The purpose of the study was to develop a greater understanding of the experiences of school life for students who consistently found learning difficult, their perceptions of the difficulties they faced with their learning and how this had influenced their lives, socially and academically. It was hoped that their perspectives would highlight those structures and strategies that were of the most value in supporting them, as well as those that had a negative impact on their achievement and adjustment. Eight people with learning difficulties each participated in a series of three individual, in-depth interviews about their experiences of school. The participants, five male and three female, ranged in age from ten to twenty five years. Four were primary school students, in Years Four, Five and Six. Two students were in Year Nine at high school, while a further two participants had completed their schooling. One was currently unemployed, while the other had completed a university degree and had been teaching for three years. Participants were chosen from randomly selected government schools in the ACT, nominated by the school as fitting the selection criteria. Learning difficulties were defined in tenns of their meeting criteria that were indicative of teacher and parent concern for academic underachievement over a period of at least two years. The selection process was also guided by criteria to locate key informants, i.e. individuals who may have been able to highlight specific issues related to the relationships between learning difficulties and socioeconomic status, social competence and employment opportunities. Interviews with each participant .took place over three separate sessions of approximately fifty minutes' duration. Data was analysed using Hycner's guidelines for phenoinenological analysis. Interviews were transcribed and coded, with an independent researcher validating identified themes. An agreement rate of 88% was achieved. Interviews were then summarised and returned to the participants to confirm whether the interpretation of their perspectives was accurate. Themes that were common across the interviews were discussed in relation to current research. The results of this research study confirmed the central role played by quality teachers and best teaching practices in being able to enhance learning and to meet the needs of individual students. These factors were an integral part of engaging students in the learning process and promoting successful learning experiences. The study also emphasised the importance of parents, particularly mothers, in the adjustment of the participants to the everyday demands, academic and social, of school life. The necessity of establishing and sustaining effective early intervention programs was also highlighted, as was the value of listening to the voices of individuals with learning difficulties when making decisions on their behalf.

In this thesis, I explored the relationship between patient experience of wait time for consultation and scheduled surgery, type of illness (orthopaedic or cardiac), and descriptions of time using qualitative methodology. Thirty two patients awaiting orthopaedic or cardiac surgery were recruited by surgeons in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan during the period of September 2009 to November 2010. Those patients awaiting orthopaedic surgery were interviewed when the decision to treat was made and again at the midpoint of their waiting period. Cardiac surgery patients were interviewed after their angiography and consent to surgery, and again the day prior to surgery. Patients were asked about their perceptions of time while waiting, maximum acceptable wait time for consultation and surgery, and the effects of waiting. Interpretative phenomenology (1) was the method and data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.Participant suffering, the meaningfulness given to the experience, and the agency participants felt they had over the waiting period determined the lived duration of time experience. Participants considered pain, mobility restriction, disease progression and lethality of condition to be the primary determinants of wait time maximums. Waiting effects included restriction, uncertainty, resignation, coping with waiting, and opportunity. Few subtle differences between groups emerged indicating other variables may be more relevant to the quality of waiting experience. Participant suggestions for improving experience consisted of managing patient conditions and navigating the system. The findings suggest uncertainty in illness impacts the quality of wait time experience. The study denotes the experience of waiting for scheduled surgery is complex and not necessarily a linear relationship between greater symptom severity and less tolerance for wait time.

This thesis comprises three main sections: a literature review, research report and a critical appraisal of the research process. The literature review is generic across a number of health professions and begins by placing supervision within its historical context followed by an attempt to clarify our current understanding of supervision. The literature relating to effective supervision is presented, with the supervisory working alliance being identified as potentially one of the most important common factors in the change process of supervision (Ellis, 1991). A review of supervision models suggests that they provide a structure for understanding the roles, relationships, responsibilities and processes integral to the practice of supervision. The review attempts to clarify the current state of supervision training, highlighting the lack of attention that has been paid to the process by which individuals learn to become effective supervisees and supervisors. It is concluded that there is a need for further research in the area of training for both supervisees and supervisors. The research report comprises a qualitative study using interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore the supervision experiences of six Chartered Counselling Psychologists. The thematic content that emerged indicated a lack of preparation for the role of supervisee and a lack of formal training for the supervisory role. The findings revealed that the participants relied upon self-directed learning, their previous experience and their therapeutic skills to inform their supervisory practice. The findings also highlighted the critical role of the supervisory relationship for both supervisee and supervisor in managing the anxieties generated by this lack of preparation and training as well as in supporting the learning and development of all involved in the relationship. The final section is the researcher’s critical appraisal of the research process.

