This article describes how phenomenography, as a qualitative research method, can be used to tackle key challenges in science education. It begins with an overview of the development of phenomenography. It then describes the philosophical underpinnings of phenomenographic inquiry, including ontological and epistemological roots, and its unique second-order perspective. From theoretical background to practicality, the paper uses rich examples to describe in detail the procedures of conducting a phenomenographic study, including sampling and data collection, analyzing phenomenographic data, and (...) communicating key findings. The paper concludes by showing how the phenomenographic method can be used to develop students’ conceptual understanding of scientific concepts, to inform effective instructional design in science teaching, and to identify and improve evidence-based factors in student learning to enhance learning outcomes in science. (shrink)

In this paper, the limitations associated widi current research approaches to the study of clinical decision‐making are discussed. Research examining the clinical decision‐making of nurses and doctors, and associated work in information procession, is reviewed. It is concluded that although die research is valuable in furthering die understanding of clinical decision‐making, diere are limitations associated with die current research approaches. The limitations are primarily related to the research approaches employed and the concentration on experienced nurses. The research fails to examine (...) die development of clinical decision‐making ability and die learning diat occurs in practice. Phenomenography is proposed as an alternative approach. The aim of phenomenography is to describe an individual's perception of a phenomenon. Phenomenography is relevant to die study of clinical decision‐making as it is concerned with variation in experience. When applied to die study of new graduate nurses, phenomenography can provide valuable information in relation to individual differences in learning diat arise from experience, what factors influence learning and how diey affect clinical decisionmaking ability. (shrink)

The use of phenomenology and phenomenography as a method in the educational research literature has risen in popularity, particularly by researchers who are interested in understanding and generati...

In this article I outline some principal features of phenomenography as a foundation of research on teachers' teaching competence. This article discusses the relations between autoteaching and teachers' teaching, between teachers' teaching and the notion of phenomenographic conceptions, and between phenomenography and philosophy.The discussion aims toward a preliminary articulation of the concepts of the domain and to outlines of a general theory of educational research on teaching. The focus is primarily on teachers' “didaktik” as a concrete content-related field (...) expressed as qualitative and complex ideas and their meanings.The concepts illustrating the content of teachers' didaktik are treated in eight categories: pedagogic planning, didaktik intentionality, differentiation of methods, stepping out of the natural attitude, didaktik oneness, didaktik themes and didaktik patience, the invisible dimension of didaktik. (shrink)

Abstract“Applications” of knowledge symbolically and structurally “codify” thinking, often displacing the human who is relegated to passive, routine reproduction of operations and left with no space or time to understand or question the relations underlying the processes. This is both mirrored and augmented by the schematic narrowing of computational, calculative reason and nebulous or hidden code that is often read-only if human-readable at all. According to French philosopher Bernard Stiegler, this has toxic effects on learning, systemically and progressively embedding failures (...) to think, hindering the potential for the collective and individual human adoption and adaptation of the knowledge of life. This article presents a process-based model to care for this problem through Stieglerian critical pedagogy, phenomenography, and process philosophy. The model evolved out of a course with the aim to achieve collective cultural literacy in that which “goes without saying” in the increasingly ubiquitous digital design of everyday life. (shrink)

Vilém Flusser not only defines his theoretical work as phenomenology, he considers the act of photography itself a phenomenological act. For this reason this contribution seeks to answer the question how much Flusser’s conception of phenomenology owes to Edmund Husserl and in what ways he has transformed Husserl’s own philosophical tenets. The main idea of this essay is that Flusser has reduced Husserl’s phenomenology to the concept of phenomenography. Nowhere in Flusser, in fact, can we trace any mention of (...) Husserl’s idea of phenomenology as an aprioristic science of essentials. On the basis of this reduced understanding of phenomenology as a cultural science, however, Flusser discovers a remarkable structural affinity between philosophy and photography. (shrink)

In the literature related to the study of sport, the idea of phenomenology appears with various meanings. The aim of this paper is to sketch the nature, methods and central concepts of phenomenology, and thereby to distinguish philosophical phenomenology from its empirical applications. We shall begin by providing an overview of what we think phenomenology is and is not, by introducing the following points: we distinguish phenomenology from phenomenalism; the ontological from the ontic; transcendental subjectivity from subjectivity; phenomenology from (...) class='Hi'>phenomenography; and phenomenology from other kinds of empirical qualitative methodology. Next, we examine the two most important British studies to include overviews of phenomenological work in relation to sociology of sport. We then take a critical view of the work of one research paper that gives a particularly clear description of the method of ?empirical phenomenology?. Throughout, we insist on the simple basics: that phenomenology is not simply the study of empirical phenomena, is not a form of subjectivism, is not about someone's personal experience or personal perspective, and that it is not to be confused with ?qualitative research methods?. We further insist that, if a researcher wishes to use the name ?phenomenology? for his or her research, he or she should explain just what it is (about the method or the concepts, or the outcomes) that informs or results from the research programme, in order to justify the name. (shrink)

When scientists act unethically, their actions can cause harm to participants, undermine knowledge creation, and discredit the scientific community. Responsible Conduct of Research training i...

