Topical Life History Research Articles

Exploring identity work of LGBT+ volunteers in sport through personas: the advocate, the community-minded and the sportsperson

ABSTRACT Research question Sport volunteering can be a valued and meaningful way to engage in sport beyond participation, but sport volunteers lack diversity in the UK. Specifically, there has been a lack of insight into experiences and identities of LGBT+ volunteers in sport. Therefore, this research explores how LGBT+ volunteers construct, negotiate and manage their identities over time and through the use of personas. Research methods Using identity work as a theoretical lens and from a social constructionist perspective, this study employs topical life history interviews of 16 sexually diverse sport volunteers to explore identity work strategies adopted by participants to navigate their volunteer experiences. Results and findings Using constructivist grounded theory analysis, the study identifies three personas (1) advocate, (2) community-minded and (3) sportsperson – through which identity processes are expressed, illustrating the shifts in these personas as participants navigate their volunteer experiences. Implications By acknowledging the fluidity of identity processes and the influence of socio-political contexts, sport organisations can create more inclusive environments that accommodate the varying needs of LGBT+ volunteers. Theoretically, the study contributes to the broader discourse on identity work by demonstrating how personas emerge as outcomes of this work and how they are sustained over time, offering a nuanced understanding of identity processes within sport volunteering.

Cambodian Teachers' Perceptions of Online Teaching: During and Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic

This limited topical life history study aims to gain insights into COVID-19’s impacts on teaching at upper secondary schools through Cambodian teachers’ perceptions of online teaching. It presents teachers’ current challenges and needs as well as future impacts on their teaching practices. Online semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data from 29 subject teachers and their school directors. This study concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the quality of teaching and learning due to the limited functions of monitoring students rather than limited digital knowledge and skills. The classroom management is still required although the learning is online. The empirical evidence suggests this effect in science disciplines; especially for calculation-related subjects. However, COVID-19 was viewed as providing secondary education with a great deal for implementing the digital revolution of education 4.0 and created some practical issues for policymakers and implementers. Although the findings largely concur with previous literature on online teaching during the pandemic, they also draw context-specific features of the issue.

“It's hard to find balance when you're broken”: Exploring female endurance athletes’ psychological experience of recovery from relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S)

IntroductionThis study aimed to explore qualitatively the psychological experience of recovery from relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S). More specifically, it sought to understand: how RED-S is experienced from a psychological perspective; sources of psychological conflict in the ongoing management of energy availability (EA); and athlete responses to psychological conflict in the pursuit of optimal EA. MethodsEight female endurance athletes identifying as “in recovery” or “recovered” from RED-S (M age = 29.78 years) participated in this integrated methods multiple case-study. Participants engaged in an initial topical life history interview, before completing an online diary over a 21-day period, taking photographs of psychological triggers for seven days, and participating in a follow-up interview. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. ResultsThe theme in too deep and treading water captured the significant psychological implications of RED-S. Seven sources of psychological conflict reported while managing EA were identified. The theme a constant tug of war represented the responses to these sources of psychological conflict in the ongoing management of EA. Within this theme, the subthemes in two minds and an emotional rollercoaster illustrated the cognitive and affective responses to psychological conflict, while giving in and the only way is through represented the adaptive and maladaptive behavioural responses during recovery, respectively. ConclusionThis study offers novel insights into the complex nature of recovery from RED-S and highlights the importance of considering psychological factors underpinning improved physiological functioning and overall wellbeing during RED-S recovery.

Boyeristic Tendencies: A Look into the Life History of the Student Affairs Scholar-Practitioner

The purpose of this study was to provide more insight into the skills and support systems needed to encourage scholarship among student affairs practitioners. We used topical life history to examine the scholarly lives of eight student affairs practitioners. To guide that examination, we leveraged the questions posed by Jablonski et al. (2006) as our research questions: “What skills and knowledge [did] practitioners need to develop a scholarship agenda?" and "What support, coaching, and job modifications create[d] environments for practitioners to be successful” (p. 197). Participant life histories revealed a variety of direct and indirect influences, such as institutional context, mentorship, personal characteristics, and significant others on the participants' work as student affairs practitioners. The findings highlighted the following as major influences on the professionals’ decision to engage and sustain scholarship: community, intrinsic motivation, and cultural change. What these findings also suggest is practitioners are willing and desirous to make an impact on the broader field through scholarly engagement; they just need support and compelling reasons to do so.