Falling by older people is of significant global concern as the population ages, because of subsequent injury, disability, admission to long-term care and mortality. Older people experiencing dementia are twice as likely to fall with more severe consequences. Unsurprisingly, carer-burden increases when a care-recipient falls. Older people are rarely asked about their falls experiences and those with dementia less so. The studies presented in this thesis explore the experiences of falling of older people with dementia and memory problems, and their carers. The studies were informed by contextualism and the primary study used interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore the experiences of nine older people with dementia and their 10 carers, using one-to-one and joint interviews, and three focus groups with nine older people experiencing memory problems and 12 carers from a branch of the Alzheimer’s society. Analysis of the data considered the falls experience itself and the perceived consequences of falls within two higher level themes: ‘Falling as a malevolent force’ as two themes - ‘Going back to the experience’, ‘Reactions, responses and coming to terms with events’, and ‘Falling as the manifestation of dementia’ as two themes - ‘Self, identity and falling’, ‘The caring relationship’. The secondary study elaborated upon primary study data using an inductive interpretative approach unaligned to any tradition. Older people recently diagnosed with dementia and carers from another Alzheimer’s Society branch participated in two focus groups. Participants discussed stimulus cards with quotations from primary study participants. Thematic analysis suggested four major themes: Making sense of falls, The personal and social significance of falling, Falling, self and identity and Struggling to care. The findings demonstrate how falling and dementia are enmeshed and embodied experiences for participants. Spouse-carers’ discussion of their own falls emphasise the need for joint assessment and intervention to reduce carerburden and preserve couplehood.

The present thesis reports an empirical study of how ten remedial teachers or special remedial teachers, all women, encountered reality as supervisors or tutors in schools during the 1990s. The study sought to define the conditions for supervision and tutoring in the remedial-teaching function. Data was collected in two steps. The preparatory step consisted of a scrutiny of Report DsU 1986:13 on the modified remedial-teacher function, and perusal of the referees’ comments thereon. The second step consisted ofinterviews with all ten participants three years after their training as supervisors/tutors at the Stockholm Institute of Education. Neither in the above Report nor in the referees’ comments was supervision defined or discussed. Despite this resistance, supervision is required by the macro level for the modified remedial-teacher function. Regarding the micro-level situation for supervising in school, two themes were distinguished: an organisational theme and a legitimacy theme. The informants saw school management, the organisation’s pre-understanding of supervision and the profession’s continual adaptation to areas of knowledge not possessed by teachers as important aspects. The legitimacy theme expresses how differentiation of the supervisory task and the design of teaching posts influence the implementation. The supervision/tutoring examined here is described through six experiential themes: the dialogical here-and-now-theme, the relational theme, the didactic ”technical” theme, the reflective and self-fostering theme, the change theme and the leadership theme. Remedial-educational supervision as described in the study appears as vertical but does not extend to the depth of therapeutic intervention. It is seen as an ethical act where consideration or recognition, rather than care, is a distinctive feature. Care may represent ”tacit” gender-loaded knowledge and needs to be discussed in educational contexts where supervision or tutoring is included in the special-remedial-teacher function.

Teoretikai nagrinėja ir daug rašo apie problemas su kuriomis susiduria moterys karjeros kelyje, tačiau mažai tyrinėja emocijų svarbą vadovaujant, neanalizuoja emocijų turinio, intensyvumo ir jų įtakos moterų išgyvenimams pradėjus dirbti vadovaujamą darbą. Darbo tikslas – atskleisti moterų, pradėjusių dirbti vadovaujamą darbą, patyrimą. Moters patyrimui, pradėjus dirbti vadove, atskleisti buvo taikomas fenomenologinis tyrimo metodas pagal Amadeo Giorgi. Tyrime dalyvavo 8 moterys dirbančios vadovaujamą darbą. Pagrindinis tyrimo dalyvių atrankos kriterijus - visos tyrimo dalyvės išgyvenusios tiriamą fenomeną. Tyrimo rezultatai parodė, kad moteris, pradėjusi dirbti vadove, patiria: subjektyvią gerovę, aukštą savivertę, abejones dėl vadovės pareigų ir šeimos suderinamumo, galimos darbo netekties ir neteisingo pasiskirstymo kolektyve darbais išgyvenimą. Tyrimo rezultatai taip pat parodė, kad aukštas savęs vertinimas glaudžiai susijęs su subjektyvios gerovės išgyvenimu. Neigiamos emocijos, pradėjus dirbti vadove, dažniausiai priskiriamos sunkumams derinant vadovaujamą darbą ir namų ūkio darbus, vaikų auginimą ir auklėjimą, neteisingam darbų pasiskirstymui kolektyve, už kurį gaunamas vienodas atlygis. Abejonių dėl vadovės pareigų ir šeimos suderinamumo išgyvenimas ir neteisingo pasiskirstymo kolektyve darbais išgyvenimas turi statistiškai reikšmingą neigiamą koreliacinį ryšį (r =-0,745; p <0,05) – tiriamieji, kurie paminėjo abejonių dėl vadovės pareigų ir šeimos suderinamumo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Theorists research and write much about the problems which women face at work; however, they little explore the importance of emotions during direction, do not analyze the nature and intensity of emotions as well as their influence towards women’s feelings when they start superintending the work. The purpose of the work is to reveal the experience of women starting superintending the work. To reveal the experience of women who start working as a directress there was applied the phenomenological research method according to Amadeo Giorgi. 8 women holding managerial position took part in the research. The main selection criterion of the participants of the research was the fact that all participants of the research have experienced the phenomenon under investigation. The results of the research showed that a woman who starts working as a directress experiences: subjective welfare, high self-esteem, doubts about compatibility of managerial position and family, the feelings concerning possible work losing and unfair distribution of work in the collective. The results of the research also showed that high self-esteem is closely related with the feeling of subjective welfare. Negative emotions starting work as a directress are often evoked by both difficulties in coordinating managerial position with household work, children’s upbringing and education, and fear of unfair work distribution in the collective. The experience of doubts about the compatibility of managerial position... [to full text]

