Phenomenological Case Research Articles

Perceptions of Teachers and Students on the Adoption of Smartphones in EFL Learning in the Vocational School Context

With the shift from face-to-face learning to online mode, both teachers and students need to adjust the online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, numerous researches has been undertaken, particularly ICT adoption in EFL learning. Despite a growing study investigating ICT use in the EFL context, relatively few studies report on the adoption of smartphones as a platform for teaching English situated in the vocational landscape. To fill this gap, this study is aimed to investigate teachers' and students' perceptions about the adoption of smartphones in EFL learning in one of Indonesia’s vocational schools. Grounded in a phenomenological case study, this research provided details of vocational English teachers' and students’ live experiences interacting in English teaching via smartphone as a learning platform. In this study, two English teachers and three students have recruited as the participants voluntarily. The result of this study showed numerous benefits and challenges in the use of smartphones in the vocational school context. The writer found that the adoption of smartphones is beneficial, helpful, practical, and enjoyable for learning English, especially in using several smartphone applications. Despite the benefits of a smartphone, the participants reported that the instructions need to explain clearly as they are sometimes confused with the teacher's instructions. Drawing on the findings, this research implied that English teachers are suggested to adopt a wide range of learning resources to gain better students' understanding of learning English.

The life of people with dementia who have multiple children in rural China: A phenomenological case study.

The aim of this study was to explore the lived experiences of a rural dwelling person living with dementia and his children. Using a phenomenological case study methodology, it aims to explore the health-related and personal dilemmas faced by multiple family members who provide care to a person living with dementia in a rural area in Henan, China. The study also investigates the barriers to quality dementia care in this kind of setting in order to inform the relevant stakeholders. A phenomenological case study was designed for this study. The case that formed the focus of the research included a person living with dementia and multiple family members. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were undertaken with the five family members of the person living with dementia. Smith's interpretative phenomenological analysis was used for data analysis. Three major themes were identified: (1) Dementia as a normal ageing process or a bad disease; (2) Commitment to and challenges of family caring and (3) Life in rural areas. With the development of China's economy and its social-cultural changes, traditional home-based care provision in rural areas of China is being challenged for people with dementia who have multiple children. It suggests that there needs to be an exploration into providing more appropriate care for people with dementia living in rural settings. It also suggests that more support is required to increase dementia awareness and to improve the quality of life of people with dementia and their families in rural China.

Ageism-Induced Anxiety of Job Seekers Aged 50–83: Preliminary Findings from A Phenomenological Case Study Problem of Practice Dissertation

Ageism in today’s job market has a range of detrimental emotional, psychological, and economic impacts on older job seekers aged 50-83. Even as such job seekers “de-age” their professional documents and online profiles, they still navigate misperceptions about older workers that disadvantage them in the recruitment and hiring process. While anecdotal evidence raises concerns about older job seekers’ equitable access to employment, empirical evidence documenting the impacts of ageism on this population remains limited, thus impeding the efficacy of their support systems. This article reports on progress from the qualitative case study that I designed for my CPED-informed Problem of Practice Dissertation that captured data from 30 job seekers, aged 50-83, through one-on-one interviews, focus groups, and questionnaires. This article offers preliminary findings from this research, documenting the negative financial, emotional, psychological, and physical effects of navigating persistent ageism for older job seekers.

"I can't write": problems, factors, and recommendations

Writing is a significant skill whose significance increases when it comes to writing in the English language which is used for global mediation of knowledge. This study explored the problems encountered by students who have difficulty in writing, the factors which could be reasons for these difficulties, and the possible solutions to overcome these. This made use of qualitative research design and employed phenomenological case study framework. After thematic analyses, it was found that the students encountered problems in writing specifically in syntax, grammar, and vocabulary. The students believed that lack of reading and writing practice, lack of ideas, and lack of self-confidence were the factors affecting their writing skills. To address the problems that they encountered in writing, the students recommended increased reading, writing practice, and teacher assistance.

