Education Commons^™

The Chameleon Characteristics: A Phenomenological Study Of Instructional Designer, Faculty, And Administrator Perceptions Of Collaborative Instructional Design Environments, Papia Bawa, Sunnie Watson

The Qualitative Report

While several professionals, organizations and departments may be a part of the instructional designing process usually faculty, instructional designers, and administrators are key stakeholders and collaborators. Although there are some studies related to the process of instructional designing, there is little by way of research that has investigated the stakeholders’ perceptions of the key characteristics of effective collaboration within instructional designing projects. Thus, there is a gap in our understanding of the phenomenon of instructional designing project collaboration. This hermeneutic phenomenological study seeks to add to the literature by sharing the perceptions of seven stakeholders in different roles, who have …

How Do Former Undergraduate Mentors Evaluate Their Mentoring Experience 3-Years Post-Mentoring: A Phenomenological Study, Kari L. Nelson, Christine E. Cutucache

The Qualitative Report

This phenomenological study involves a unique, longitudinal assessment of the lived experiences of former undergraduate mentors (n=7) in light of their current experiences (i.e., career or advanced schooling). The objective of a phenomenological study is to engage in in-depth probing of a representative number of participants. Specifically, we followed up with graduates of the Nebraska STEM 4U (NE STEM 4U) intervention 3 years post-program, with the overall goal of describing the mentors’ experiences using the lens of their current experiences. This type of longitudinal perspective of mentoring is greatly lacking in the current literature. At the time of the interviews, …

International Students’ Transition Experiences In Rural Texas: A Phenomenological Study, Ian Lertora, Richard C. Henriksen Jr., Jesse Starkey, Chi-Sing Li

The Qualitative Report

Due to the growth in the number of international students attending universities in Texas and the need to provide appropriate counseling services to them, nine international students were interviewed about their experiences of transitioning from their home country to college in rural Texas. The authors employed the transcendental phenomenological approach to qualitative research (Moustakas, 1994) which allowed for the following seven emergent themes were identified that described the participants’ experiences: American TV; Knowing Someone; Like a Movie; Everybody Saying Hi; Transportation is Inconvenient; I Miss Noodles; and Being Optimistic. The emergent themes provided the basis for implications and recommendations for …

Breaking The Silence: A Phenomenological Exploration Of Secondary Traumatic Stress In U.S. College Student Affairs Professionals, Robert Jason Lynch

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Breaking the Silence: A Phenomenological Exploration of Secondary Traumatic Stress in U.S. College Student Affairs Professionals is a qualitative-intensive mixed methods study using phenomenology and art-based research techniques to uncover the essence of secondary traumatic stress in U.S. college student affairs professionals. Researchers in the fields of psychology, counseling, social work and other helping professions suggest that repeated exposure to individuals experiencing trauma, or hearing repeated details of an individual’s trauma, have negative outcomes on professional helpers. Coined secondary traumatic stress, this phenomenon may be defined as “the stress resulting from helping or wanting to help a traumatized or suffering …

Understanding Integrated Stem Science Instruction Through The Experiences Of Teachers And Students, Margery Gardner

Dissertations - ALL

Integrated STEM education comprises an exploration of the interconnections between science, technology, engineering and mathematics in order to reflect on how each discipline operates within real world contexts. Students benefit from the integrated STEM approach because it values students’ real-life experiences and hands-on applications that mirror professional STEM work. However, Integrated STEM instruction remains ill defined, with many gaps in the existing research. The school setting central to this study was a suburban public middle school with a nationally recognized integrated STEM program. Through the use of hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry, I focused on both teachers’ and students’ experiences of participation …

Storied Lives, Unpacked Narratives, And Intersecting Experiences: A Phenomenological Examination Of Self-Identifying Lgbtq Public School Educators, Robert J. Bizjak

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The thrust of this qualitative study was to research, reveal, explore, and understand the lived experiences of self-identifying lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) public school educators through formal, qualitative interviews. The researcher interviewed six self-identifying LGBTQ public school teachers using a phenomenological framework, braced by history, queer theory/criticism, and intersectionality. In-depth, rich, and prolonged semi-structured interviews yielded personal, candid, and poignant insight from the six co-researchers. Further, by using a narrative approach, this phenomenological study revealed five emergent themes and discussed how these interpenetrating themes captured the essence of these six teachers’ lived experiences. The five salient themes …

And So The Pendulum Swings: Senior Student Affairs Officers Balancing Implementation Of Federal Campus Safety Mandates At Small Colleges, Kimberly J. Blea

