The theoretical framework guiding this study is phenomenology. Phenomenology (a Greek word
‘phainen’) was used in the 17th century by Immanuel Kant as a theory that human thoughts create the phenomena and that this thought creation is usually based on awareness of certain things that surround them (Rockmore, 2011). Patton (2002) states that phenomenology is a framework that deals with inquiries into experiences. It is a philosophy that believes in questioning in a bid to come to terms with human awareness and experiences. Hence, phenomenological research targets, determines and describes the core of human experiences. This is because determining the heart of a thing can only be achieved once the governing principles that bind that phenomenon are identified. Phenomenology therefore aids the enhancement of an in-depth study of how people experience things especially as it has to do with their experiences. Dahlberg et al. (2008, p.37) explain that a phenomenological study has a certain goal which is to understand the various notions and experiences of people in certain circumstances, since it is well known that people usually have different experiences of a phenomenon. As a result, phenomenology will ensure
29
accurate delineation and interpretation of people’s experiences of this study’s phenomenon (Speziale & Carpenter, 2007).
One of the benefits of using phenomenology is that it helps to see things for what they are and as they are observed and analysed in a way that deepens understanding of experiences. Any research that is based on a phenomenological report is devoid of the researcher’s or participants’
manipulations and it usually produces valid data since the experiences are typically evident in the awareness of situations (Dahlberg et al., 2008, p. 37). It is with this in mind that the researcher decided to use a framework that deals with human experiences as a phenomenon in order to derive reliable and valid results. The use of phenomenology as a theoretical framework enables proper investigation of human experiences as a result of participants’ revelations via narrative and/or written means.
There are several philosophies of phenomenology (Moran, 2000); they are: transcendental, existential and hermeneutic philosophies. Despite the fact that these phenomenological philosophies exist, each of them critically ensures an in-depth study of experiences (Langdridge, 2007). Some of those philosophies deal with: the researcher’s withdrawal of himself from the research while gathering other people’s experiences in order to maintain objectivity (transcendental philosophy), the researcher’s focus on his own experiences (existential philosophy), examining of participants’ experiences as lived daily, regardless of previous theories or assumptions (descriptive philosophy) and interpretation of participants’ experiences (hermeneutic philosophy), which goes beyond a mere description of human experiences (Langdridge, 2007). Thus, this study will employ the hermeneutic philosophy, as it is essential to do an objective study of participants’ experiences and afterwards, do an interpretation of those experiences.
Earlier studies into phenomenology were proposed by Husserl (1931, p. 44) with focus on the description of experiences. It was later developed by Heidegger, his student (Van Manen, 1990) who focused on the interpretation of the experiences and named it hermeneutic phenomenology.
This was born out of the understanding that language, history and culture influence and develop human experiences of a phenomenon and position in their immediate environment. Hermeneutic phenomenology is also termed ‘a study of actuality’ (Connell, 2003). This actuality is usually not
30
detected immediately, but after data interpretation of detected themes (Van Manen, 1990, p.
170), and this provides meanings which are attached to derived experiences that are reflection- based.
Hermeneutics is a Greek term ‘hermeneuin’, meaning ‘to interpret’ (Pehler, 2003). Its profounder, Heidegger, explains it as the inseparable relationship between humans, their experiences and the contexts in which those experiences took place (Wojnar & Swanson, 2007, p. 175). On this premise, people who come together with their various experiences with an intent to explore those experiences, eventually establish an understanding of themselves in the process.
In addition, Lindseth and Norberg (2004) explain that hermeneutic phenomenology seeks to understand the essence of experiences via the analysis of documented data. These experiences could largely be the researcher’s and the participants’ history, and this level of data collection hugely strengthens an experience-based research (Koch, 1994). It is, however, not aimed at solving problems. This is why personal questions (such as: what is the essence of participants and so forth) will be asked during the data collection process in order to guide this study’s understanding of what it takes to be an international student studying a programme at an international university. After each participant has expressed his/her experience, it is then possible for the researcher to do a full exploration of the ‘internationalisation’ phenomenon as well as the reasons for the experiences, which naturally emerge from collected data. An experience-based phenomenological philosophy thus will focus on meanings as presented and acted upon because people cannot be divorced from their experiences of phenomena.
Furthermore, hermeneutic phenomenology will be suitable for this study as it proposes the appropriate data collection instruments that can best capture an understanding of participants’
experiences and the reasons for those experiences (Jasper, 2004, p. 3). Hermeneutics is an understanding and analysis of writings (Mautner, 2000, p. 248). That is, the interpretation of textual data enables the development of facts from the international students. The texts/data derived from the critical discussion, narratives and visual methods will also be analysed following the tenets of the hermeneutic phenomenology in such a way that each participant’s experiences as well as reasons for those experiences will be derived. The participants’
experiences will be derived from many modes of communication - written, visual and spoken.
31
Van Manen (2007, p., 17-18) notes that knowing the power inherent in language aids the derivation of rich information from and an understanding of any underlying information.
Therefore, it is intended that this phenomenological philosophy will create awareness and enhance understanding during and after the course of data analysis. Meanings will therefore be attached to the experiences as all the data (Lindseth & Norberg, 2004) is being interpreted. This will also enable the researcher to interpret, extricate and expose obscured meanings via the use of the multiple data collection tactics, analysis and description (Omery, 1983, p. 15) as it is believed that reality is dependent on an individual’s understanding of the truth (Connell, 2003, p. 33).
The hermeneutic philosophy also enables the researcher to focus on the participants’ world as they express their experiences of it (Maggs-Rapport, 2000, p. 220) rather than how their experiences should have been, while also aiming at detecting any possibility of prejudice or bias.
Wojnar and Swanson (2007, p. 175) assert that the hermeneutic phenomenology entails that the participants and the researcher approach the subject matter with fore-knowledge and understanding of their backgrounds and core values because a person’s experience cannot be divorced from their cores and history. Participants’ trust is thus paramount in order to ensure objectivity and an appropriate researcher-participants relationship, which also imparts on research trustworthiness and rigour. This is because of certain non-linguistic messages that body language, silence and tone convey during data collection and their significance during interpretation (Van Manen, 1990, p. 96) as they enable the researcher to hear and see beyond the granted information. This enhances the discovering and understanding of these experiences of international students as a way of knowing participants’ understanding of their own experiences, as Gubrium and Holstein (1997, in Connell, 2003) state that it is essential to ensure sufficient understanding and awareness of the phenomena before explorations and explanations or predictions are made.
3.3. Research Paradigm
The interpretive paradigm was employed in this study. The interpretive paradigm is defined as a process that ensures an understanding of all underlying factors that influence meaning formation, human understanding and behaviours (Creswell, 2003). Cole (2006, p. 27) explains that the
32
interpretive paradigm adopts the qualitative approach as it helps researchers to probe during the research process in such a way that in-depth responses are collated. Creswell (2003) clarifies that unless a researcher interprets collected data, he may not be able to discover new knowledge.
Furthermore, Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2011) add that the interpretive paradigm aims at understanding human experiences of situations in their natural settings. This is borne out of the belief that perceptions are usually constructed by the society in which humans live (Mertens, 2005, p. 12). The interpretive paradigm helps to take a close look at the study based on what kinds of experiences participants are able to relay (Creswell, 2003, p. 8). This paradigm works for this study as it is in line with the study of people’s experiences of a shared programme as well as reasons behind those experiences. Thus, using the interpretive paradigm made it possible for the researcher to collect, interpret and understand the selected students’ experiences of taking the Language and Media Honours specialisation at the South African university.