Phenomenological Research

Phenomenology is a project of abstemious reflection on the lived experience of human existence abstemious, in the sense that reflecting on experience must, as much as possible, abstain from theoretical, prejudicial, and suppositional intoxications. But, phenomenology is also a project that is driven by fascination: being swept up in a spell of wonder, a fascination with meaning. The phenomenologist directs the gaze toward the regions where meaning originates, wells up, percolates through the porous membranes of past sedimentationsthen infuses, permeates, infects, touches, stirs us, and exercises a formative affect.

Within the broad field of curriculum studies, phenomenology is a form of inquiry that historically has induced several distinct perspectival interests, purposes, and practices. The perspectives are briefly outlined in this entry in terms of critical onto-theology, extended imaginary, and phenome-nological research as interpretive method. Onto-theology refers to the larger metaphysical and philosophical assumptions about what is real, meaningful, relevant, and consequential for the way we live and understand the nature of education, pedagogy, knowledge, ethics, childhood, teaching, learning, and so forth. The extended imaginary is the cultivating of insights about fundamental curriculum notions and concerns through the mediation of rich and inspiring phenomenological literature. Descriptive/interpretive method provides access to phenomenological research approaches and ways of thinking, inquiring, and reflecting on topics of curricular and pedagogical interest.

In engaging phenomenological research with curriculum and pedagogy, one needs to make some distinctions between phenomenological literature that historically is included in curriculum studies and literature that identifies itself with the fields of philosophy of education, educational psychology, counseling, and administration. Some scholars such as Maxine Greene have straddled the disciplines of philosophy of education and curriculum studies; others, such as Donald Vandenberg and Thomas Greenfield have published and situated themselves more strongly within the fields of philosophy or administration. This entry is limited more closely to the literature that has primarily engaged with curriculum and pedagogy.