Adopting Literature Circle to Guide Work Undergraduate Students in Extensive Reading Program: Lessons Learned from Initial Teacher Education

Albeit many works provide insight into EFL's extensive reading programs, relatively few studies investigate adopting literature circles in the extensive program. To fill this void, this phenomenological case study reports on the adoption of literature circle as the instructional procedure in an extensive program in Indonesian teacher education. Thirty-one undergraduate students in the cohort, four students, were recruited as participants voluntarily. Data are derived from classroom observation, focus group discussion, and interviews. Findings revealed that the literature circle enables students to engage in online discussion actively. Pedagogically, this study implied that the literature circle could be adopted as instructional scaffolding in an extensive reading program situated in an EFL classroom. This study implies the teacher educator to provide fruitful feedback to motivate students after discussing it. Practically, undergraduate students are encouraged to practice navigating skills in exploring a wide range of texts for extensive practice in EFL text.

A charge to keep I have: Black women teachers’ spirituality and the implications for educational leadership

ABSTRACT Black educators represent a small percentage of the educator workforce. In this manuscript, we examine the institutional and leadership conditions which contribute to the liminal presence of Black women educators specifically. We nuance the discussion about Black women educators to help educational leaders gain a deeper understanding of their: commitments to Black students, experiences with organizational oppression, and navigational techniques. We outline the ways that four Black women educators center religio-spiritual praxis in their classrooms. We use a phenomenological case study design to explore the narratives and religo-spiritual perspectives of four Black women educators. The authors leverage womanist theology to examine Black women educators’ work, commitments and ways of knowing. This manuscript utilizes interviews, artifact and document collection to paint a holistic picture. There are three major themes: strength, peace and womanist activism. These findings suggest that Black women educators are uniquely positioned to navigate, and help their Black students navigate, oppressive schooling conditions. This manuscript nuances the discussion about Black women educators in three key ways: (1) repositions their expertise in supporting Black students, (2) can increase educational leaders’ understanding of their commitments and realities, and (3) expands the teacher turnover discussion.

The Role of Mediational Discourse in Developing an EFL Teacher’s Oral Corrective Feedback Strategies: A Sociocultural Perspective

Taking sociocultural theory (SCT) as a theoretical framework, this qualitative phenomenological case study investigated the mediational discourse of a series of ten observation and post-observation conferences between a coach and an English language teacher teaching at Iran Language Institute (ILI) in Shiraz, Iran, in order to represent the development of student-focused oral feedback in an EFL teacher over time. Features of verbal mediation already identified by Wertsch (1998) such as shared definition of the task, inter-subjectivity, graduated help, and reasoning existed in the data, while they were insufficient in triggering the teacher to think conceptually about his use of oral feedback to students. Similarly, professional discourse, languaging motives, and teacher dynamicity, alongside the aforementioned meditational features, were revealed to be pivotal on the uptake of conceptual thinking by the teacher. The study was divided into three phases, namely, before, during, and after verbal mediations given by the coach to the teacher participant. The results of the study, along with the previous descriptive and empirical studies, accounted for an obvious role of mediational discourse in the development of teacher’s understanding of conceptual thinking through verbally-mediated activity. The results also found that negotiated help given by the teacher to learners was excessively pivotal in assisting learners to internalize their oral errors. The study concluded with some pedagogical implications for second language teachers to be reflective, dynamic, and evaluative in dealing with oral corrective feedback challenges in their classroom practices.

A Phenomenological Case Study of Blind Male Masseuses Experiencing Sexual Assault: Implication for Nursing Practice

BACKGROUND: Having experience of sexual assault may bring a great impact on the lives of blind male masseuses. However, a deep understanding of the consequences is currently still not largely explored. AIM: The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of sexual assault and the consequences of sexual assaults incidents which occurred in the lives of blind male masseuses. METHODS: This study used a phenomenological case study design. Interviews were conducted with nine blind male masseuses who had experienced sexual assault while carrying out their profession in Semarang city, Indonesia. The data were analyzed using Giorgi analysis. RESULTS: The experience of being sexually assaulted disrupts almost all of the participants’ lives for a relatively long period of time, and even it is still felt at the present. To release and reduce the fear and trauma caused by sexual assault, the participants consciously drew themselves closer to God as the main thing to do. A prayer to God to be protected from being the victim of sexual assault is a participant’s devotion while carrying out their worship ritual. Talking to other blind masseuses also helps them to find the solutions needed to rebuild their lives. However, the participants tend to feel ashamed and reluctant to convey how such sexual assault has affected their lives to present time. CONCLUSION: Even though the participants have adapted and rebuilt their lives, the residue of sexual assault impact is still felt and remains for a long time. Self-protection training and assistive devices for blind masseuses to prevent the recurrence of sexual assault are significantly important and should be considered to be implemented by nurses.

