The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) accumulates annual data from state department of corrections. The information that the BJS accumulates annually is relevant to this study because it shows the possibility of the many African American women as well as other women in need of assistance while their loved one is incarcerated. The purpose of this study was to explore lived experiences of African American women involved with an incarcerated spouse, partner, or mate. The focal point of interest was how lived experiences affect African American women's physical and psychological well-being. The theoretical framework for this study comprised both the resilience theory and Bandura's self-efficacy theory. The research question that guided this study was: What are the significant experiences acquired during the incarceration process of the spouse, partner, or mate? Data were collected using semi structured interviews conducted with African American women over the age of 18 from a metropolitan city in the northeastern United States with incarcerated spouses, partners, or mates. NVivo software was used to find emergent themes from the data. The conclusions from the research, has endorsed positive social change by enlightening the helping professional. There are psychological implications that these women encountered during their lived experiences such as anxiety disorder, depression, trauma, stigma and shame, as well as criminality by association by staying in the relationship. The community should sustain these anguished women and be a factor in their well-being during the incarceration of their spouses, partners, or mates, as well as guiding them through the penal system via a resource center.

Individuals observe their surroundings and naturally judge others by what they observe or hear. In recent media portrayals, law enforcement officers were scrutinized for use of force and individuals were quick to verbalize their interpretation of events. Bandura's social learning theory served as a focal lens to guide the study. This qualitative phenomenological study examined lived experiences and what factors influence public perception of law enforcement use of force. Interviews were conducted with 10 participants who have encountered or witnessed law enforcement officers utilize use of force during a citizen encounter. NVivo software was used to code and analyze themes from interviews. The findings indicated lived experiences and emotions were high and did influence perception of use of force. Participants explained a variety of emotions when discussing their lived experiences. In addition, social media and mainstream news media played an important role in shaping perception of police officer use of force. This study promotes social change by presenting law enforcement agencies and society insight on how to improve on public perception and understanding of use of force so community relationships with law enforcement can flourish.

A descriptive, phenomenological research design was used to gain a deeper understanding of the nature and meaning of couples’ experiences as they made the transition to parenthood. Specifically, this study examined what is the lived experience of couples making the transition to parenthood and what meaning do they ascribed to the experience of brief, couple-focused, preventative interventions? Five couples who were expecting their first baby participated in this study. From the data provided, two major categories emerged. The first was the couples’ experiences with becoming new parents and the second was the couples’ experiences with therapy. Under the first category, five major themes emerged: (1) physical and emotional challenges, (2) bonding with baby, (3) satisfaction in roles and new identity, (4) impact of social support, and (5) stability of relationship satisfaction. Three themes were discovered under the category related to the couples’ experience with therapy: (1) facilitated communication, (2) stress management, and (3) preparation for the transition. This study concluded by discussing the essence of the phenomenon of couples’ experiences with the transition to parenthood and the meaning they ascribed to therapeutic interventions along with clinical implications of these findings.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Since the Korean War (1950‐1953), over 170,000 Korean children have been adopted from South Korea and dispersed across the world to families in ‘the West’. As Korean adoptees reach adulthood, many are going back to South Korea through their own initiatives to understand their ‘past’ and to try to identify with a part of themselves that feels ‘unknown’. This study considers the significance of these dual transnational movements for Korean adoptees’ identities. Based on their lived experiences, this dissertation explores the ways Korean adoptees make sense of their identities in their adoptive countries and in South Korea. Specifically, it draws on social scientific theories to focus on topics of ‘difference’, embodiment, experience and belonging. Another key aim of this study is to examine some of the conventional ideas about kinship and identity that are embedded in a Euro‐American construction of adoption. Through this analysis, issues associated with adoptees such as ‘loss’, ‘incomplete identities’ and ‘a need to search’ are alternatively considered to be socially and culturally derived rather than unproblematically viewed as individual problems. Overall, this is a qualitative anthropological study that engages with Korean adoptees’ lived experiences as they work to situate their identities within shifting socio‐cultural contexts. A central goal throughout the course of this research has been to generate greater understanding about the complex processes involved for transnationally adopted people as they try to negotiate their identities within contested spaces of belonging. This study concludes by looking at the significance of shared experiences and mutual understanding between adoptees and the impact this has on their sense of belonging.