In this article two different descriptive, qualitative analytic perspectives applied to the area of learning are compared, demonstrating, in part, that normal science in qualitative research can be conducted. The two perspectives are phenomenography and phenomenology and the comparison is between the different perspectives themselves and the results they produce. Phenomenography is basically an empirical approach that developed more from practice than theory and the phenomenological scientific approach used is a particularization of the Husserlian philosophical phenomenological method, as (...) its practice is claimed to be consistent with phenomenological criteria at the level of scientific application. There is a certain convergence in the findings of the two approaches but the level of analysis actually performed by each perspective made a direct comparison of the findings difficult. (shrink)

This article aims to acknowledge the bodily complexity of the drawing experience by regarding bodily movement as a teaching modality. Theoretically and methodologically, the article explores the didactic potential of variation in relation to phenomenography, artistic practice, and the Feldenkrais Method of movement. Two interdisciplinary drawing workshops were held, combining drawing with Feldenkrais intraventions. The participants’ drawings were analyzed, with the assumption that changes in the bodily experience of drawing would be discernable in the lines on the paper. The (...) results indicate that the Feldenkrais intraventions affected the bodily experience of drawing. Changes in the bodily experience were discerned and described in terms of proprioceptive presence, with reference to Jennifer Fisher's concept of haptic aesthetics. Two kinds of presence were brought to the fore: a presence defined as being present in the moment, and a presence defined as an increased sensibility towards three-dimensional volume and space. Both kinds are subtle qualities of bodily performativity that tend to go unnoticed in educational settings, in favor of visual or more explicitly performative bodily expressions. A relational epistemological approach is put forth as a way to acknowledge performative qualities of the drawing experience in teaching and learning. (shrink)

In his long-awaited Mystic Union , Nelson Pike offers a phenomenology of mysticism. His account is based on the reports and descriptions of third parties, not on his own, first-person experience. So he calls his enterprise ‘phenomenography’, an attempt to describe the experiential content of conscious states by way of reports of them. Pike finds in the Christian mystical tradition three different kinds of experiences of mystic union, the ‘prayer of quiet’, the ‘prayer of union’ and ‘rapture’. These experiences (...) differ phenomenologically, i.e. in experiential content. But they are all ‘theistic’ experiences; that is, they are all phenomenologically of God. By this Pike means: whether these experiences are veridical or not, their object – what they are veridical or hallucinatory experiences of – is God; and that they are of God is part of, or given in, the phenomenological content of the experiences themselves. (shrink)

This is a comparative study, drawing on data obtained from interviews conducted with headteachers, that compares the roles of Swedish and British headteachers as pedagogical leaders. For its analytical framework the study uses the qualitative research approach known as phenomenography and, in the context of the guiding legal documents related to education, examines the study's findings as frame factors and as tight and loosely coupled systems. Based on interviews with the study's subjects (five Swedish and five English headteachers), discernible (...) differences were noted between Swedish and English headteachers in their roles as pedagogical leaders. Both groups are responsible for the administration and management of the school but, compared to the Swedish headteachers, their English counterparts have greater personal responsibility for the school's overall performance and are more focused on providing leadership in teaching and learning. In contrast, the Swedish headteachers had a greater separation of the two roles, with the headteacher taking responsibility for administration and leaving responsibility for teaching and learning to the teachers. (shrink)

Arts-Based Research Methods for Educational Researchers is a book for early-career and established scholars who aim to use the arts to spark new ideas and empower participants in educational research. It will allow readers to conduct arts-based research and phenomenography research in their own projects. The book starts with a brief history of the arts in research, going on to provide an in-depth understanding of the philosophical foundations of arts-based research - different research designs, material preparation, ethical considerations, data (...) collection, analysis and reporting. Chapters highlight the impact of arts-based research, how it can be used to facilitate positive changes in educational research, practice, and policymaking. Tian suggests avenues for those who want to further develop these methods, guiding readers to reflect on their positionality and ethical issues involved in the research process. This insightful book is ideal for early career and experienced educational researchers who use qualitative methods in their inquiries. It offers a reader-friendly guide to methodology for scholars, educators as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students. (shrink)

This paper will examine the transformative possibilities of liminal space as described by Victor Turner and Isabel Clark in the musical experience. It draws on the author's previous phenomenography of musical experience an analytical frame based on the liminality of musical experience using the notion of difference-in-relationship drawing on Martin Buber's "I-Thou experience" and including theorists such as Dewey, Maslow, Levinas, Derrida, Noddings and Shore, M and I. S. Csikszentmihalyi, and Custodero. It will examine the implications of the use (...) of a liminal music space for cultural and personal transformation including its relationship between this space and the everyday world, the loss of boundaries, collective vulnerability, the opportunity to try out new personas, the handing over of responsibility to a higher power and the capacity for joyful play and the possibility of empowerment. It draws on Shakespeare's play Midsummer Night's Dream (drawing, as it does on Ovid's Metamorphoses) to illuminate the nature of transformation. (shrink)