„Psichologinis klimatas vidutinio dydžio Lietuvos įmonėse: problematika ir sąsajos su turimomis bei taikomomis sprendimų priemonėmis“. Darbo tikslas - pažvelgti į tai, kaip ir ką žmonės išgyvena darbe, aprašyti esančias psichologinio klimato problemas iš vadovų bei darbuotojų pozicijų, išskirti psichologinio klimato problemų sprendimo būdus. Tyrime dalyvavo šeši aukštesnio lygio vadovai ir keturios darbuotojų grupės. Duomenims gauti pasitelkiami individualus ir grupinis interviu. Individualus interviu vykdomas remiantis fenomenologinės analizės principais, grupinis – Atviros Erdvės Technologijos metodu. Tyrimo rezultatai parodė, kad psichologinio klimato patyrimas tirtose įmonėse atsiskleidžia per 10 patyrimo elementų (darbo sąlygos, įtaka ir galia, darbiniai santykiai, pokyčiai, sprendimo priėmimas, susitarimas kaip dirbama, grįžtamasis ryšys iš vadovų, tapatumas su įmone ir priemonės gerinti psichologinį klimatą) bei per problemas, kurios susijusios su minėtais elementais. / „Psychological climate of middle size Lithuanian enterprises: topic and interface between available and applicable solution tools”. The aim of the study is to describe issues that are experienced at work, to educe problems which personnel face and also to describe solutions, which may be applied to strengthen psychological climate. There were six upscale managers and four employee groups in the survey. Two methodologies were used in this research: phenomenological analysis and Open Space Technology. The research showed that psychological climate unfolds by ten experienced dimensions (work conditions, influence and power, work relationships, changes, decision making, agreements about work processes, feedback, identity with enterprise and solutions to improve psychological climate) and the problems these dimensions contain.

To examine possible links between biophilia (love for living systems) and outdoor adventure training, this study explored various emotional relationships participants developed during Hooksum Outdoor School on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Drawing from phenomenological psychology, ecopsychology, outdoor adventure training, and biophilia literature, I sought to answer the questions (1) if, and how, individuals develop emotional relationships with coastal environments; (2) what role the ocean plays in emotional change; (3) how individuals act in response to their relationships with the coast. Analysis included grouping themes from observation notes, questionnaires, and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of individual interviews. A focus was bringing the researcher into participants' lifeworlds as they experienced the program. Four individual participant stories demonstrate active relationship-building (1) within participants' inner selves; (2) between each other; (3) with the coastal environment. Findings contribute to recommendations for future research, providing insight into how program design can effectively address the biophilia tendency.

