to change and employ change management strategies such as communication, training, and functional users support groups …

College Football Players: The New Nontraditional Student, Michael Godfrey

All Dissertations

The focus on the collegiate careers of student athletes continues to grow within the community of higher education. As the focus has been centered on academic performance, a growing concern is evolving for the overall experience student athletes obtain in a higher education setting. As the focus on college experience gains momentum, higher education professionals must investigate why traditional stereotypes maintain their strength and the appropriateness of the expectations placed upon student athletes.
The purpose of the study is to gain understanding and insight into the relationship between athletics and academics for Division I football players in higher education. To …

Gifted Dropouts: A Phenomenological Study, James Zabloski

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative phenomenological study of the life experiences of seven rural gifted individuals who dropped out of school investigated whether they shared commonalities that might have led to the phenomenon of dropping out. The problem was that no one had asked them to share their stories prior to this study. By searching for meaning in their individual and combined stories, the overarching theme of relationships weaved through all of them. Three themes emerged which contributed to their drop out decision: relational traumas, relational losses, and relationships with teachers. All of these gifted dropouts experienced a significant relational trauma in middle …

The Social Inclusion Of Young Adults With Intellectual Disabilities: A Phenomenology Of Their Experiences, Sarah A. Hall

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Social inclusion enhances the quality of life of young adults with intellectual disabilities (ID). Young adults with ID continue to face prejudice and discrimination that limit their social inclusion. They experience limited social inclusion because there are not enough appropriate activities available and they have limited opportunities to develop friendships. The social inclusion that people with disabilities experience within their local community varies greatly.

There is a deficiency in the literature concerning the social inclusion of young adults with ID. Previous considerations of disability have focused primarily on physical access and reflect the local contexts in which the participants live. …

Non-Traditional Entrants To The Teaching Profession: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study Of The Motivations, Experiences, And Reflections Of Second-Career Teachers, William Darrell Lee

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Individuals entering the teaching profession from other fields have much to offer in terms of practical experience in fields such as business, private industry, law enforcement, and the military. This study examined the phenomenon of second-career teachers with specific emphasis on the motivating factors, common experiences, and reflections of the participants in this study concerning the decision to leave already established professions in order to pursue a career in teaching. The study also inquired into the process involved in professional preparation as well as in assimilating to the culture of schools. Twelve diverse second-career teachers were purposefully chosen for this …

Single Parent, First-Generation College Students Who Transfer To A Bachelor's Degree Institution A Phenomenological Investigation, Kevin C. Snyder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative, phenomenological research study was conducted to investigate the influences of self-efficacy on the college experiences and beliefs about capabilities of single parent, first-generation, transfer students. Consistent and strong levels of self-efficacy were revealed within each of the eight participants. Major participant themes identified through the Pattern Recognition Flowchart include that (a) children are a primary source of motivation and influence, (b) education is the pathway for a better future and career, (c) participants possess strong academic and personal efficacy, (d) participants possess a support network and (e) first-generation status serves as a motivating factor. Minor themes include that …

Phenomenological Views And Analysis Of Culinary Arts Student Attitudes To National And International Internships: The “Nature Of Being” Before, During, And After International Internship, Frank Cullen

Articles

This article presents the results of research conducted between 2006 and 2007 as part of a 4-year study on culinary internships. The article explores what can be described as the culinary life, developing a picture of working in a kitchen. It then compares and contrasts the work of key writers in the area of internship. Phenomenological views are provided and quantitative data analyzed from the 2006 and 2007 cohorts of students studying for a bachelor of arts in culinary arts to establish their attitudes toward international internships. The research found that gaps existed between the attitudes of the 2006 and …

Gifted Voices: A Study Of High School Students' Proficiency In Persuasive Writing And Their Perceptions Of Personal Agency, Susan Carol Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Development of the talents and abilities of gifted children is not ordinarily provided by regular public school programs. Their need for accelerated, complex, and challenging curriculum and processes is often overlooked by educators focused on helping underperforming students to reach grade-level standards. Gifted high school students who are proficient in persuasive writing are able to clearly state a claim, support that claim with evidence and backing, recognize and rebut counterclaims, and draw a conclusion leading to action. If gifted students are proficient at writing persuasively, perhaps they are also able to advocate for learning experiences that are challenging, complex, and …