한국어능력시험(TOPIK) 학습 경험에서 시작된 삶의 변화 - 필리핀 결혼이주여성의 생애사를 중심으로

본 연구는 주제 중심적 생애사 연구 방법으로 한국어능력시험(TOPIK) 학습 경험에서 시작된 결혼이주여성의 삶의 변화를 살피는 데 목적이 있다. 이를 위하여 필리핀 결혼이주여성 1인을 심층 면담하여 자료를 수집하였고 Mandelbaum(1973)이 제시한 생애사 분석의 틀 중에서 전환점과 적응을 중심으로 분석하였다. 그 결과 연구 참여자는 한국 정착 후 가족의 지지 속에서 공부를 하다가 한국어능력시험 준비반에 들어갔고 그 안에서 고향과 다른 학습 문화를 경험하였다. 한국어능력시험 3급 이상을 취득한 후에는 통역 아르바이트, 대학 진학, 취업의 과정을 거쳤고 지금은 결혼이주여성들을 위한 조력자 역할을 하고 있다. 본 연구는 출신 국가에서 학력이 높지 않은 결혼이주여성도 후천적인 학습에 의해 삶이 달라질 수 있음을 보여주는 긍정적인 사례가 될 수 있다.

Pornography Induced Erectile Dysfunction Among Young Men

This paper explores the phenomenon of pornography induced erectile dysfunction (PIED), meaning sexual potency problems in men due to Internet pornography consumption. Empirical data from men who suffer from this condition have been collected. A combination of topical life history method (with qualitative asynchronous online narrative interviews) and personal online diaries has been employed. The data have been analyzed using theoretical interpretative analysis (according to McLuhan’s media theory), based on analytic induction. The empirical investigation indicates that there is a correlation between pornography consumption and erectile dysfunction that suggests causation. The findings are based on 11 interviews along with two video diaries and three text diaries. The men are between the ages of 16 and 52; they report that an early introduction to pornography (usually during adolescence) is followed by daily consumption until a point is reached where extreme content (involving, for example, elements of violence) is needed to maintain arousal. A critical stage is reached when sexual arousal is exclusively associated with extreme and fast-paced pornography, rendering physical intercourse bland and uninteresting. This results in an inability to maintain an erection with a real-life partner, at which point the men embark on a “re-boot” process, giving up pornography. This has helped some of the men to regain their ability to achieve and sustain an erection.

‘We may be falling apart but we still keep going’: retired servicemen’s experiences of their ageing bodies

Currently, there is scant research that investigates in-depth retired servicemen’s perceptions and experiences of ageing and being physically active, particularly in relation to retirement experiences. In this article, we employ a novel theoretical combination of figurational sociology and symbolic interactionism to explore a topical life history of 20 retired servicemen’s experiences in relation to physical activity (PA), the ageing body and constructions of identity in later life. Participants were aged 60+ and members of the Royal British Legion in a city in the English Midlands. Three semi-structured focus-group interviews and follow-up conversations were completed, together with informal observations. Key findings revealed that although participants recognised the need for regular PA, their perceptions routinely centred upon the ‘felt’ limitations of the ageing body, often in stark contrast to their former ‘disciplined’, active, military bodies. Corporeal challenges and limitations discouraged some from taking part in PA altogether. Despite their perceived bodily limitations, however, many ex-service personnel still endeavoured to stay physically active. Findings highlight the salience of the temporal aspects of older adults’ lived experiences of exercise and PA, for past experiences of PA and exercise were identified as strongly shaping current-day motivations, attitudes and behaviours.

