The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore teachers? experiences working with children impacted by adverse childhood experiences. As a dissertation in practice, this qualitative study was intended to examine the lived experiences of educators in regard to how trauma presents itself in the classroom setting and to explore their perceptions on the greater impact of trauma towards curricular outcomes, the classroom environment, and implications with regard to their role as educators. Data were collected from 12 interviews with six female middle school educators, employed within a school district that serves a medium sized community and the surrounding rural communities. Colaizzi?s (1978) phenomenological data analysis strategy was used for data analysis and coding. Four major themes emerged in the findings to describe teachers? experiences working in their classroom settings with students with trauma histories: the overall impact of trauma, trauma impacts on educators, trauma impacts on classroom practices, and needs identified by educators. An Executive Summary and Recommendations are included as an actionable response to the complex problem of practice that underpinned this dissertation in practice.

This dissertation includes background on influences of mathematics, mathematics education, and who is viewed as a mathematician leading into three articles exploring students' and teachers' perceptions of mathematics through their lived experiences in both mathematics classrooms and their communities. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis for the methodology, all three articles analyze mathematics autobiographies and semi-structured interviews with five student participants enrolled in the same Algebra I course; Paper 3 also includes the Algebra I teacher. Paper 1 focuses on how students describe their lived experiences in mathematics classrooms. Three themes emerged from the participant data: 1) lack of autonomy and access, 2) feelings hinge on performance in mathematics, and 3) the need for support in mathematics. Each participant shared different experiences, but these experiences can help inform educators how to improve students' experiences in the classroom. Paper 2 sought to understand how middle grade students make sense of what it means to do mathematics in their community. The three themes include: 1) navigating the usefulness of mathematics outside of school, 2) who directs mathematics outside of school, and 3) the need for mathematics in future plans. Connections students made between mathematics and the lives outside of school varied suggesting how broad their definition of mathematics is may vary. Paper 3 focuses on a current mathematics teacher lived experiences to answer, how do teachers' perceptions and lived experiences of mathematics relate to their teaching practices as a mathematics teacher? The three themes that emerged from data in paper three include: 1) performance and requirements of mathematics, 2) applying mathematical ideas, and 3) humanity of learning mathematics.

The aim of this research was to study the relationship between lived experiences and critical thinking of college students in Taiwan. Investigation method was employed in the study. The employed instruments included College Student Lived Experiences Questionnaire, Critical Thinking Dispositions Scale, and the Critical Thinking Scale. The subjects were college students in Taiwan. 505 questionnaires were sent and 310 were valid. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, one-way MANOVA , canonical correlation, and stepwise multiple regression. According to the statistic result, the conclusions were¡G 1. Lived experiences of college students were rich and diversity in which team works were the highest and adventure experiences were the lowest. 2. College students¡¦ critical thinking in which deductive was the highest and inference was the lowest. As a whole, college students¡¦ critical thinking abilities in 2005 were better than those 1996, but interval was small¡FMoreover, college students¡¦ critical thinking dispositions were better. 3. There were no significant gender differences in critical thinking dispositions and abilities. There were significant differences of critical thinking dispositions and abilities between technology and social science college. There were significant differences of critical thinking dispositions and abilities between junior ¡B senior and freshman ¡Bsophomore college students. 4. There were significant differences of critical thinking dispositions between high and low father¡¦s education. There were significant differences of critical thinking dispositions and abilities between have and no relevant curriculum experiences. Moreover, the students¡¦ critical thinking abilities in experimental curriculum were better than those in nothing. There were significant differences of critical thinking abilities between educational university and science technology university. 5. Lived experiences of college students have canonical correlation with critical thinking. Two canonical factors of college students lived experiences efficacy explains 37% of all the critical thinking. 6. Father¡¦s education of college students¡Bschool styles¡Bteam work¡Bart¡Bpopular and information experiences could efficacy predict students¡¦ critical thinking .

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between lived experiences and thinking styles for college students in Taiwan.Investigation method is employed in the study.There are 2443 college students are served as the standardization sample in order to develop their percentile norm in Taiwan.In addition,there are 346 college students to write Thinking Style Inventory with Lived Experience Inventory of the norm sample. The data is analyzed through descriptive statistics,t-test,One-Way ANOVA and canonical correlation. The results indicate that: 1.College students¡¦lived experiences styles tend to be group activities style, and then thinking styles tend to be monarchic style.There are no significant differences in the mean scores of all kinds of lived experiences and thinking styles. 2.Gender has significant differents in the college students¡¦lived experiences and thinking styles.Birth order has no significant differents in the college students¡¦lived experiences and thinking styles.Then education level of parents has significant differents in the college students¡¦lived experiences,but in the thinking styles is not. 3.The shool background have no significant differents in the college students¡¦lived experiences and thinking styles. 4.College students¡¦lived experiences have canonical correlation with college students¡¦thinking styles.The first canonical factor of college students¡¦lived experiences efficacy explains 4¢H of all the college students¡¦thinking styles.

