Stories of female special school headteachers and their experience of headship: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

Life Stories ◽

Small Sample ◽

Special School ◽

Unique Contribution ◽

Social Forces ◽

Complex Situation ◽

Ideal Types ◽

Underrepresentation Of Women

Leadership positions in special schools are becoming increasingly difficult to fill and there is a significant gap in the literature on special school leadership in general. This gap in the research includes a focus on the life stories of female headteachers in these settings and situated within a constructivist paradigm. Taking a narrative approach, this study will explore the life stories of female special school headteachers, building on an understanding of their leadership journey in order to potentially act as an inspiration to others. Detailing different aspects of the special school headteachers’ experiences, the themes highlighted the complexity of the women’s impressions of special school headship, the heterogeneity among the special school headteacher stories and the importance of critical reflection within their journey. Unstructured interviews were conducted with six participants. All interview transcripts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Three subordinate themes emerged from the data: ‘managing constraint’, ‘motivating forces’ and ‘perceptions of special school headship and the future’. Drawing on Giddens’ theory of social forces and his belief about the primacy of human knowledgeability over social forces, and also Margaret Archer’s theory of reflexivity as an intercessor between structural forces and human agency, this thesis proposes three types of special school headteacher: ‘the strategic and decisive leader’, ‘the values-orientated professional’ and ‘the person-centred educator’. These ideal types illustrate the heterogeneous ways in which a small sample of women special school headteachers had reflected on, positioned themselves towards and navigated their way through the career challenges in special education. This typology together with the nuanced analysis advanced throughout this thesis offers a unique contribution to knowledge. The varying inferences for special school practice 4 and research were discussed and I conclude by arguing that the underrepresentation of women in special school headship is a complex situation, and the stories of special school headteachers merit a place at the centre of our theorising and understanding of it. The findings reported in this thesis may be of interest to potential special school headteacher aspirants, as well as those tasked with identifying and training future special school leaders.

Sports effects on ethical judgement skills of successful entrepreneurs: adaptation of interpretative phenomenological analysis

Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies ◽

10.1108/jeee-08-2020-0305 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Nico van Rensburg ◽

Ogujiuba Kanayo

Keyword(s):

Athletic Training ◽

Small Sample ◽

Primary Data ◽

Ethical Judgement ◽

Content Type ◽

Active Involvement ◽

Successful Entrepreneurs ◽

Insight Into

Purpose This paper aims to identify how entrepreneurs’ active involvement in sports/athletic training affects and adds to their overall ethical judgement skills within and outside the workplace. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a qualitative approach and included a combination of 12 male and female entrepreneurs who were purposively selected based on the study’s requirements. The primary data was collected through semi-structured one-on-one interviews, and interpretative phenomenological analysis served as the primary method of data analysis. Findings Findings from this study suggest that entrepreneurs’ active involvement in sports/athletic training does indeed influence their ethical judgement skills all-round. Arising from a combination of sports involvement factors, a unique group of underlying elements surfaced that proves valuable accustomed relationships concerning the significant impact sports/athletic training have on successful entrepreneurs’ ethical judgement skills. Research limitations/implications The active involvement in sports/athletic training undoubtedly plays a vital role in achieving entrepreneurs’ daily ethical judgement ability. However, this study was limited to the opinion of a small sample of participants in a specific field. Also, this study’s phenomenological nature requires the researcher’s interpretation of the results to be viewed as the truth. Practical implications This study provides a new perspective and validates how purposeful involvement in sports/athletic training regimens can boost the ethical judgement skills of entrepreneurs all-round. This study also proves powerful and new insight into the unique relationships among the accustomed factors and the underlying elements thereto – contributing beyond existing theory. Originality/value This study is novel and provides new and powerful insight into the ethical judgement skills and benefits derived thereof that can be developed by entrepreneurs from the active involvement in sports/athletic training.

An interpretative phenomenological analysis exploring the transition from army to civilian life.