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS� EXPERIENCES ON ONLINE LEARNING DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC: THE INFLUENCE OF ENGAGEMENT AND PEDAGOGICAL CHARACTERISTIC IN EFL CONTEXT

This study is aimed to report undergraduate students experiences on online learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While online learning is not new, this was a novel and sudden experience for students who normally attend school, relatively little empirical evidence explore how undergraduate students experience during online learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic in terms of their engagement and pedagogical aspects. To fill this gap, this present study focused on investigating undergraduate students' experience of online learning in engagement included students active involvement category and pedagogical characteristics such as personalization, authenticity, and collaboration. Grounded in qualitative approach with phenomenological case study design. Out of thirty-one undergraduate students of 2nd semester major in English education in one of universities in West Java, three undergraduate students were recruited as the participants voluntarily in this study. The data were collected from online interviews adopting the three-interview series framework by Seidmans (2013) consisting of thirteen questions. The data were qualitatively analyzed by inductive phenomenological reduction from Seidmans (2013). The result of this study showed two emergent findings on undergraduate students' experience during online learning. First of all, the term of engagement on online learning of undergraduate students shows that each participant has a wide range of class involvement. Secondly, the pedagogical characteristic of personalization aspect indicated that students have independent learning such as read repeatedly the material and access more than one learning source.

Servingness in the Borderlands: A Study of Faculty Hiring at a Hispanic-Serving Institution on the Border

This evaluation of faculty hiring examines how eight faculty search chairs at a border Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) discuss how they enact an HSI consciousness when making hiring decisions. Using a combined phenomenological case study approach, the author examines hiring through a conceptual framework that brings together organizational culture and Borderlands theory to understand how committee decisions on hiring are informed by their campus’s HSI designation and cultural identity. Through analysis of faculty search chair interviews, faculty search chairs at a borderland HSI are committed to hiring with their student population in mind by enacting a Latinx-serving consciousness. Overall, the findings of this study contribute to a broader conversation on servingness as well as scholarship on how educators and administrators can embrace the cultural values that their Latinx students possess to make decisions in hiring.

Senior Physical Education Teacher Education Majors’ Reflections on Teaching at a Youth Development Center

Purpose: Acknowledging the growing ethnic and cultural gap in diverse teacher and student populations, this study examined the pedagogical experiences of undergraduate physical education teacher education seniors following a teaching experience at a youth development center. Method: A phenomenological case study approach was employed in which preservice teachers taught and participated in over 45 secondary physical education lessons. The primary data sources were reflective journals and semistructured interviews. Results: Two major themes were constructed that describe the journeys of the physical education teacher education seniors teaching at both the youth development center field experience and in their internship placements the following semester. Initially, the preservice teachers experienced nervousness, uncertainty, and concern but, across time, experienced a degree of change and growth that saw them becoming particularly aware of and appreciating the personal biographies of their students. Discussion: The extent to which the physical education teacher education seniors’ experiences at the youth development center were transferred into their internships is discussed in addition to implications for introducing culturally relevant pedagogies in nontraditional settings.

EXPERIENCES OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS IN SURVIVING LIFE

Background: Fear of contracting HIV in the community causes discrimination and stigma to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) because people still consider HIV/AIDS taboo. Many of the sufferers struggle to reveal their HIV status to others, but they get negative results such as rejection, stigmatization and even discrimination which can be a high psychological burden. Stigma and discrimination against PLWHA are the main obstacles to achieving a good quality of life.
 Objectives: This study is intended to explore the in-depth experiences of people living with HIV/AIDS in surviving life.
 Methods: This research is a phenomenological case study. The sample in this study amounted to three people who were recruited from Healthy Loving Care Foundation Semarang City. The sample was determined using a purposive sampling technique according to the inclusion criteria, that is age 20 and 50 years, diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, conscious, cooperative, not experiencing cognitive, hearing and speech disorders, willing to participate in the study by signing the informed consent. The data was collected by in-depth online interviews and then recorded in transcripts and analyzed using Amedeo Giorgi's data analysis technique.
 Results: This study showed that participants experience adversity due to HIV/AIDS but the participants get out of their slump by accepting their illness, taking treatment, finding a support system and becoming a positive people. The participants also in living their lives keep their illness a secret to survive so as not to experience bad stigma or discrimination. The results of this study reveal one main theme, Experiences of People living with HIV in Surviving life.
 Conclusion: This study found the support received by participants and the response of participants to their condition as an effort to survive their lives.