This qualitative study sought to understand better the experiences of women leaders in México, a predominantly male-dominated culture. Seven women leaders were interviewed. They shared personal experiences, reflections, feelings, ideas, and actions related to their leadership positions in different arenas, such as corporate, political, academic, and non-profit organizations. Phenomenology was the most appropriate tye of inquiry for this study because its objective was to develop a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of women in leadership positions in México, a predominantly male-dominated culture. I conducted a thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews to discover commonalities among the experiences of the participants. A list of preliminary themes emerged. I made follow-up contacts with the participants to verify the findings, and themes were revised and accepted. The analysis revealed insights into six themes: preparation, innate characteristics, move under principles and ethical values, the job itself is very important, to find a balance between personal and professional time as a goal, and benefits that the leadership position give to them. A total of five subthemes emerged under four of the six themes: academic, the women leaders want to have an impact in social responsibility activities, they like challenges and being competitive, independence, and recognition.

Experiencing a patient death can directly affect the well-being of health care professionals; however, this phenomenon and the effects of patients' deaths are not well understood in the transport setting. Transport nurses work in unique settings with complex patients and significant autonomy in determining the plan of care; therefore, the experiences of other health care professionals may not be applicable in this environment. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of transport nurses who have experienced patient death using Husserl's life-world and phenomenological philosophies as a theoretical framework. Semistructured interviews were completed with 8 transport nurses who had experienced a patient death in their care using video-conferencing and verbatim transcription of the interviews. Data analysis was manually coded and categorized into themes based on Moustaka's modification of the Van Kaam methods of analysis of phenomenological data. Key findings included 5 themes. Findings from this study indicate that patient death, particularly unexpected death, takes an emotional toll on transport nurses. Most transport nurses indicated that they did not have formal debriefing or support from the transport program following patient death. Transport nurses relied on their partners for feedback and support following patient death. Recommendations based on this research include promoting education regarding the psychosocial effects of death in the transport environment and formal debriefing following an unexpected death. Results from this study can be used to promote positive social change by improving the experiences of transport providers following a patient death, which may lead to improved retention and nurse satisfaction.

This study was inspired by my experiences with a Williams syndrome child, which drew my attention to the meaningful experiences that children with Williams syndrome might have with music. The problem of the study can be defined in terms of five aspects. Firstly, individuals diagnosed with Williams syndrome suffer medically, socially and cognitively (Levitin & Bellugi, 1998:358-359) and music seems to be an aspect of their lives that could make things easier for them. Secondly, those suffering from Williams syndrome seemingly struggle to adapt to their social surroundings (Bellugi et al., 1994:5). The third aspect that defines the problem is that families of individuals with Williams syndrome in South Africa do not have sufficient access to educational facilities that are equipped to work with their children. This forces them to home school their children without the ability to educate them optimally. Fourthly, the research problem also stems from the lack of awareness about the lived musical experiences of individuals living Williams syndrome. It becomes clear that heightening awareness of the lived musical experiences of Williams syndrome individuals has not been addressed in research. Lastly, researchers have yet to undertake in-depth qualitative studies on the meaning of musical experience for the learning experiences of those suffering from Williams syndrome. The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) is to understand the lived musical experiences of individuals living with Williams syndrome in Southern Africa1. Williams syndrome is defined as a rare genetic disorder which presents when around 20 genes are deleted on chromosome 7 at conception (Bellugi et al., 2007:98). This study follows an IPA approach and aims to gain insight into how participants understand their lived musical experiences. The theoretical foundations for IPA are based on “three key areas of philosophical knowledge, namely phenomenology, hermeneutics and idiography” (Smith et al., 2009: 11). For this study data were collected by conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews with three purposefully selected participants. The interview transcriptions were then analysed separately using ATLAS.ti 7 computer software. After each interview transcript was analysed individually, superordinate themes emerged from a cross-case analysis. The results of the study revealed four superordinate themes regarding the musical experiences of the three Williams syndrome participants: a passion for performing, fostering friendships, lightens the load and dependent on music. The study found that music contributes to the overall well-being of the three participants in a way that allows them to feel accepted by others and to escape the label of being diagnosed Williams syndrome. / MMus (Musicology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

