Constructing narrative and phenomenological meaning within one study

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to argue for the articulation of the affordances of two qualitative methodologies when used within one study to address the multi-dimensional nature of the research phenomena. Design/methodology/approach This paper considers one example of combining narrative inquiry and phenomenological inquiry to construct new understandings of teacher learning from an Australian study. Findings The author draws on the individual meaning-making and shared social phenomena of professional learning explored for five secondary school teachers. Findings are accessed in two ways: narrative inquiry enables the construction of unique professional learning narratives and phenomenological inquiry proposes commonalities in the teachers’ experiences. Research limitations/implications Selected examples from the study are used to explore what may be learnt from combining two interpretative methodologies within one study with limited references to the overall research findings. Practical implications These qualitative methodological designs and their implementation within one study have positive influences on the multifaceted nature of the construction of meaning-making in teacher professional learning. Furthermore, using two qualitative methodologies together provide insights on the study phenomena, in this instance, highlighting the personal aspect of expert teachers’ professional learning needs and the disruptive dissonance of ongoing problematics as central for the teachers throughout their professional learning. Originality/value This study offers one possibility for combining methodologies to access the meaning-making in teacher learning and one avenue for creating hermeneutic understanding in using the methods within this approach.

Whispers, echoes, friends and fears: forms and functions of voice‐hearing in adolescence

“…Based on existing healthcare and developmental narrative frameworks (Labov, 1972;Riessman & Quinney, 2005;Willig, 2013), a six-step analytic charter (found in Appendix S2) was developed. In order to capture aspects of individual meaningmaking within multi-layered sociocultural stories, an ideographic phenomenological element was added to the charter, supported by recent connections between narrative analysis and phenomenology (Patterson, 2018). The charter consisted of the following six actions: (1) origins at the individual level; (2) orientation in relationships and construction; (3) language and power in relationships; (4) individuality and commonality; (5) constructing a resolution; (6) phenomenological and emancipatory narratives (a copy of the FNA framework is provided in Appendix S2).…”

Reflexivity in a longitudinal narrative inquiry: in pursuit of clarity of interpretations

“…The qualitative principles of rigour along with purposive and criterion sampling used in the study (Patterson, 2018) enabled the interview interpretations to be considered reasonable and trustworthy. The teachers nominated by colleagues as experts suitable for inclusion in the research were representative of 'information-rich cases for studying in depth' (Liamputtong & Ezzy, 2005, p. 45).…”

“…This type of selection using peer nomination had previously enabled new understanding of teacher professional learning needs and the development of expertise (Collinson, 2012). The process of gathering and analysing meaning representations (Patterson, 2018) was not linear but rather spiralling in nature. Analysis of interviews for each participant was sequential to avoid repetition that did not provide new insights (Liamputtong & Ezzy, 2005).…”

“…Importantly, the interview process and prompts aligned to the chosen narrative and phenomenological approach to uncover the emerging constituents of the phenomena across the experience of the five teachers. Another approach, such as a longitudinal study or a large-scale study, might have asked different questions in different ways, which highlights the need to articulate the methodological deliberations guiding the research design and approaches (Patterson, 2018).…”

Whispers, echoes, friends and fears: forms and functions of voice‐hearing in adolescence

“…Based on existing healthcare and developmental narrative frameworks (Labov, 1972;Riessman & Quinney, 2005;Willig, 2013), a six-step analytic charter 2 was developed. In order to capture aspects of individual meaning making within multi-layered sociocultural stories, an ideographic phenomenological element was added to the charter, supported by recent connections between narrative analysis and phenomenology (Patterson, 2018) 6) phenomenological and emancipatory narratives. To enhance the rigor and credibility of the analytic process, the researchers adopted a curious perspective (La Vasseur, 2003;Norlick & Harder, 2010), recognizing and bracketing ideographic preconceptions and challenging existing cultural narratives through the process of phenomenology within the FNA, while considering interpretations and the construction of emancipatory narratives.…”