Interpersonal and Metapersonal Self-Regulation of Al-Quran Memorizer Santri at Elementary School Level

This article aims to examine the interpersonal and metapersonal self-regulation of students memorizing the Qur'an at the elementary school level. This research adopted a phenomenological case study research design. Six students, five parents of students, and one teacher were recruited for data collection. Interviews, observation and documentation were conducted to obtain data. The results report that students' interpersonal self-regulation was carried out by preaching to their peers by reprimanding their friends or siblings. They try to regulate themselves to be able to harmonize their thoughts, words, and actions in the form of a polite attitude. They also strive to manage the existing environment in order to support the achievement of the goals that have been set. Environmental management is an effort to invite other friends to use their free time to use memorization. The metapersonal self-regulation is conducted by seeking the pleasure of Allah. However, the students who memorize the Qur'an at the elementary school level at the Tadabbur Al-Qur'an House have not been able to feel certain mental activities that can facilitate the process of memorizing the Qur'an. Among the inner activities that are carried out are certain prayers, especially to get help in the hereafter.

Exploring the Causes of Plagiarism among Post Graduate Research Students- A Phenomenological Case Study Approach

The study aimed to unearth the reasons that influence university students to plagiarize assignments. A phenomenological case study approach was adopted. Sixty-seven participants were selected from the Faculty of Education of a public university, located in Karachi, Pakistan. They took part in semi-structured interviews. The obtained data were analyzed through thematic analysis. Findings uncovered that most participants lacked a deep understanding of different types of academic plagiarism, and practical skills to evade it. Prevalent sources of information for preparing assignments included websites followed by research papers, e-books, and project reports, without verifying quality. The most common reasons that have influenced research students to plagiarize assignments included weak language and academic writing skills, easy access to online resources, conventional assignments, inadequate digital literacy, short time-frame, and challenge to balance personal, professional, and academic life. In conclusion, plagiarism is a conscious act coupled with indirect pressures scattered by academia. It is recommended to promote the culture of academic honesty among learners. In this regard, courses on preventing plagiarism, digital literacy, academic reading, and research writing should be integrated as a pre-requisite for a postgraduate research degree. It is also proposed to help learners embracing conscious networking skills and ownership of learning. Furthermore, contextual information literacy and plagiarism framework should be introduced.

Aging, Agency, and Self-Efficacy: A Phenomenological Case Study of an Older Couple

Researchers have found that the majority of older individuals want to remain in their own home as they age. However, respecting the right of older individuals to exert control over their life while ensuring their safety can be a difficult undertaking to achieve. The aim of this research was to understand the lived experiences of an older couple who are in cognitive decline but are trying to maintain personal agency. The issue was studied using Bandura’s agency and self-efficacy theories as the theoretical framework. A phenomenological case study methodology was used. Participants were selected using a purposeful sampling strategy, and the sample was four individuals (father, mother, daughter, and grandson) from one family living at two separate residences. Data were collected using a mixed-methods approach. Qualitative data were collected by interviewing participants, and quantitative data were collected by administering a standardized cognitive assessment to the older individuals. Results indicated that the older couple were able to live independently because of the presence of the following five components: (a) adequate physical health; (b) adequate cognition, especially in the areas of memory and problem solving; (c) self-efficacy beliefs; (d) coping strategies to compensate for the declines in physical health and cognition due to aging; and (e) a support system to help the couple with activities they could no longer do on their own. In this study, each of the older individuals believed they could take care of themselves and wanted to live on their own. Independent living was only possible with significant assistance from family members.

Planning community-centered inquiries: (Re)Imagining K-8 civics teacher education with/in rural and Indigenous communities

This phenomenological case study investigates how planning community-centered civics inquiries can prepare elementary pre-service teachers to better address inequities facing rural communities, including those located on Indigenous reservations. Specifically, the study addresses this research question: How does community-centered planning inform pre-service teacher readiness to support place-conscious and anti-colonial civics education within elementary contexts? Findings suggest that guided, community-centered planning leads to enhanced pre-service teacher confidence in preparing to facilitate equity-oriented elementary education, particularly as related to evolving understandings of civics content competence, relational commitments, and responsibilities of rural teachers.