10.46289/jh15fd45 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Alice Jones

Keyword(s):

Quantitative Research ◽

Research Question ◽

Unique Contribution ◽

Civilian Life ◽

Transition Experience ◽

Personality Perception ◽

Transition To Civilian Life ◽

Army Personnel

This thesis presents an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) exploring the transition from army to civilian life. The research purpose was to explore the experiences of ex-army personnel of their transition from army to civilian life by building an in-depth picture of each participant’s experience of transitioning from the army to civilian life, as well as an understanding of how they felt about their time in the army. The following research questions were used to guide the research, Question 1: How do ex-army personnel perceive their experience of their transition from military to civilian life? Question 2: How do ex-army personnel adjust to a civilian lifestyle? Question 3: How do ex-army personnel make sense of their identity during their transition to civilian lifestyle? Question 4: How do ex-army personnel perceive support could be further developed or introduced, to facilitate individuals in the transition from military to civilian life? The thesis addressed three research aims, Aim 1: to examine how ex-army personnel perceive their experience of their transition from military to civilian life, Aim 2: to explore how ex-army personnel adjust to a civilian lifestyle, Aim 3: to develop an interpretation of the best ways in which to support ex-army personnel during their transition to civilian life. The three aims were achieved through the use of an IPA approach to the analysis of 9 interviews. Participants were individuals who had served in the army and experienced the transition from army to civilian life first hand. Nine master themes were developed as a result of the analysis. The nine master themes identified were: Identity, Control, Personality, Perception of the army, Wellbeing, Civilian lifestyle, Civilian connection, Army life, and Support. In its unique contribution to knowledge, this thesis builds upon the existing quantitative research on the topic of the transition from army to civilian life creating further depth and understanding. It explores how individuals perceive their transition experience and how they made meaning of this in their reflections. In addition to this, it uses the examination and evaluation of the transition experience to develop an interpretation of how ex-army personnel may be better supported in their transition to civilian life.

The experiences of young offenders (aged 18–21) on protection in an Irish prison: using an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA)

Journal of Criminal Psychology ◽

10.1108/jcp-04-2020-0015 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Suzanne Hughes ◽

Timothy James Trimble ◽

Anne O’Rourke

Keyword(s):

Social Order ◽

Small Sample Size ◽

Structured Interview ◽

Small Sample ◽

Young Offenders ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Content Type ◽

Insight Into

Purpose Young offenders are disproportionately represented in the Irish Prison Service (IPS) and are a population with complex needs and highest risk of re-offending. Subsets of young offenders in IPS are placed on Protection for their own and/or other’s safety. There is limited research regarding the experiences of young offenders, and there is none on the subjective experiences of young offenders on Protection that could be identified. This study aims to address a limitation of a previous study on the experiences of young offenders in an Irish prison (Hughes et al., 2017) by providing insight into experiences of young offenders on Protection in Mountjoy Prison. Design/methodology/approach Using a non-experimental, qualitative, semi-structured interview design, a purposive sampling method was used, and six young offenders participated. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim with potentially identifiable information removed to ensure anonymity. An interpretative phenomenological analysis was applied to interpret the data. Findings Two superordinate themes provided an overview of the young offender’s experiences of Protection in an Irish prison: ‘Social Order on Protection’ and ‘Adjustment on Protection’. Research limitations/implications Even though it is a relatively small sample size, this study contributes to existing literature and considers sentence management and clinical implications. Originality/value This study helps to address a gap in literature by providing insight into the overall experiences of young male offenders (aged 18–21) on Protection in an Irish prison. The findings are in line with most researches, which highlight additional negative consequences of “restrictive prisons regimes” such as Protection. This study provides information to prisons for the development of best practice guidelines and better sentence management and delivery of services to young offenders on Protection.

How do mid-level managers experience data science disruptions? An in-depth inquiry through interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA)

Management Decision ◽

10.1108/md-01-2020-0099 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Atri Sengupta ◽

