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Ways of Knowing: Phenomenology

Stacie P. Brady

George Mason University

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Ways of Knowing: Phenomenology Method of Inquiry

Throughout this spring semester and my profession as a speech-language pathologist, I

have observed my students with language and literacy difficulties in various environments, such

as in their homes and classrooms, and in social situations on the playground and in the

lunchroom. Through observation, I have noticed differences in the way they communicate and

use literacy skills. I have recognized that different circumstances, contexts, and communication

partners influence the use of the student’s skills. I question myself, “How can I further my

knowledge and gain a deeper understanding of my students and their application of

communication and literacy skills?” Class readings and discussions have provided me with

opportunities to gain and apply new knowledge, specifically regarding qualitative forms of

inquiry. I can now more extensively utilize qualitative methodologies in my speech and

language assessments, therapy goal development, and quality language interactions. Reading

journal articles that utilize narrative, critical, and Appreciative Inquiry introduced me to the emic

perspective of research. As I read and discuss these ways of knowing, I welcome the opportunity

to gain more knowledge, targeted toward perceiving experiences from my students’ point of

view as they use their individual strengths and abilities to learn, communicate, and cope with

their specific life experience. Commented [BS1]: Good to know the influence extends
beyond class and into practices.
Phenomenology, my new way of knowing, is a broad and complex epistemology that

differs from other qualitative forms of inquiry within the interpretative social science paradigm

(Cope, 2005). One unique aspect of phenomenology is its disparate defining vocabulary. For

example, one of the essential components, lived experience, is a phenomenon that is neither

predictive nor theory-based (van Manen, 2017). Qualitative method forms of inquiry, such as
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phenomenology, aggregate information acquired through experience, stories, narratives,

anecdotes, interviews and concrete accounts. Phenomenologists consider this information to be

more valuable than quantitative data such as numbers, visuals, or graphs. Unlike other Commented [BS2]: Why? An important statement so
finish the thought.
qualitative forms of inquiry, information acquired through the use of phenomenology is not

concerned with data analysis, but rather the relevance of the lived experience (van Manen,2017).

Having learned more about the history, methods, and assumptions of phenomenology, I intend to

apply the new information I have acquired to gain more knowledge about my students, as well

as, improve or modify assessment, therapy, and understanding in order to support their lived

experiences both in and out of school. Learning a new way of knowing also provides me with

opportunities to further my research and scholarly abilities by understanding the application and

purpose of the phenomenological inquiry.

History of Phenomenology

Phenomenology has a rich, multifaceted history. Defined in the 1900s, the term

phenomenology can trace its origin to the writings of René Descartes from the 1600s (Detmer,

2013). Phenomenology was created to provide researchers a way of knowing that attempts to

objectively analyze perceived human consciousness experiences. As scientists continue to use

this expansive interpretive way of knowing, new approaches are defined (van Manes, 2011).

According to Detmer (2013), phenomenology has a growing prevalence in the social sciences

within professions such as education, psychology, and counseling.

Early Influences

Described as the father of phenomenology, Edmund Husserl was influenced by the

philosophical and scientific beliefs of Rene Descartes (Sawicki, M., n.d.). Both scientists sought

truthful, unbiased knowledge with a provable, scientific foundation. Throughout their studies,
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Descartes and Husserl acknowledged the importance of reflection on the known subject (Attig,

1980).

While they agreed that subjective knowledge is significant, the approach they used to

obtain this information differed. Descartes’ theories branched into Cartesian skepticism while

Husserl used epoché, or bracketing. Using Cartesian skepticism, Descartes focused on known

certainty and rejected scientific beliefs that are not able to be proven. Influenced by Descartes,

Husserl also identified the need for removing obstacles that may impact research. He removed

these obstacles by bracketing or moving them to the side for later consideration if needed, thus

allowing the focus to be on the immediate lived experience (Attig,1980). With the influences of

Descartes, Husserl continued his development of phenomenology, which influenced the social

science community to expand and extend the study of interpreting lived experiences (Cope,

2005).

Emergence in the Twentieth Century

The epistemology of phenomenology began to form through the studies of Edmund

Husserl, a German mathematician, and philosopher. Throughout Husserl’s research, he sought to

obtain objective knowledge while focused on subjective sources. Published in Logical

Investigations in 1900-01, Husserl’s theories of phenomenology led to the birth of a new way of

knowing by providing a system to address the concerns of subjectivity within research, such as

first-person accounts of perceptions or thoughts (Sawicki, n.d.). Through the development of

phenomenology, Husserl created a paradigm shift by expanding methods of research that are

essential to the study of social and human sciences. This new way of knowing gave researchers

and scientists a framework to analyze subjective or conscious experiences (Behnke, n.d.).

Historically, researchers used observation and measurement of movements to study a behavior.