EXPLORING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION OF THE BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS IN DISTANCE LEARNING DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC

This present research focused on exploring undergraduate students’ perception of distance learning in terms of experiences, benefits, and drawbacks (time management, cost, technical difficulties). It was grounded in a qualitative approach with a phenomenological case study design. Three undergraduate students of the 9th semester from the English Education Department in Wiralodra University were recruited to participate in this research. The data were derived from the three-interview series framework that consists of fifteen questions. The interview data were qualitatively analyzed by using inductive phenomenological reduction based on Seidman (2013). This research revealed that undergraduate experience varies, from the struggle with the connection to the limited communication between lecturer-students or student-students. Distance learning also impacts their feeling on how they mean distance learning, which makes the students mostly lazier as the communication is also limited and the policy is none to them who are not attending the class. It is also showed benefits and drawbacks where it is more flexible but unstable. The cost comes to be cheaper, but they still pay the tuition fee even though they did not use the campus facility, and the main technical difficulties lie in which device and apps they used at that moment.
 Keywords: perception, distance learning, benefits, drawbacks.

Effective Instructional Leadership Practices in High Performing Elementary Schools

The purpose of this study was to investigate the connection between principals’ instructional practices and student achievement. A phenomenological case study examined 13 Title I elementary schools in central California that exhibited a) a high percentage of students from poverty, b) higher than average state assessment results, and c) principals that remained in their schools for 3 years or more during the same time period. The study analyzed instructional leadership practices (ILP) and the monitoring tools used by the principals and its effect on student achievement. The impact of this study provides a model for ILP of principals that can be incorporated into their daily habits that provide opportunities for instructional changes that can lead to increased student achievement.

역사교사가 되어간다는 것은 무엇인가? -‘역사교사 되어가기’ 체험에 관한 현상학적 사례 연구-

This article is the result of researching a 34-year veteran teacher''s educational life by using phenomenological case study methods to find answers to the question of "What is it like to be a history teacher and what is the meaning of it?" As a result of the Kim YoHan teacher''s story, becoming a history teacher was a process of continuous change in teaching, learning, and behavior, a process of growing up together in a network of past and present agent. It was also a process of becoming a researcher on his own educational practice while creating his identity as a researcher. The story of becoming a history teacher derived from the Kim YoHan teacher''s educational life story reminds us that we need to think about what professionalism is in a fluid process of personal and collective reflective practice, away from fixed concepts such as pedagogical content knowledge. In particular, history teacher Kim YoHan demonstrated the possibility that applying an educational policy to suit one’s history class through the sense-making process, which is an active interpretative practice, could be an important professionality for a history teacher. The findings also indicated that exploring the common and distinct parts of historical researchers, historical education researchers, and historical teachers'' professionality would be an important task. because History teacher are good learners and researchers of their own teaching practice Based on this study, I suggested that Preservice history teacher training courses, history teacher certification tests, and history teacher retraining courses should all be considered as History Teacher’s "Bildung" courses to Facilitate reflect and design history teachers'' own curriculum. I hope that this study can help the history teacher to reflect on his or her educational life, or that the history education researchers inquiry the history teacher''s life itself.

Child Sexual Abuse in South Africa: A Criminological Case Study Analysis Exploring a Life-Course-Persistent Pathway for Serial Rape and Murder

Child sexual abuse and the criminogenesis thereof are notably not perpetrated in isolation from physical and emotional abuse – although empirical evidence suggests that the most profound impact thereof revolves around a desire to escape (as a coping mechanism) into a world of deviant sexual fantasy, rape and murder. The article explores a phenomenological case study analysis of a serial rapist and murderer from birth to early adulthood, prior to incarceration – and it depicts an existence driven by fatal sadistic sexual desires, hate and lethal intent. The researchers conducted face-to-face interviews with the participant comprising of three one-hour interviews, with the aid of a semi-structured interview schedule. The study highlighted the need for a proactive response in rendering psychosocial services to the abused child.