Shashank Mittal ◽

Kuchi Sanchita

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Data Science ◽

Small Sample ◽

Process Models ◽

Organizational Level ◽

Future Research ◽

Content Type ◽

Extant Literature

PurposeRapid advancement of data science has disrupted both business and employees in organizations. However, extant literature primarily focuses on the organizational level phenomena, and has almost ignored the employee/individual perspective. This study thereby intends to capture the experiences of mid-level managers about these disruptions vis a vis their corresponding actions.Design/methodology/approachIn a small-sample qualitative research design, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was adopted to capture this individual-level phenomenon. Twelve mid-level managers from large-scale Indian organizations that have extensively adopted data science tools and techniques participated in a semi-structured and in-depth interview process.FindingsOur findings unfolded several perspectives gained from their experiences, leading thereby to two emergent person-job (mis)fit process models. (1) Managers, who perceived demands-abilities misfit (D-A misfit) as a growth-alignment opportunity vis a vis their corresponding actions, which effectively trapped them into a vicious cycle; and (2) the managers, who considered D-A misfit as a psychological strain vis a vis their corresponding actions, which engaged them into a benevolent cycle.Research limitations/implicationsThe present paper has major theoretical and managerial implications in the field of human resource management and business analytics.Practical implicationsThe findings advise managers that the focus should be on developing an organizational learning eco-system, which would enable mid-level managers to gain their confidence and control over their job and work environment in the context of data science disruptions. Importantly, organizations should facilitate integrated workplace learning (both formal and informal) with an appropriate ecosystem to help mid-level managers to adapt to the data-science disruptions.Originality/valueThe present study offers two emergent cyclic models to the existing person–job fit literature in the context of data science disruptions. A scant attention of the earlier researchers on how individual employees actually experience disruption, and the corresponding IPA method used in the present study may add significant value to the extant literature. Further, it opens a timely and relevant future research avenues in the context of data science disruptions.

An interpretative phenomenological analysis of a small sample of young, Pell Grant-eligible Black male students' perceptions of their experiences in a first-year college program and their beliefs about how it has impacted them

10.17760/d20316429 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Sean O'Connell

Keyword(s):

Black Male ◽

Small Sample ◽

Male Students ◽

Pell Grant ◽

First Year ◽

Black Male Students ◽

First Year College

‘This is your golden time. You enjoy it and you’ve plenty time for crying after’: How dysphagia impacts family caregivers of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – A qualitative study

Palliative Medicine ◽

10.1177/0269216320932754 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 34 (8) ◽

pp. 1097-1107

Author(s):

Dominika Lisiecka ◽

Helen Kelly ◽

Jeanne Jackson

Keyword(s):

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Family Caregivers ◽

Unique Contribution ◽

Individual Interviews ◽

South West ◽

The Impact ◽

Lateral Sclerosis

Background: Dysphagia (swallowing impairments) is a well-recognised symptom of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Caring for a person with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis has been recognised as a complex and demanding task. No study to date investigated the impact of dysphagia on the lives of caregivers of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Aim: To investigate the experiences of dysphagia from the perspective of family caregivers of people diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Design: Interpretative phenomenological analysis was employed. Individual interviews (n = 15) plus observations of mealtime preparation were conducted, where possible (seven or n). Setting/participants: Participants comprised family caregivers of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and dysphagia living in the South West of Ireland ( n = 10). Findings: Dysphagia transformed the mealtime experiences of the caregivers and changed their approaches to food. Frustration related to the inability to stabilise the weight of the person with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and the fear of choking emerged strongly. The caregivers strived to ensure the safety of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis during meals by providing constant supervision. Despite the challenges precipitated by dysphagia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the caregivers wished to maintain normality for as long as they perceived it to be possible. Conclusion: This study provides a unique contribution in advancing our understanding of the impact of dysphagia on the caregivers of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Professionals must explore and recognise the needs of the caregivers and provide them with appropriate support, especially how to manage choking.

Know Thy Users by Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Journal of Interaction Science ◽

10.24982/jois.1719018.003 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. 22

Author(s):

Mattias Arvola ◽

Johan Linder

Keyword(s):

User Experience ◽

Small Sample Size ◽

Small Sample ◽

Design Project ◽

Fuzzy Front End ◽

Front End ◽

Pro Bono ◽

Design Projects

One approach to getting to know a user and understanding the user experience (UX) is phenomenology. Currently, there is a lack of clearly defined methods for phenomenological analysis of user experience in design projects. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) is an approach developed in psychology, and in this article, it is adapted to the case of a pro bono design project at a UX design agency supporting a disadvantaged group of people, newly arrived immigrants to Sweden. The design project involved research on how the immigrants experienced a service that introduced them to the job market. The adapted method, UX IPA, contributed to the pro bono project with a focus on both experience and meaning, which is important in design projects that relate to major events in users’ lives. The method was considered less appropriate in UX projects for specific products with highly instrumental use. The method can, in many cases, be too costly. However, costs can possibly be reduced by top-down approaches. In commercial UX projects, the method may be appropriate for the fuzzy front-end of design and innovation, but clients may be unimpressed by the small sample size. This can potentially be alleviated by mixed-methods approaches.