Theoretical Perspective

For my study, How Learning and Using Computer Technology Skills Affect Traditional Experienced Teachers in the Christian School, I plan to use a phenomenological approach as I gather and analyze my data. Since phenomenology focuses on the structure and essence of experiences of a particular phenomenon for a group of people, this is appropriate for my study. I seek to understand the essence of being an experienced teacher who is presented with the new challenge of learning and integrating computer technology into her teaching. By using this approach, I am assuming that there is an essence or a mutually understood core meaning to this phenomenon which can be discovered and shared among my three participants. Though I realize that each will have her own unique set of experiences, I am most interested in identifying the commonalities or basic shared elements of their experiences of this phenomenon.
Phenomenology has its roots in the thoughts of Edmund Husserl. This German philosopher introduced the term to refer to the study of the structures of consciousness that enable consciousness to refer to objects outside itself. Such study involves reflecting on the contents of one's mind while excluding everything else. He called this type of reflection "phenomenological reduction." The purpose of this act is to reach a domain of pure consciousness; therefore beliefs involving objective experiences or conclusions reached from objective experiences cannot be accepted. According to Husserl, "We are forbidden to make use of the actuality of the Objective world as if it were placed in brackets. What remains to us is the totality of the phenomena of the world, phenomena which are grasped by reflection as they are absolutely in themselves." (McCormick & Elliston, 1981, 15).
Further, Husserl viewed phenomenological reduction as a permanent and deliberate abstention from belief in the existence of the world, which for him opened up a vast field of research. He saw it as a