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However, they are unable to use these same techniques for defining conscious thoughts and

perceptions. Husserl’s phenomenology provides a way of knowing to guide researchers to this

internalistic knowledge in relation to an experience with concepts such as objects, feelings, time,

truth, and values (Detmer, 2013).

Husserl modified and expanded his theories on phenomenology throughout his career.

Originally, his development of phenomenology stemmed from the laws of logic with a pure and

non-empirical focus on neutral research, attempting to remove presuppositions. A few years

later, Husserl modified his pure phenomenology to a more transcendental direction. Husserl was

not focused on the cause or outcome of one’s experience, but rather on the subject’s intentional

purpose of interaction with an intended object of the experience. He termed this exclusion

process bracketing, attempting to shift attention to the one who is having the lived experience

and away from the assumptions leading to the experience. His use of bracketing is an example

of how phenomenology began to be refined, modified, and structured in different ways to meet

the needs of phenomenology researchers (Detmer, 2013).

Called the phenomenology decade, during the years from 1919 through 1928, Husserl

and his assistant Martin Heidegger conducted research which had a profound impact on

philosophers within the social and human sciences, such as psychology, education, and sociology

(Cerbone, 2006). As Husserl neared retirement, Heidegger continued to refine and modify the

focus of phenomenology in a way that diverged from Husserl’s intent. Commented [BS3]: Paradigm shift?

In 1927, Heidegger’s view of phenomenology shifted more toward ontology, which is

concerned with being, rather than epistemology, which is concerned with knowledge. He

disagreed with Husserl’s focus on isolating a conscious experience and placed more importance

on everyday occurrences. Additionally, Heidegger’s phenomenology shifted during the twentieth

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century from a first-person perspective to allowing many different points of view. The use of

phenomenology continues to increase to a wide variety of human and social science communities

(Cerbone, 2006).

Refinement and Application in the Twenty-First Century

Today, phenomenology continues to expand into various areas of social and human

science. The use of phenomenology in educational research continues to grow and provides

opportunities for new insights as well taken for granted assumptions within the dynamic and

confronting twenty-first century world (Dall’Alba, 2009). For example, a recent journal article,

“Exploring Relationships in Education: A Phenomenological Inquiry” by Giles, Smythe &

Spence (2012), used hermeneutic phenomenology to explore the relationships between students

and teachers. Researchers used a semi-structured phenomenological interview process to acquire

new knowledge of everyday lived experiences of a teacher-student relationship as well as

hermeneutic interpretation to identify the significance of the student-teacher relationships

(Stanley, 2015). Commented [BS4]: Yes and I think as a teacher it helps

shift away from what we think we know about students and
helps us to more deeply understand how students think about
Summer Stanley demonstrates how the expansion of phenomenology continues to benefit their own experiences.

education today (2015). Stanley utilized a transcendental phenomenological approach to achieve

a deeper understanding of the lived advocacy experiences of African American mothers of

children with disabilities. She used the epoché process in conjunction with transcendental

phenomenology. Epoché is used to remove judgements of the participant’s prior experiences and

allow researchers to be unbiased and receptive to the research participants. The study concluded

with insight for educators to develop needed relationships with parents from different cultures

and children with disabilities. The study confirms the need for valid, trustworthy partnerships

between families of special education children and educators (Stanley, 2015). These two recent
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articles are just a few examples that demonstrate various forms of phenomenology and the

benefits it provides to the educational system.

Using this purely descriptive form of inquiry may seem daunting when there is not a

concise list of procedures to follow for a phenomenological form of inquiry (van Manen, 2017).

Scientists begin with research questions to determine the direction of the research ontology that

leads to identifying the form of inquiry to be used in a study. Phenomenology is the

epistemology or form of inquiry to be used with research questions that are searching for

information on a lived experience. Heidegger gives the example of a research question that

utilizes phenomenology, “What is it like to be bored?” Another example provided by van den

Berg is, “What is it like to have a conversation?” (van Manen, 2017). There are a variety of Commented [BS5]: And it is difficult to disregard prior
assumptions or ways of knowing.
techniques researchers use to acquire information during the use of the phenomenological form

of inquiry, such as descriptions, interviews, or thematic analysis. Data is gathered and the

researcher identifies quotes that offer an understanding of how the participant experienced the

identified lived experience. Descriptive fidelity is the goal as one acquires new knowledge

through the use of these research techniques (Detmer, 2013).

Fundamental Assumptions

Phenomenology is described by Detmer (2013) as an experience without going

“…beyond, or outside of, or underlying, the world of our

everyday experience. It aims to help [phenomenologists] to see
more clearly what [has already been] seen, not by adding to
what …some grand theory that would explain it all, but rather
by persuading us to remove the confused, or speculative,
prejudicial assumptions or thought constructions that can serve
to block our access to what is given in experience” (Detmer,
2013, p.18).

