The practice of phenomenology in educational research

In recent years there has been a notable increase in the use of phenomenology as a research method, particularly in educational research. With the rise of phenomenology as a research method, confusion has also arisen concerning what counts as phenomenology, and how best to practice phenomenological research in non-philosophical contexts. Consequently, this article will be concerned with three issues: firstly, to contextualise the debate, I provide a brief overview of three popular and influential approaches to phenomenology as a research method: (1) Giorgi's descriptive phenomenological method; (2) van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenology; and, (3) Smith's interpretative phenomenological analysis; secondly, for the sake of conceptual clarity, I then turn my attention to a critical discussion of these approaches and argue that these approaches tend to converge phenomenology into either a descriptive or interpretative focus that essentially transforms phenomenology into a kind of solipsist subjectivism; and, lastly, to progress the debate forward, I argue that it makes sense to look beyond the qualitative or educational research literature to successful applications of phenomenology in non-philosophical contexts because there are plenty of relevant resources that can offer significant theoretical and methodological support to researchers.

Automated summary

In recent years, phenomenology has become an increasingly popular research method in educational research. However, there is confusion regarding the definition of phenomenology and how to apply it in non-philosophical contexts. This article provides an overview of three influential approaches to phenomenology as a research method, argues that these approaches tend to limit phenomenology to either descriptive or interpretative focus, and suggests the need to explore successful applications of phenomenology in non-philosophical fields for further theoretical and methodological support.