Doing phenomenology in science education: a research review

TitleDoing phenomenology in science education: a research review
Publication TypeJournal Article
AuthorsØstergaard, Edvin, Bo Dahlin, and Aksel Hugo
JournalStudies in Science Education
Volume44
Issue2
Pagination93-121
ISSN0305-7267
AbstractThis article is a review of applications of phenomenology, as a philosophy of knowledge and qualitative research approach, to the field of science education (SE). The purpose is to give an overview of work that has been done as well as to assess it and discuss its possibilities of future development. We ask: what attempts for connecting phenomenology and SE do we find in the research literature, and what possible effects could such connections have for teaching and learning? In approaching this field we distinguish between three sources of phenomenological SE: (1) Goethe’s phenomenology of nature; (2) philosophical phenomenology; and (3) anthropological phenomenology. Existing research based on phenomenological approaches is categorised as phenomenology of SE, phenomenology in SE, and phenomenology and SE integrated. Research examples from each category are critically evaluated and discussed. Finally we discuss the question of the relevance of phenomenology to science teaching. Our review indicates that phenomenology has considerable potential as a method for investigating science learning as a holistic process. It also seems that phenomenology and SE meet most fruitfully when phenomenology is done in the classroom, that is, when it is turned into actual efforts for promoting learning.
URLhttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03057260802264081
DOI10.1080/03057260802264081
Short TitleDoing phenomenology in science education
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