What learning is needed for white teachers’ race-visible teaching? Racialised curriculum recoding of cherished knowledges

In support of the special issue of Whiteness and Education, ‘White Scholars Working against Whiteness’, the author approaches the research question: What learning is needed for White teachers’ race-visible teaching? Through a topical life history reflection adding to second-wave White teacher identity studies, the author narrates racialised curriculum recoding of cherished knowledge as one component of teacher education instructors’ work with White preservice and in-service teachers. Providing this narrative, the author recounts the creative-destruction of his own cherished knowledge of ‘the radicalism of the American Revolution’. In the discussion and conclusion, the author discusses implications of racialised curriculum recoding for race-visible teaching in teacher education.

Contemplating Workplace Change

Drawing on topical life histories of physicians in a particularly volatile public health sector environment, we build theory around the contemplation of workplace change. Overall, our study provides evidence as to why single or multiple independent factors, such as pay or job structure, may fail to predict or explain individual decisions to stay in or change workplaces. Instead, the contemplation process we argue is a complex, evolutionary, and context-dependent one that requires individualized interventions. Our findings reveal the prevalence of episodic context-self fit assessments prompted by triggering stimuli, two mechanisms by which thought processes evolved (reinforcement and recalibration), and four characteristic story lines that explain why the thought processes manifested as they did (exploring opportunities, solving problems, reconciling incongruence, and escaping situations). Based on our findings, we encourage practitioners to regularly engage in story-listening and dialogic conversations to better understand, and potentially affect the evolving socially constructed realities of staff members.

Failure is not an Option: Parental Expectations of Nigerian Voluntary Immigrants to the United States

The purpose of this study was to explore the socio-cultural and educational contexts of parental expectations of Nigerian voluntary immigrants to the United States. Immigrant or voluntary minorities are people who have migrated essentially of their own volition to the United States, or any other nation, because they seek more economic mobility, or a better life in general, and/or political freedom (Ogbu, 1995). This case study sought an explanation for the success in education attributed to these new African immigrants and their children. This study investigated the relationship among three factors: (a) parental expectations, (b) socio-cultural experiences, and (c) (adult) children’s internalization of their parent’s aspirations for them. The method of inquiry included phenomenological analysis on data collected through participants’ topical life-histories (Giorgio, 1985). The results of the study represent the Nigerian immigrants’ worldviews: a folk theory shared by their cultural and life experiences. The common threads running throughout their responses are ‘education is the number one priority,’ ‘hard work,’ ‘effort begets luck,’ and ‘failure is not an option.’ Nigerian culture had a strong influence on the upbringing and fulfillment of expectations for the children of the participants.

Women's stories of learning mathematics

In earlier research (Onion 1998) I investigated the topical life histories of primary school teachers with respect to their experiences of mathematics. Studies of teachers or of adults in numeracy ...

Searching for Meaning

The purpose of this study was to explore how US-resident Chinese immigrants with metastatic cancer search for meaning at the end of their lives. Data were gathered by a topical life history method, using life story, and in-depth interviews. A narrative analysis of 12 participant interviews revealed 6 themes: suffering and impending death, compassion and love, joy and value, hope and faith, readjustment and transcendence, and empowerment and peaceful dying. Although participants simultaneously faced suffering, they searched for meaning in their lives. Participants experienced compassion and love from religious practices and the caring and support of family and others. They experienced joy and value by feeling satisfied with their quality of life, having good relationships with family and friends, practicing religion, appreciating the present moment, and keeping everyday life normal. Participants built hope and faith by continuing to live, believing in a possible cure, having religious beliefs, and receiving encouragement from family and others. They readjusted and transcended suffering by accepting the unexpected in life, looking for positive impacts of having cancer, and developing a positive attitude toward living with cancer. They felt empowered and prepared to die peacefully by maintaining good symptom control, remaining independent, and finding peace of mind.

