Phenomenography
Phenomenography is a qualitative research methodology that investigates the qualitatively different ways in which people experience something or think about something (Bowden et al., 1997; Ashworth & Lucas, 1998). Phenomenography aims at studying the variation of ways people understand phenomena in the world. In simpler terms, phenomenography explores the variation in how different people conceive of learning experiences (Akerlind, 2005). Those who design and deliver professional learning can use empirical research rather than anecdotal evidence to inform the development and delivery of meaningful professional learning experiences.
Phenomenography: GO-GN Insights
Penny Bentley used phenomenography to explore the experience of professional learning through open education (PLOE) from the perspective of teachers as adult learners. The study was conducted to inform the design and delivery of meaningful professional learning to other teachers seeking to learn about STEM education on the open Web.
“Phenomenography is not a widely used methodology. There is variation in literature on phenomenography around aspects of theory, methodology and method. This made it difficult for me, as a novice, solo researcher to comprehend and discuss with my supervisors who are not experts in the field. It is time consuming to conduct phenomenographic data analysis on a huge amount of data.
“I wanted to explore, understand and describe the different ways teachers experienced PLOE, from their perspective. This was an interpretive activity, situating my research in the interpretive paradigm. Also, describing the perspectives of teachers, in terms of what PLOE means to them, was research of a qualitative nature. However, there are a range of methodologies within the interpretive paradigm, such as ethnography, grounded theory, phenomenology and phenomenography.”
In order to justify my choice for this study I needed to consider the differences between these methodologies. I was not studying the culture of a group of teachers using the open Web to learn about STEM education (ethnography), although culture may be an aspect of how the phenomenon of PLOE is experienced. Nor was I generating a theory to explain the cause of social processes and interactions when teachers engaged in PLOE (grounded theory), although I was interested in understanding and describing the different ways these processes and interactions are experienced. Even though human experience is the focus of phenomenology and phenomenography, it is the phenomenographic focus on variation of experience, rather the focus on essence of experience made by phenomenologists, that made a difference to which methodology and methods I chose.
“Phenomenography enables me to describe variation in the lived experiences of PLOE from the perspective of teachers experiencing this phenomenon. This is important since much of the literature on professional learning does not include the different views of teachers, but focuses on aspects of professional learning that others consider important. It is this focus on variation of experience, particularly the meaning of experience, that I see as having a practical application to the professional learning of Australian teachers of STEM subject areas.
“If you are new to research, and working alone, I would advise you not to conduct a phenomenographic study unless you have people who are familiar with this methodology to support you. Give yourself plenty of time and limit the number of participants what is recommended in the literature. If you don’t know any phenomenographers in your institution, seek out networks of practice on social media. Read the seminal literature on phenomenography, then read it again.”
A phenomenographic data collection was conducted by Chrissi Nerantzi using a collective case study approach to gain insights into the collective lived collaborative open learning experience in two authentic cross-institutional academic development settings with collaborative learning features.
“Twenty two individual phenomenographic interviews with academic staff were conducted and coded. The findings illustrate that collaborative open learning was experienced as two dynamic immersive and selective patterns. Boundary crossing as captured in the categories of description and their qualitatively different variations, shaped that experience and related to modes of participation; time, place and space; culture and language as well as diverse professional contexts. Facilitator support and the elasticity of the design also positively shaped this experience. The community aspect influenced study participants’ experience at individual and course level and illuminated new opportunities for academic development practice based on cross-boundary community-led approaches. The findings synthesised in the phenomenographic outcome space, depicting the logical relationships of the eleven categories of description in this study, organised in structural factors, illustrate how these contributed and shaped the lived experience, together with a critical discussion of these with the literature, aided the creation of the openly licensed cross-boundary collaborative open learning framework for cross-institutional academic development, the final output of this study.
“Doing phenomenography on your own can be challenging. It’s worth considering doing the analysis with a colleague and discussing this. Large amounts of data as everything counts and is used, which can be time consuming.”
Useful references for Phenomenography: Åkerlind (2005); Ashworth & Lucas (1998); Bowden. & Green (2005); Bowden & Walsh (2000); Marton (1981); Marton (1986); Marton & Booth (1997); Tight (2016)