As phenomenology advances to a more accepted practice within human science research studies,

including special education, researchers share an underlying group of assumptions. McPhail

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(1995) identifies these core assumptions as intentionality of consciousness, elimination of

dualism, and temporal considerations.

Descartes explains consciousness as one’s awareness of the external world, Cogito ergo

sum, or I think therefore I am. An essential ingredient of being human is consciousness, which

includes many cognitive thought processes such as imagination, thinking, memory, and

perception (Clarke, 2003). Within phenomenology, the researcher is searching for truth

regarding an event or experience that is in an area(s) of consciousness. The role of

consciousness of the known subject is an important consideration during the use of

phenomenology. An example of consciousness is a human being having a conversation or

completing an independent reading assignment. This experience cannot be removed from the

subjects’ consciousness including perception, feelings, and memory (van Manen, 2017). The

subjects’ consciousness is entwined with the phenomenological process of identifying objectivity

of the lived experience. (Cope, 2005).

Another assumption phenomenologists are aware of is the rejection of dualism.

Descartes’ theory of dualism distinguishes the mind and body as two distinctly different entities,

such as the known subject can be set apart from the object or the natural world. Conversely,

phenomenology describes that how one experiences an event is considered holistic, therefore the

researcher cannot assume there is a separation of reality from consciousness (McPhail, 1995).

Phenomenologists view subjectivity and objectivity as one lived experience. Phenomenologists

reject the notion of a human being as a spectator of objects and consider that subject and object

are inseparable (Horrigan-Kelly, Millar, & Dowling, 2016). The holistic phenomenological view

described by Heidegger is that a human being and the world do not have a distinction between

the subject and a set of objects. A further explanation of phenomenologists’ rejection of dualism
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is Heidegger’s modification of Descartes’ theory, “I think therefore I am”, to Heidegger’s I am in

the world (Horrigan-Kelly et al., 2016). Commented [BS6]: There are several authors both within
and outside of research that speak to the rejection of dualism.
Indeed in other cultures there is no difference.
The temporal aspect of phenomenology is another assumption which needs consideration.

Consciousness includes a subjective temporal countenance (McPhail, 1995). A participant

completes an identified event, however, only after the event does the subject identify the event as

a conscious experience, which is influenced by the subject’s perception of time. Phenomenology

is not pre-reflective or theory-based, but each participant has past experiences that influence

present and future decisions. Heidegger believed that experiences are lived before they are

understood. An example is an experience the individual is enjoying, such as reading a book. A

minute in time may be perceived as moving quickly if the participant is enjoying the reading

experience. When one is struggling, frustrated, or bored with an experience, one minute may be

perceived as moving slowly and lasting longer than a minute. Temporal aspects are subjective to

the participant’s consciousness of the lived experience. (McPhail, 1995)

A New Way of Knowing: What I have Learned

My endeavor to define, explore, and appreciate a new way of knowing, phenomenology,

through research and studies has broadened my understanding of the diversity and importance of

different ways of knowing. The ways of knowing project has helped me to expand my

vocabulary as a scholar, acquire new insight for application of knowledge as a speech-language

pathologist, and improve my research skills.

As a speech-language pathologist, I use both objective and subjective data to diagnose a

communication disability and develop individualized therapy goals. Previously, I only used

qualitative data to support quantitative information. Both qualitative and quantitative methods of

research are equally powerful tools to increase knowledge and understanding. I now appreciate
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this information and can apply it to my work with special education students. Informal research

and data collection during therapy sessions and diagnostic assessments are continuous activities

in my profession. Previously, I would observe reactions, such as body movements and facial

expressions. Now, I will also attempt to identify, analyze, and question how my students

experience an everyday life event such as a literacy activity or communication event with a peer.

Research of a new way of knowing has made me aware of the importance of

epistemology and how it can affect the direction of research. I can now recognize and appreciate

the different perspectives within qualitative educational research. For example, phenomenology

can be used to identify and better understand everyday experiences of an individual or group of

individuals, especially marginalized individuals, such as special education students.

Identification of these experiences that are often overlooked, allows insight into the student’s

environment, communication, and modality of learning and can be modified, if needed. Having

the opportunity to analyze a new way of knowing has piqued my curiosity to learn about other

ways of knowing. Through this research activity, as well as activities throughout this course, I

have become aware that there is a way of knowing that provides insight into the known subjects’

use of abilities and skills through a life experience. I intend to apply the information I have

learned regarding phenomenology to help me grow as a scholar, researcher, and professional. As

I continue my journey throughout the doctoral program, I will identify the lens that I will use to

view research and reality. Often guided by practical considerations when making decisions, I

feel my view presently is that of a pragmatist or realist. I now wonder what influences have led

me to these points of view. Commented [BS7]: And that nature that includes inquiry
will serve you well Stacie.
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