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

Issues of campus safety are being addressed on campuses nationwide because of the requirements set forth by the Clery Act, Title IX, and the Campus Sexual Assault Violence Elimination Act. The purpose of this qualitative study was to deeply understand experiences of senior student affairs officers (SSAO) at small colleges and universities who have implemented federal campus safety mandates. Their experiences, offered insight into how SSAOs used these experiences to inform their own professional growth, and contribute to the student affairs profession. I utilized a qualitative phenomenological approach and conducted multiple semi-structured interviews with three SSAOs at small colleges and …

Experiencing The Implementation Of New Inquiry Science Curricula, Peter S. Ower

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

Using a phenomenological methodology, a cohort of four experienced science teachers was interviewed about their experience transitioning from traditional, teacher and fact-centered science curricula to inquiry-based curricula. Each teacher participated in two interviews that focused on their teaching backgrounds, their experience teaching the prior traditional curriculum, and their experience teaching the new inquiry-based curriculum. The findings are presented as a narrative of each teachers’ experience with the new curriculum implementation. Analyzing the data revealed four key themes. 1) The teachers felt trapped by the old curriculum as it did not align with their positive views of teaching science through inquiry. …

Uncovering Meaning In Montessori Teachers’ Lived Experiences Of Cosmic Education As A Tool For Social Justice, John Allen Branch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This inquiry focused on the lived experiences of Montessori teachers in implementing Montessori’s Cosmic Education as a tool for social justice in their classrooms in order to more fully understand Cosmic Education’s meaning, purpose, and practice. The researcher also sought to understand how Cosmic Education could be an effective pedagogy of place, providing historical and social contexts in which students may develop and grow. The study used a post-intentional phenomenological design (Vagle, 2014), and was based on a series of interviews with five Montessori teachers from different classroom age levels. The data were analyzed using poetic inquiry through the form …

On Craft, William Lentjes

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Craft is a relationship - a dialogue - between craftsman, tool, and material. Craft begins with the intent of all of these loci, and all of these loci are rooted in Being.

Being is known through the consciousness, awareness, and perception of a subject. Being is the inherent existence and totality of "what is."

Being crafts us; Craft imbues Being.

This thesis re-examines the pedagogical approach of an architectural education. The focus is placed on craft through presuppositionless phenomenology.

In an age of endless mechanized production and spiritless materialism, the practice of craft can teach us to return to the …

Building Bridges Over Troubled Waters: A Phenomenological Study Of Post-9/11 Guard And Reserve Military Veterans Transitioning To The Civilian Workplace, Jean Marie Pyzyk

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

BUILDING BRIDGES OVER TROUBLED WATERS:

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF

POST-9/11 NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVE MILITARY VETERANS

TRANSITIONING TO THE CIVILIAN WORKPLACE

by

Jean Marie Pyzyk

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2017

Under the Supervision of Professor Barbara Bales, Ph.D.

This qualitative, phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of 25 National Guard members and reservists representing the United States Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps returning to civilian careers following a post-9/11 deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan. The research question asked: What are the lived experiences of post-9/11National Guard and Reserve military veterans as they transition back to the civilian …

From The Middle East To The Midwest: The Transition Experiences Of Saudi Female International Students At A Midwest University Campus, Alia K. Arafeh

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the essence of the transition experiences of 10 female international students when they made the decision to study and live in the U.S. through their third semester in college. The main research question that framed this study was: How do Saudi female international students navigate their transitional experiences to study and live during their first two academic years in an urban Midwest university?

Most research about international students does not account for their national, religious, cultural, and linguistic differences. Much of this previous research focuses on the students’ academic challenges and language barriers and non-academic challenges such …

On Craft, William Lentjes

KSU Journey Honors College Capstones and Theses

Craft is a relationship - a dialogue - between craftsman, tool, and material. Craft begins with the intent of all of these loci, and all of these loci are rooted in Being.

Being is known through the consciousness, awareness, and perception of a subject. Being is the inherent existence and totality of "what is."

Being crafts us; Craft imbues Being.

This thesis re-examines the pedagogical approach of an architectural education. The focus is placed on craft through presuppositionless phenomenology.