Psychological research into women’s embodied experience in pregnancy and the first year after birth is contradictory and mainly quantitative in nature. In response to these inconsistencies and the paucity of qualitative research in this area, this study investigated the embodied experience of women during pregnancy and the postpartum year. The study was conducted in Lithuania and the UK, using semi-structured interviews and drawings; the data were analysed using the qualitative methodology of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Six women participated, all primigravidae, aged 26-35. Each woman was seen five times; thrice during pregnancy and twice after her baby was born. A rich description of the women’s embodied experience emerged from the accounts, supporting the notion of bodily experience in pregnancy being dynamic, complex and firmly embedded in their life-world. Due to limitations of size with regard to the PhD thesis, only the results of one consecutive case and four superordinate themes which emerged from the interviews with all of the women in the second trimester of pregnancy viz: the uncontrollable body, the body as my teacher, uncertainty about inner and outer boundaries and embodied identity in the making, were presented and discussed. The study provides insights into this lived experience that may be useful in psychological theory and in practice when working with women at this important transitional life stage. / Psichologijoje įkūnytas moterų patyrimas nėštumo metu ir pirmaisiais metais po gimdymo vis dar retai tyrinėjamas, o esantys tyrimai yra dažniausiai kiekybiniai, atskleidžiantys prieštaraujančius rezultatus. Šiame tyrime buvo siekiama identifikuoti, aprašyti ir struktūruoti tai, kaip savo įkūnytą nėštumo ir pogimdyminio periodo patyrimą supranta ir įprasmina pačios pirmą kartą besilaukiančios moterys. Tyrimas atliktas Lietuvoje ir Didžiojoje Britanijoje, taikant giluminius pusiau struktūruotus interviu ir piešinius. Tekstai analizuoti naudojant kokybinį interpretacinės fenomenologinės analizės metodą. Tyrime dalyvavo šešios 26–35 metų amžiaus moterys. Su kiekviena moterimi buvo susitikta penkis kartus: tris kartus joms besilaukiant ir du kartus jau gimus vaikui. Gautas labai turtingas moterų įkūnyto patyrimo aprašymas, leidžiantis galvoti apie kūno patyrimą nėštumo metu kaip apie dinamišką, sudėtingą ir stipriai jų gyvenime įsišaknijusį fenomeną. Disertacijoje išsamiai pristatomas ir aptariamas vienas nuoseklus motinystės atvejis ir keturios metatemos (besilaukiančio kūno nekontroliuojamumas, kūnas – mano mokytojas, kūno vidinių ir išorinių ribų neaiškumas, besiformuojantis kūniškas identitetas), kurios buvo suformuluotos atlikus visų moterų interviu analizes antrajame jų nėštumo trimestre. Tyrimas suteikia galimybę pamatyti, kaip kasdienybėje yra patiriamas šis fenomenas, praturtindamas teorinę ir praktinę šio reiškinio sampratą.

Psichologijoje įkūnytas moterų patyrimas nėštumo metu ir pirmaisiais metais po gimdymo vis dar retai tyrinėjamas, o esantys tyrimai yra dažniausiai kiekybiniai, atskleidžiantys prieštaraujančius rezultatus. Šiame tyrime buvo siekiama identifikuoti, aprašyti ir struktūruoti tai, kaip savo įkūnytą nėštumo ir pogimdyminio periodo patyrimą supranta ir įprasmina pačios pirmą kartą besilaukiančios moterys. Tyrimas atliktas Lietuvoje ir Didžiojoje Britanijoje, taikant giluminius pusiau struktūruotus interviu ir piešinius. Tekstai analizuoti naudojant kokybinį interpretacinės fenomenologinės analizės metodą. Tyrime dalyvavo šešios 26–35 metų amžiaus moterys. Su kiekviena moterimi buvo susitikta penkis kartus: tris kartus joms besilaukiant ir du kartus jau gimus vaikui. Gautas labai turtingas moterų įkūnyto patyrimo aprašymas, leidžiantis galvoti apie kūno patyrimą nėštumo metu kaip apie dinamišką, sudėtingą ir stipriai jų gyvenime įsišaknijusį fenomeną. Disertacijoje išsamiai pristatomas ir aptariamas vienas nuoseklus motinystės atvejis ir keturios metatemos (besilaukiančio kūno nekontroliuojamumas, kūnas – mano mokytojas, kūno vidinių ir išorinių ribų neaiškumas, besiformuojantis kūniškas identitetas), kurios buvo suformuluotos atlikus visų moterų interviu analizes antrajame jų nėštumo trimestre. Tyrimas suteikia galimybę pamatyti, kaip kasdienybėje yra patiriamas šis fenomenas, praturtindamas teorinę ir praktinę šio reiškinio sampratą. / Psychological research into women’s embodied experience in pregnancy and the first year after birth is contradictory and mainly quantitative in nature. In response to these inconsistencies and the paucity of qualitative research in this area, this study investigated the embodied experience of women during pregnancy and the postpartum year. The study was conducted in Lithuania and the UK, using semi-structured interviews and drawings; the data were analysed using the qualitative methodology of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Six women participated, all primigravidae, aged 26-35. Each woman was seen five times; thrice during pregnancy and twice after her baby was born. A rich description of the women’s embodied experience emerged from the accounts, supporting the notion of bodily experience in pregnancy being dynamic, complex and firmly embedded in their life-world. Due to limitations of size with regard to the PhD thesis, only the results of one consecutive case and four superordinate themes which emerged from the interviews with all of the women in the second trimester of pregnancy viz: the uncontrollable body, the body as my teacher, uncertainty about inner and outer boundaries and embodied identity in the making, were presented and discussed. The study provides insights into this lived experience that may be useful in psychological theory and in practice when working with women at this important transitional life stage.