This study was inspired by my experiences with a Williams syndrome child, which drew my attention to the meaningful experiences that children with Williams syndrome might have with music. The problem of the study can be defined in terms of five aspects. Firstly, individuals diagnosed with Williams syndrome suffer medically, socially and cognitively (Levitin & Bellugi, 1998:358-359) and music seems to be an aspect of their lives that could make things easier for them. Secondly, those suffering from Williams syndrome seemingly struggle to adapt to their social surroundings (Bellugi et al., 1994:5). The third aspect that defines the problem is that families of individuals with Williams syndrome in South Africa do not have sufficient access to educational facilities that are equipped to work with their children. This forces them to home school their children without the ability to educate them optimally. Fourthly, the research problem also stems from the lack of awareness about the lived musical experiences of individuals living Williams syndrome. It becomes clear that heightening awareness of the lived musical experiences of Williams syndrome individuals has not been addressed in research. Lastly, researchers have yet to undertake in-depth qualitative studies on the meaning of musical experience for the learning experiences of those suffering from Williams syndrome. The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) is to understand the lived musical experiences of individuals living with Williams syndrome in Southern Africa1. Williams syndrome is defined as a rare genetic disorder which presents when around 20 genes are deleted on chromosome 7 at conception (Bellugi et al., 2007:98). This study follows an IPA approach and aims to gain insight into how participants understand their lived musical experiences. The theoretical foundations for IPA are based on “three key areas of philosophical knowledge, namely phenomenology, hermeneutics and idiography” (Smith et al., 2009: 11). For this study data were collected by conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews with three purposefully selected participants. The interview transcriptions were then analysed separately using ATLAS.ti 7 computer software. After each interview transcript was analysed individually, superordinate themes emerged from a cross-case analysis. The results of the study revealed four superordinate themes regarding the musical experiences of the three Williams syndrome participants: a passion for performing, fostering friendships, lightens the load and dependent on music. The study found that music contributes to the overall well-being of the three participants in a way that allows them to feel accepted by others and to escape the label of being diagnosed Williams syndrome. / MMus (Musicology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Based on eleven months of ethnographic fieldwork (September 2012-August 2013) in a village in Baghpat district located in the western part of the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP), the thesis compares the lived experiences of marriage of women in what I describe as regional marriage (RM) with women in cross-regional marriage (CRM). RMs are marriages that conform to caste and community norms (caste endogamy, gotrā [clan] and village/territorial exogamy) and are negotiated within a limited geographical region, i.e., the state. CRMs are those between men in north India and women from the southern, eastern and north-eastern parts of the country. Such marriages cross caste, linguistic and state boundaries with the marriage distance exceeding 1000 kms. CRMs also differ from RMs with regard to their modes of arrangement and the payments involved. They result from two sets of factors – one operating at bride-sending regions (mainly poverty) and the other at bride-receiving regions (masculine sex ratios and the difficulties some men have in achieving “eligibility” for marriage). NGO and journalistic accounts and some academic work has focused on CRMs: being a consequence only of masculine sex ratios and bride shortages; deviating from north Indian marriage norms; involving the “sale” and “purchase” of poor women from poor districts and states; and CRBs’ low status and lack of agency in receiving communities. This research aims to interrogate the moral panic surrounding the “plight” of CRBs. The thesis begins by contextualising CRM by exploring the factors that lead some (UP) men of particular castes to seek brides from other states and those that influence the migration of women over long-distances for marriages. It examines the process of negotiation entailed in making a RM and a CRM – the role of matchmakers, marriage payments and the rituals regarded as necessary to make a marriage “legitimate”. The thesis then focuses on the question of lived experiences of marriage by examining different aspects of regional brides’ (RB) and cross-regional brides’ (CRB) everyday lives – what the process of adjustment in a new (marital) home means for women when they leave their natal homes to live in their husbands’ homes and villages, the work that married women do, their relationships with other women in their marital villages, their relationships with their husbands and with their natal kin. Married women’s lives are embedded in various power dynamics and this research aims to address how factors such as caste, class, religion and age/years of marriage shape women’s post-marital experiences, in addition to their regional origins. This ethnographic study also attempts to outline issues specific to CRBs, particularly discrimination, belonging and incorporation within a culturally and linguistically different context, as well as the intergenerational implications of these marriages in terms of the (caste) status, rights and marriages of children of cross-regional couples. This research departs from existing studies on CRM as it attempts to understand postmarital experiences through a comparison with RM. Such an approach makes it possible to recognise similarities in the lived experiences of RBs and CRBs that enables a more nuanced understanding of the gendering of intimate/marital relationships in contemporary rural India within a context of caste inequalities and poverty.

According to the UK Government, 'disabled people remain significantly less likely to participate in cultural, leisure and sporting activities than non-disabled people' (Department for Work and Pensions & Office for Disability Issues, 2014). Despite this fact, much of the research that relates to disabled people and music is focused on the therapeutic benefits of music and there is a deficit in research that explores disability and music from the perspective of the musicians themselves. The aim of my PhD project was to fill this gap by examining the lived experiences of disabled musicians in order to ascertain what might cause the perceived under-representation of disabled people in the music world. As a musician and music student with mobility and sight impairments, I have first-hand experience of the challenges that can face disabled musicians and these experiences inspired me to explore this area of concern. Consequently, my PhD project is centred on the lived experiences of disabled musicians as they engage in performance and work towards qualifications in music. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data that was collected through 11 semi-structured interviews with disabled musicians and an autoethnographic analysis of my own experiences, both as a disabled musician and PhD researcher. My PhD project shows that disabled musicians encounter a wide range of barriers as they engage in music making or journey towards a qualification in music and that these barriers create significant physical and emotional challenges for disabled individuals. Most of the issues disabled musicians experience occur during performance or while they work towards a qualification in music; these issues are the result of negative attitudes, discrimination and imbued misconceptions. Consequently, there is a need for the lived experiences of disabled people to be better understood by both non-disabled individuals and institutions who provide facilities and services. This improved understanding would allow both service providers and individuals the means to establish and maintain better access to music and music education through the implementation of reasonable adjustments and more positive attitudes towards disabled people.