In an age of endless mechanized production and spiritless materialism, the practice of craft can teach us to return to the …

A Phenomenological Study On The Experiences Of Middle-Class Parents Facilitating Homework, Megan A. Aichler

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This study explored middle-class parents’ descriptions of their experience of the emotional “essence” of the conflicts that arose between themselves and their children as parents facilitated the homework process. This study on homework experiences sought to gain a deeper understanding and meaning experienced firsthand from the middle-class parents’ point of view. The use of phenomenological methods allowed for the deep and thick description necessary to uncover the essence of the middle-class parental perspectives on the parent-child emotional experience embedded in the homework process. The identified themes included creation of a homework routine, emotions of resistance and stress, and …

A Phenomenological Study Of Six Helping Professionals And Their Experiences With A Persistent Adolescent Suicide Cluster, Bobbi-Jo Woodford

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of six helping professionals, or gatekeepers, who serve the same community and in their professional roles have been professionally exposed to an adolescent suicide cluster. The purpose was to explore a fresh perspective, to uncover similarities between the participants’ experiences, and to better understand the effects that teen suicide has on helping professionals. The three-part interview design did achieve data saturation, and the multi-phase analysis stimulated the emergence of five distinct themes: adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) as a root cause, a description of the at-risk teen population, short-term crisis response, long-term stabilization, …

A Qualitative Phenomenological Study Of First-Year College Students’ Perceptions Of Direct And Symbolic Inputs Influencing Sense Of Identity, Jonathan Butler

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The research describes a qualitative, transcendental phenomenological investigation of students’ perceptions of the reflected appraisals they receive from the college community regarding their behaviors. The study includes 11 first-year college student participants from the School of Education at Higher Matters University, a pseudonym. A pseudonym was assigned to each participant to protect privacy. Data collection utilized focus groups with the sample in two groups, and semi-structured interviews with each participant. Both efforts were accurately transcribed. Observations of the students in the classroom setting served as a third means to gather data, focusing on students’ body language, appearances of comfort, engagement, …

From Following To Leading: Experiencing The Phenomena Of Becoming A Teacher Leader, Alan L. Carter

Dissertations

Teacher leadership is not a new idea. It has become popular in waves over the last century, and has been used primarily to make change in schools on a grassroots level. Though teacher leaders rarely gain degrees in this field of work or accept formal positions as teacher leaders, they acquire knowledge, skills, insights, and strategies that help change, shape, and mold their current school environments. Additionally, teacher leader positions, while normally informal, offer greater potential for influence than a normal classroom teacher may have or can offer to their colleagues.

The purpose of this study was to examine charter …

Oooh, It’S Sooo Good!!!: Black Adolescent Females Experiencing The Delicacy Of Reading, Jacqueline B. Koonce

The Qualitative Report

Black adolescent females have largely been neglected in the research literature on their avid reading. While Gibson (2010) explained that Black girls are often portrayed in the literature as struggling and even “remedial” readers, those Black adolescent females who are avid readers receive even less attention. The purpose of this study, then, was to investigate the voracious reading proclivities of this population in order to provide a balanced view of Black adolescent females’ reading lives. The findings of this phenomenological study indicate that these five participants go beyond loving reading; they crave it. The meaning of reading for these participants …

Twenty Years Of Technology Integration And Foreign Language Teaching: A Phenomenological Reflective Interview Study, Nilsa Becho Sullivan, Kakali Bhattacharya

The Qualitative Report

The evolution of the use of technology in the foreign language classroom has proven to be a challenge. In this paper, we highlight a study whose purpose is to understand how one retired foreign language educator reflected on the ways in which she integrated different modes of technology in her classroom. In this interview study, the participant discussed how technology has evolved in the span of her twenty-year career as a foreign language educator and how she integrated various technologies as they evolved in her classroom. The researchers employed a modified van Kaam method as defined by Moustakas (1994) to …

Student Perceptions Of Type Ii Alternative School Experiences: A Phenomenological Investigation Of Motivational Factors That Influence Persistence Toward Graduation, Michael Barrett

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate how high school students described their experiences attending a Type II alternative school (geared toward students with behavioral problems and poor student attendance) in Central Georgia and the factors that motivated them to persist to graduation. The overarching research question was: How do high school graduates describe their experiences attending an alternative school in Central Georgia that motivated them to persist toward graduation? Schein’s organizational culture model, Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs served as the conceptual framework. Participants included eight students who had previously attended …

Early Childhood Teachers’ Pedagogical Reasoning About How Children Learn During Language And Literacy Instruction, Rachel E. Schachter

