CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY
3.2. Theoretical Frameworks in Qualitative Research Methodology
Theoretical framework refers to a system of concepts, assumptions, expectations, beliefs and theories that support and inform the research (Henning, van Rensburg & Smit, 2004; Max- well, 2008). The study was based on two major theoretical frameworks: Black Feminist Thought and narrative/hermeneutic approaches. These frameworks are described briefly to show how they informed the study methodology. This is in line with the qualitative research design informing this study. In qualitative research, theory and method are not separated; they are intertwined (Maxwell, 2008).
3.2.1. Black Feminist Thought
Campbell (2004) and Henning et al. (2004) argued for feminist approaches in the study of women’s experiences. This study was based upon the epistemology of Black Feminist
Thought. Epistemology refers to “a branch of philosophy that is concerned with the theory of knowledge and tries to answer the questions about how we can know and what we can know”
(Coyle, 2007, p. 11). Black Feminist Thought, developed by Collins (1986), aims to explain Black women’s standpoint in regards to race, gender and class. It aims to provide a frame- work to situate Black women as emerging agents of knowledge (Collins, 2000, 2009). She explains that the sharing of experiences by Black women creates new knowledge which is pivotal to their empowerment. This framework provides an opportunity for Black African female psychologists to express the taken-for-granted knowledge. This was done through
their own voices in line with Afrocentric perspectives to understand events, rather than the Eurocentric and Andocentric perspectives. Collins (1986) and Brewer (1993) assert that Black women have a unique experience of discrimination aforementioned, which influences their life view.
The Black Feminist Thought epistemology has four core themes: (1) the lived experience as a criterion to meaning; (2) use of dialogue; (3) the ethic of caring and (4) the ethic of personal accountability. Lived experiences are the foundation for expert knowledge on a particular phenomenon. Collins (2000, 2009) asserts that for Black women the descriptions of lived ex- periences are more believable and credible than those who have simply read or thought about the experiences. This is particularly crucial to prospective Black African female psychologists to be aware of the challenges and rewards of their careers.
The second core theme, use of dialogue, is in line with the African oral tradition of story tell- ing (Bakhtin, 1929/1973; Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger & Tarule, 1986; Chase, 2005; Col- lins, 1989; Stead & Watson, 1998; Wilson & Washington, 2007). It is argued that the use of dialogue enables Black women to assess knowledge claims significant to their experiences. In this line an opportunity was given to Black African female psychologists to tell their stories about the phenomenon of career development.
The third core theme, the ethic of caring, comprising of three components: personal expres- siveness, emotions and empathy, all of which are central to the knowledge validation process (Collins, 2000, 2009; Cozart & Price, 2005; Reviere, 2001). The first component is personal uniqueness rooted in African tradition which suggests that each individual is an expression of a common spirit (Collins, 2000, 2009; Mazama, 2001; Pittman, 2003). The second compo- nent of the ethic of caring is the appropriateness of emotional expression in dialogue as part of validating statements (Collins, 2000; Kambon, 2004). The last component of the ethic of caring is the development of capacity for empathy (Akbar, 1984; Collins, 2000, 2009; Spra- gue, 2010). These components form an important part of Black African female ideology. The last core theme is the ethic of personal accountability which asserts the importance knowl- edge generation and validation in line with the Black Feminist Thought epistemology (Clandinin & Roiek, 2007; Collins, 2000, 2009; Reviere, 2001).
What is the significance of Black Feminist Thought epistemology, adopted in this study? It enabled Black African women to generate independent and specialised knowledge, based on their own experiences and free from traditional descriptions (Campbell, 2004; Collins, 2000).
Furthermore, Black Feminist Thought specialises in rearticulating the distinctive, self defined standpoint of Black women (Collins, 2000; Sprague, 2010). This provided a podium for rear- ticulating Black African female psychologists’ existing knowledge about their career devel- opment experiences. In line with this framework the narrative-hermeneutic approach (Patton, 1990, 2002), described below, was also employed.
3.2.2. Narrative and Hermeneutic Approaches
As discussed earlier, traditional career development theories are based on positivist traditions (Bujold, 2004; Peavy, 1992). However, career development is not as simple as these theories indicate (McMahon, 2005). Career development is a multilayered process including multiple decisions, risk taking, individuals’ unique ways of managing obstacles, unforeseen events and inner conflicts (Bujold, 2004). Authors such as Brott (2001, 2004, 2005), Cochran (1990, 1997), McMahon (2005), Savickas (2005) and, Stead and Watson (1998) have suggested the employment of qualitative approaches to career development assessment and research as a way of providing rich data and the participants’ unique perspectives of the process. The use of narrative research methodologies has been suggested (Jovchelovitch & Bauer, 2000;
László, 2008; Murray, 2003a, 2003b).
Polkinghorne (1988) defines narrative as “a scheme by means of which human beings give meaning to their experiences of temporality and personal actions” (p. 11). One way individu- als “make sense and give meaning to their experiences is to organise them in narrative form”
(Mishler, 1986, p.118). This includes events over time (Bruner, 1990). It is further argued that human beings are born into a storied world and live their lives through the creation and ex- change of narratives (Murray, 2003b; Sarbin, 1986). The stories are important as they provide a retrospective perspective to development. Freeman (1993) argued that development is only possible through retrospection, as it provides an opportunity to assess the process what a per-
son had to undergo to become who he or she is today. This was extensively discussed in Chapter Two.
The narrative approach comprises of two main elements. Firstly, narrative construction refers to the participant’s detailed account of a particular experience (Cochran, 1990). The story consists of a beginning, middle and end (Polkinghorne, 1988). Secondly, the exploration of meaning embedded in the stories (Murray, 2003b) it is done through employment of interpre- tative theories, hermeneutic theory being one of them.
Hermeneutics provides a theoretical framework for interpretative understanding with special attention to context and original purpose (Patton, 1990, 2002). The understanding of a phe- nomenon is informed by sociocultural and historical contexts (Jovchelovitch & Bauer, 2000;
Thrift & Amundson, 2005). “Pre-understanding is used to describe the meaning and organisa- tion of a culture (including language and practices) which are already in the world before we understand” (Koch, 1995, p. 831). The hermeneutic circle “describes the manner in which interpretation through understanding is achieved, by a circular process of continuous re- examination of propositions” (Rapport & Wainwright, 2006, p. 223).
It is further argued that understanding and interpretation are linked to language (Rapport &
Wainwright, 2006). “Language is pivotal to, and shapes, the situations in which we find our- selves enmeshed, the events that befall us, the practices we carry out and, in and through all this, the understandings we are able to reach” (Crotty, 1998, p. 87). Language is a means by which narratives and identities are constructed (Murray, 2003a, 2003b). These constructions are rooted in historical and socio-cultural contexts (Gergen, 2003). Language enables the re- searcher to observe the manner in which the participant speaks about herself, relationships in her life and environment in which she has been or is being lived (McComack, 2000). There- fore the career development narrative was interpreted with reference to participants’ sociocul- tural and historical contexts, as indicated in Chapter Two.