Myths and the “Politics of Exceptionality”: Interpreting Chicana/o Narratives of Achievement

The author draws from select topical life histories conducted with individuals who enrolled in doctoral programs at UC Berkeley during a ten-year period beginning with 1968. She examines the myths surrounding academic achievement for people of Mexican descent and how these myths affected her initial interpretation of their childhood stories about their parents' relationship to their achievements. She considers the interpretation of these narratives from the perspectives of various schools of thought and argues that the issue of educational achievement by minority groups is subject to a “politics of exceptionality.” Hence, high academic achievement is not considered normative, and students who do achieve are treated as exceptions, not only to the presumed meritocracy, but as exceptions to their racial/ethnic group. By individualizing their achievements and focusing on their characteristics as individuals, the focus of social policies with respect to educational attainment remains focused on the individual achiever and not on the institutional processes and structural opportunities that maximize the possibilities for achievement.

'Nihonjin no yoo to omoimashita' (I think I'm like a Japanese): Additional Language Learning and the Development of Multiple Selves

This paper addresses the questions of how and what kinds of multiple self-presentations may inhabit the same narrative space. I draw on two types of data, both of which highlight changes that have occurred to individuals who have learned another language. By foregrounding the topical life histories of two Anglo-Celt Australians who have learned Japanese as an additional language after the age of 11 years, it was possible to investigate: (i) the extent to which multiple self-presentations are 'scaffolded' by the ability to make meaning in Japanese as an additional language; and (ii) the process of 'identity slippage' as part of the social semiotic construction of a bilingual self. In this paper, I challenge how 'Asian', and more specifically, 'Japanese' identities have been traditionally described.

The Principal's Contribution to School Restructuring Initiatives Aimed at Improving Teaching and Learning

Studies on principal ship the world over have largely failed to keep pace with the changing contexts in which principals now operate. This paper advocates an edited topical life history approach to bridge this gap. This claim is illustrated using research conducted within Western Australia which sought to understand why certain school principals are more successful than others in guiding restructuring initiatives designed to improve teaching and learning. It is suggested that as a body of such studies builds up it will be possible to develop nomothetic explanations of the role which principals can play in enabling such restructuring.

Continued Professional Learning: A Topical Life History

The purpose of this topical life history was to gain insight into the individual and socializing conditions that influenced an experienced elementary school physical education teacher’s perceptions and actions regarding continued professional learning. The teacher was interviewed in a series of five interviews over a 3-year period. The audiotaped transcriptions were subjected to the constant comparison data analysis technique, with the emergent patterns reported as results. Continued professional learning was valued as an essential concept associated with being a professional because it ultimately increased the teacher’s potential for helping students learn. Professional development experiences associated with the teacher’s undergraduate professional preparation institution and participation in a national curriculum project contributed most significantly to the teacher’s continued professional learning. The teacher’s continued professional learning was influenced by (a) students, (b) status, (c) administrative support, (d) community perceptions of sport, and (e) personal/professional interactions.

Life Stages, Gender and Fertility in Bangladesh.

This pioneering study describes the psychological development and gender role expectations in the various life stages of an individual in Bangladeshi culture and relates these stages to sexual and reproductive behavior. The authors both anthropologists examined the topical life histories of 65 male and female respondents from 5 contiguous villages in Matlab Thana. These personal histories form the basis for chapters on stages of life childhood and psychosexual development adolescence and gender roles adulthood and gender roles sexual relations outside marriage range of sexual behavior and reciprocal relationships within the life cycle. Then fertility is examined from an anthropological perspective in the final chapters on cultural factors and fertility fertility control and the stages of life traditional communication and knowledge of sex and family life education. At least hal of the life history respondents expressed support for family planning and modern methods. Maximum fertility is prevented in the 2nd half of womens reproductive years by traditional mechanisms such as self-restraint absence of spouse occasional abstention and rhythm. The use of modern contraception is supported on the grounds of avoiding economic hardship maintaining mental peace and leading a happy life. The most useful approach for family planning field workers seems to be to get to know the men of the village in public places then the older women and finally the young women establishing at each stage the confidence and fictive kinship relationship appropriate. In this way communication is possible without challenging deeply rooted distinctions of gender roles and life stages.