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

The knowledge that teachers hold about children’s learning is important to teachers’ practice. Few studies have examined how early childhood teachers use such knowledge during moment-to-moment instruction for language and literacy learning. This study employed a phenomenological approach to understand the knowledge that eight early childhood teachers used to inform their pedagogical reasoning during language and literacy activities. Stimulated recall interviews about practice were conducted with the prekindergarten teachers. Results indicated that the teachers used multiple sources of knowledge to inform their pedagogical reasoning that included: conceptions about how children learn; knowledge about specific children and the learning goals for …

Understanding How Sub-Saharan Africans Experience Higher Education In The United States, Reuel N. Mebuin

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Sub-Saharan African immigrant students constitute an important cohort on United States college campuses. In order for U.S. colleges and universities to better accommodate the significant number of Sub-Saharan African immigrant students, it is critical to identify factors that influence these students’ cultural and academic processes and provide professionals with guidelines for creating culturally appropriate services and programs for them. The purpose of this research is to undertake a single case study to study and understand the experiences of Sub-Saharan African immigrant students who are currently pursuing an undergraduate degree at an American 4-year public institution of higher education. Although Sub-Saharan …

Educational Complexity And Professional Development: Teachers' Need For Metacognitive Awareness, Andrew Hughes

Educational Leadership & Technology Faculty Publications

The study was designed to investigate technology and engineering teachers’ metacognitive awareness during specific established teacher practices. The study had a sample size of 18. There were six participants in three groups. Group 1 consisted of teachers that actively participated in Transforming Teaching through Implementing Inquiry (T2I2) professional development program. Group 2 consisted of teachers that were selected for but did not actively participate in T2I2 professional development system. Group 3 consisted of teachers that completed the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards professional development program. To measure the metacognitive awareness of each group, a semi-structured open-ended interview was used. …

Priority Schoolteachers' Experiences Of Professional Development To Improve Student Achievement, Joyce Wiggins Wiggins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The New Jersey 2011 Adequate Yearly Progress report revealed that 53% (n = 75) of state schools that failed to meet standards were put on a 'priority school' list. The 2015 priority school list consisted of 66 schools. In response, New Jersey created Regional Achievement Centers to provide collaborative professional development (PD) for effective instruction in the lowest performing schools. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of priority schoolteachers regarding experiences with past PD initiatives and PD under the current Elementary and Secondary Education Act flexibility waiver focusing on collaborative approaches that include …

The Impact Of Graphic Organizer Use On The Metacognitive Skills Of Ten Senior High School Students In An English Iv British Literature Class At Seaside High School, Josie P. White

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of graphic organizer use on the metacognitive skills of 10 senior high school students in English IV British Literature at Seaside High School.

This study took place over the course of five weeks in Spring 2017 and involved one section of the teacher-researcher’s English IV British Literature class at Seaside High School. Through student surveys, a pre-study interview with each student-participant, a learning styles inventory, students’ use of graphic organizers, the teacher-researcher’s observations and field notes, two writing assignments, and a post-study interview with each student-participant, extensive data was collected …

Adolescents' Self-Described Transformations And Their Alignment With Transformative Learning Theory, Katie Titus Larson

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This phenomenological, collaborative inquiry explored the depth of two adolescent girls’ lived experiences during their high school years and the degree to which their self-described transformative incidents aligned with transformative learning theory.Traditionally this theory has been reserved for adults, yet the current paradigm may have overlooked the capabilities of modern adolescents to not only experience, but to describe and interpret transformative learning in ways both similar to and unique from adults.My two 19-year-old co-researchers and I examined four years of their self-identified transformative incidents by breaking them into components, analyzing the language within, and seeking evidence of critical self-reflection throughout; …

"Do The Hard Work": Identity Development And First Year Doctoral Students, Davin J. Carr-Chellman, Carol Rogers Shaw

Adult Education Research Conference

This qualitative, phenomenological study examined the experiences of first year graduate students learning to become doctoral students in education doctoral programs. Findings include the centrality of identity development and social justice.

Experiential Journey Of Females Who Enter Or Re-Enter College Later In Life To Degree Completion, Rita Audy Johnston

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Given the scope and paucity of knowledge about the lived experiences of the female adult student entering or re-entering college later in life to degree completion, this research study identified significant themes in their lived experiences. With an appreciative eye, this study captured the female adult students’ lived experiences conveyed in a rich, inter-connected, and inspiring picture of who they are embedded into the larger context of society; such as role identity theory, social identity theory and the applicability and interpretations of these two theories on their journey to degree completion. This study also portrayed selected aspects of the feminist …