CHAPTER FIVE
5.3 Epistemology: Interpretivism
5.3.1 Hermeneutic Phenomenology
Phenomenology derives from the existential-phenomenological approach in philosophy which is concerned with human existence and experience (Terre Blanche
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et al., 2006). Phenomenological research focuses on the subjective experiences of the individuals studied, as they are revealed in consciousness and lived experiences (McCaslin & Scott, 2003). Pinar et al (2002) assert that for phenomenologists that experience and its conceptualization are distinguishable modalities. First, there is experience, thereafter language and thought follow (ibid). All people exist in a dialectical relationship in a lived world of experience, and there is no clear separation of self and world (Terre Blanche et al., 2006). Careful description based on suspension of all preconceptions is the key element of phenomenological research.
Alfred Schutz (1967, 1970), argued, as cited in Babbie (2007) that reality was socially constructed rather than being „out there‟, for us to observe. From this perspective reality becomes an inter-subjective construct to be formulated and negotiated inter-subjectively. From this perspective, the reality of classroom life is viewed as the construction of those who dwell within those situations (Aoki, 1988).
People describe their world, „not as it is‟, but as they make sense of it. While phenomenological enquiry is accurately classified as a form of interpretive enquiry, it is that form of interpretive enquiry that focuses particularly on human perception and experience (Pinar et al., 2002). This is characterized as the aesthetics of human experience (ibid). Newby (2010) refers to phenomenology very simply as how the world is experienced rather than ideas and concepts about how the world really is.
This implies that we are concerned with the meanings that are attached to our experiences.
For the purpose of this research, the researcher will focus on the perceptions and experience of the teachers in implementing the road safety education programme as will be addressed by research question one. Pinar et al (2002, p. 405) asserts that “in its most basic form phenomenological enquiry investigates the distinctly human perceptions of individual people and results in descriptions of such perceptions which appear directly to the perceptions of the other persons”.
Polakow (1984) as cited in Pinar et al (2002) described phenomenological research as the exploration of densely textured moments which points beyond the context in which they occur. Van Manen (1990) identified four activities that guided this exploration:
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Firstly, the researcher chooses a phenomenon which interests him or her. The researcher in this study chose to investigate how the road safety education programme is being implemented in primary schools because the researcher was an educator who currently works as a road safety practitioner.
Secondly, the researcher identifies the phenomenon as it is lived, not merely as it is theorized. The researcher in this study observed the actual implementation of the road safety education programme in the classroom of the five identified schools.
Thirdly, the researcher reflects on the essential themes or structures which characterize the phenomenon, as will be evidenced in the next chapter, where the researcher will be conducting thematic analysis by uncovering thematic aspects in life-world descriptions of the teachers in their implementation of the road safety education programme. The researcher will also be able to establish whether the students have acquired some skills in making them safe and responsible road users.
Finally the researcher will describe the phenomenon via the art of writing, as is being carried out in this research.
While Van Manen (1990) acknowledged the debate between phenomenology which focuses on description and hermeneutics which interprets this description, he concludes by asserting that the researcher interprets the phenomenological text by seeking the essence of the lived experience. Van Manen (1990) further stated that the terms phenomenology and hermeneutics is used inter-changeably. Thus phenomenology and hermeneutics cannot be separated in its contemporary forms.
Hermeneutics is like phenomenology, in that it is concerned with understanding.
Hermeneutics is the „art and science of interpretation‟ (Sarantakos, 2005). It is the process whereby people make sense of their world. Babbie & Mouton (2006) concurs with this view by stating that the human sciences aim at understanding the internal relations between actions. Kinsella (2006) supports his view by stating that the goal of hermeneutics is to seek understanding, rather than to offer explanations.
Understanding occurs when the interpreter recognizes the significance of the various items that he or she notices (ibid).This is done, by relating them to the ideas, values and purposes which give rise to them. Originally hermeneutics was concerned with
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the interpretation of „texts‟, but now it is applied to conversations, interactions between people in different settings. A central feature is the dialogic nature of hermeneutic enquiry. Terre Blanche et al (2006), further state that, the challenge for researchers using this method is to describe the world as it is lived and its temporal, spatial, and interpersonal characteristics. In phenomenological curriculum studies, as stated by (Pinar et al., 2002) hermeneutics has functioned to enlarge the phenomenological endeavor to include the social negotiation of meaning, as well as the individual attunement to truth. Central to hermeneutic understanding and negotiation of meaning is the notion of the hermeneutic circle.
The hermeneutic circle is referred to as the dialogue between understanding and interpretation. The hermeneutic approach assumes that because of a shared and common language and culture, the researcher is able to see or understand the phenomenon being studied (Kinsella, 2006). The hermeneutic circle prescribes that, in the interpretation of a text, the meaning of the parts should be considered in relation to the meaning of the whole. This can only be understood in respect of its constituent parts ( Schwandt, 2001; Terre Blanche et al., 2006). The relation between the meaning of particular experiences and the meaning of themes that reflect a coherent clustering or ordering of themes of experience represents the operations of the hermeneutic circle (ibid).
Schwandt (2001) states that every interpretation relies on other interpretations, for interpretation is seen as an inescapable feature of all human efforts to understand. The suspension of judgement and shifting of a standpoint is the key to opening up the hermeneutic circle (Grassie, 2008). The hermeneutic circle is concerned with understanding, explanation, and appropriation leading to deeper understandings.
FIGURE 10 is a schematic presentation of this dynamic.
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FIGURE 10 The Hermeneutic Circle
The Hermeneutic Circle
Configuration
THE TEXT
Life, Culture,Politics
Prefiguration Refiguration
2.Explanation
1.Understanding
3.Appropriation
The basic tenet of hermeneutics acknowledges that the research context is important, because of the way in which it influences the interpretation of data. The question posed by this research seeks to solicit the attitudes, beliefs and understanding of the teachers to the implementation of the road safety education programme. This study acknowledges that the socio-political changes in South Africa, has had a major impact on education and the way teaching and learning occurs in the classroom.
Distanciation Suspension of Judgement
New data New Insights
Transformation
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The aim of interpretive phenomenology is to understand the life-world from the participant‟s perspective, to identify what enables or restrains practice as well as identifying sources of innovation and change and how this impacts on classroom activities especially in the context of this study. Therefore the researcher identified the philosophical stance of hermeneutic phenomenology as appropriate for this study which sought to understand the implementation of the road safety education programme in a changing educational environment. It is this understanding of the participant‟s perspectives of their teaching and learning environment through reflection on the phenomenological text which resonates with the concept of curriculum change and its implementation as examined in Chapter Four, Section 4.6.
Because hermeneutics can contribute to the practice of education and education research by understanding the meanings that participants assign to their experiences of implementing curriculum change, hermeneutics was considered to be appropriate to guide this study. Subsequently the meanings that teachers assign to the implementation of the road safety education programme can be interpreted and analysed. Similarly symbolic interactionism seeks to explore the understandings inherent in our culture in order to understand the viewpoint of others. The social world is interpreted through the meanings that different people assign to it and definitions may change accordingly. Symbolic interactionism is another research orientation that will frame the research design, because the conceptions of reality are highly subjective.