Magister Artium - MA / Breast cancer is a common cause of death among women worldwide. It has long been recognized as a major public health burden in high-income countries, however, the majority of cases are said to occur in low and middle-income countries, such as in South Africa. A breast cancer diagnosis and treatment heralds a series of frightening events and can be a traumatic experience. The manner in which women perceive and cope with their illness is predictive of emotional and physical health outcomes. It is thus imperative to explore the experiences of South African women, whose voices may have been silenced in the past. The purpose of my study was to explore the subjective lived experiences of women with early stage breast cancer undergoing treatment. The objectives of the study were to; explore the emotional experiences of women with early stage breast cancer undergoing treatment and secondly to explore how women perceive their bodies through their experience of early stage breast cancer while undergoing treatment. Phenomenology was used as the theoretical position conceptualising the study as well as the research design. This research study adopted a qualitative approach utilising in-depth face to face semi-structures interviews for collecting data. The participants were selected through purposive sampling and comprised six women aged between 30 and 40 who are undergoing treatment for early stage breast cancer. The data was analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Emotions experienced were characterised by the shock of the diagnosis due to factors such as lack of family history and age. Participants reported positive changes and viewpoints which they gained through their breast cancer journey. Emotions were heightened during treatment due to the physical change experienced and the effects this had on family members and the general public. Furthermore, results indicated that participants, even though they discovered a new found love for life and for their wellbeing, neglected their emotional needs in order to protect family members. An additional reason for this neglect centered on the lack of understanding other individuals may have regarding the experiences of participants. Recommendations involves the encouragement of accessing counselling services and that interventions tailored to the needs of each patient especially according to age. All ethical considerations as stipulated by the University of the Western Cape were adhered to.

Tutoring services have experienced exponential increases in enrollment in Canada, with Ontario alone witnessing a 60% increase in enrollment from 1996 to 2000 (see Aurini & Davies, 2004). While Canadian research has documented organizational changes (Aurini & Davies, 2004; Aurini, 2006) and parents’ motives to enroll in tutoring services (Davies, 2004; Gale, 2016), the lived experiences of students with tutoring services are notably absent from the literature to date. In response, the current study investigates the experiences of high school students receiving math tutoring services (n =3) and their parents (n =2). The extent to which their participation in tutoring demonstrates “transboundary learning” (Kim & Jung, 2019b) is also examined in response to claims that tutoring services represent mainly peripheral learning environments as opposed to a core part of students’ learning (Aurini & Davies, 2013). Guided by a poststructuralism theoretical framework, the study employs qualitative methods to respond to three questions: (1) What are the lived experiences of high school students receiving math tutoring from a private tutoring service in Ottawa (Ontario, Canada)? (2) What are parents’ motives for seeking private tutoring services? and (3) How do participants perceive the learning taking place in different environments (e.g., tutoring vs. school)? Data from semi-structured interviews with high school students and their parents are analyzed using thematic analysis and interpreted using a Transboundary Learning framework (Kim & Jung, 2019b). Findings reveal key characteristics of transboundary learning in participants’ math tutoring contexts, suggesting a shift in the relationship between tutoring and schooling from peripheral to transboundary learning, whereby, tutoring is not regarded as peripheral as it has been in the literature to date. These findings are discussed in light of the noteworthy influence of tutoring over students' learning and schooling, and the potential for more inequalities in education.

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Current political rhetoric and some media commentaries suggest there is a yawning gap of understanding between policymakers and the reality of families living in poverty in 21st century Britain. A key reason identified for the disconnect between policymakers and families is the absence of the voices of the families in public discourse. In this paper accounts of the lived experiences of parents in poverty are examined in four UK qualitative studies published in the period 1998-2016. Their accounts highlight how problems of disadvantage can be cumulative, compounding and enduring. The struggle to provide the basics of family life and the role of supportive communities and relationships are explored. The impact on parents of financial stress, the sense of shame and stigma often experienced and the consequences for their physical and mental health are highlighted. Under the government’s austerity policy, there is an increase in poverty even in working families, an increase in homelessness and considerable evidence emerging on the damaging consequences of food and fuel poverty on the health of children and parents. Listening to the lived realities of individual families provides a much greater understanding of family poverty and its causes and consequences, provides a corrective to the critical pejorative rhetoric and lays the foundation for the provision of appropriate government support.

South Africa has adopted the international trend towards inclusive education. The result is an increasing number of learners with barriers to learning accommodated in mainstream schools. Alternative assessment programmes make provision to address the barriers to learning of these learners during formal assessments. Alternative assessment programmes are a good start to afford learners with barriers to learning a fair chance to impart their knowledge. However, the programmes are adult driven and, as the users of these programmes, we need to consider the learners’ views also. Knowledge of their experience will increase understanding of their needs, which in turn will help to refine the programmes and adjust the programmes to these needs. General aim of the study: to explore the lived experience of learners with barriers to learning, who participated in an alternative assessment programme in a mainstream high school in the Western Cape, in a qualitative way, through a phenomenological design. The phenomenological design provided a deeper understanding of the learners’ experience of the alternative assessment programme from the learners’ viewpoint. We held unstructured, individual interviews with the eight participants who consented to participate in the study. As requested, the participants made collages of their experiences of the alternative assessment programme in a group setting, prior to the interviews. Section B presents the findings of this qualitative study and relates the learners’ experience of the alternative assessment programme during test- and formal examination series. The findings highlight the importance of considering the opinions of learners with barriers, participating in an alternative assessment programme. / MSc (Master of Social Work), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015