The purpose of this study is to explore the emotional dimension of the student-teachers’ experiences, which is marked by anxiety. This study is based on a combination of a phenomenological informed theoretical framework and a phenomenographic approach. The empirical material refers to in-depth interviews with student-teachers. Through an abductive analysis of the material, anxiety experiences appeared to be a significant matter in the student teachers’ emotional life. Our study showed that anxiety in different variations to a large extent characterized the (...) emotional dimension of the student teachers’ experiences. The variations were expressed through three overarching categories of anxiety. The first category of anxiety is about losing one’s dignity, the second about not being recognized as a person, and the third about doing something very wrong. To operationalize the purpose of this study, we will discuss the importance of considering anxiety experiences as a didactical content component in teacher education. (shrink)

The influence of conscience on nurses in terms of guilt has frequently been described but its impact on care has received less attention. The aim of this study was to describe nurses' conceptions of the influence of conscience on the provision of inpatient care. The study employed a phenomenographic approach and analysis method. Fifteen nurses from three hospitals in western Sweden were interviewed. The results showed that these nurses considered conscience to be an important factor in the exercise of their (...) profession, as revealed by the descriptive categories: conscience as a driving force; conscience as a restricting factor; and conscience as a source of sensitivity. They perceived that conscience played a role in nursing actions involving patients and next of kin, and was an asset that guided them in their efforts to provide high quality care. (shrink)

Background: A limited number of studies have shown that patient advocacy can be influenced by both facilitators and barriers which can encourage and discourage nurses to act as patient advocates. Objective: This study’s aim was to describe Swedish nurses’ perceptions of influencers on patient advocacy. Research design and context: Interviews with 18 registered nurses from different Swedish clinical contexts were analysed using the phenomenographic method. Ethical considerations: Ethical revisions were made in accordance with national legislation and guidelines by committees for (...) research ethics at Karlstad University. Findings: Three levels of hierarchically related influencers on patient advocacy were found in the descriptive categories. The fundamental influencer, the nurse’s character traits, was described in the perceptions that advocacy is influenced by nurse’s having a moral compass, having control over the care situation, being protective and feeling secure as a nurse. The second most vital influencer, the nurse’s bond with the patient, was expressed in the perceptions of knowing the patient and feeling empathy for the patient. The third level of influencers, the organisational conditions, was described in the perceptions that the organisational structures and organisational culture influence patient advocacy. Discussion: The results correspond with findings from earlier research but add an understanding that influencers on patient advocacy exist at three hierarchically related levels. Conclusion: The nurse’s character traits are the fundamental influencer to patient advocacy, but in order to be comfortable and secure when advocating for patients, nurses also need to be familiar with both the patient and the situation. A supposition could be that all influencers interact, which needs to be further addressed in future studies. (shrink)

Pike’s phenomenology of mystical experiences articulates sharply where theological content may enter the structure of Christian mystics’ experiences (as characterized in their own words). Here we look to Buddhist (and other) accounts of pure or nibbanic consciousness attained in experiences of deep meditation. A contemporary modal model of inner awareness is considered whereby a form of pure consciousness underlies and embraces further content in various forms of consciousness, including mystical experiences in different traditions and experiences of full union (with God).

Background Even though the traditional focus in emergency care is on life-threatening medical crisis, ambulance clinicians frequently encounter patients with mental illness, including suicidal ideation. A suicide is preceded by a complex process where most of the suicidal ideation is invisible to others. However, as most patients seek healthcare in the year before suicide, ambulance clinicians could have an important part to play in preventing suicide, as they encounter patients in different phases of the suicidal process. Aim The aim of (...) this study was to describe ambulance clinicians’ conceptions of responsibility when encountering patients in a suicidal process. Research design A qualitative inductive design using a phenomenographic approach was used. Participants and research context Twenty-seven ambulance clinicians from two regions in southern Sweden were interviewed. Ethical considerations The study was approved by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority. Findings Three categories of descriptions captured a movement from responding to a biological being to responding to a social being. Conventional responsibility was perceived as a primary responsibility for emergency care. In conditional responsibility, the patient’s mental illness was given only limited importance and only if certain conditions were met. Ethical responsibility was perceived to have its primary focus on the encounter with the patient and listening to the patient’s life story. Conclusions An ethical responsibility is favourable regarding suicide prevention in ambulance care, and competence development in mental illness and conversation skills could enable ambulance clinicians to have conversations with patients about suicidal ideation. (shrink)