Keywords

qualitative research, doctoral education, ethnography

Abstract

In this Interactional Ethnographic study, I explored tensions of learning qualitative research in doctoral education. Focusing on a doctoral introductory qualitative research class, I sought to understand how tensions influenced the learning process and knowledge construction. Conceptualizing the class as a languaculture (Agar, 1994) where students and the professor co-construct particular ways of interacting, through participant observation I studied instructional interactions among class members and engaged students in conversations about their experiences with learning research. Utilizing video and audio records, artifacts, and interviews, I explored how tensions were co-constructed by students and the professor of the class and in what ways they were influential to students' learning.

The four tensions co-created by class members were Conceptual, Facing Affective States, Utilizing Creativity, and External tensions. These tensions impacted learning through Struggling, Pushing-Back, Reflecting, and Making Connections. I also discovered cyclical, recurring, and interconnected cause-effect relationships between tensions and their impacts on learning. Focusing on insider points-of-view and discursive construction of common language and meanings, I discussed how tensions in doctoral education can benefit student development and research pedagogies. Implications for practice include the intentional use of reflexivity and creativity in practice-based qualitative research course design. Recommendations for future research include additional ethnographic studies examining socialization processes across qualitative classrooms within the university for a comparative approach to how tensions are influential to doctoral student learning. Recommendations for future research also include a focus on tensions in teaching qualitative research in doctoral education.

Completion Date

2024

Semester

Spring

Committee Chair

Skukauskaitė, Audra

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Community Innovation and Education

Department

Department of Learning Sciences and Educational Research

Degree Program

Curriculum and Instruction

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

DP0028407

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0028407

Language

English

Rights

In copyright

Release Date

May 2027

Length of Campus-only Access

3 years

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Campus-only Access)

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

Accessibility Status

Meets minimum standards for ETDs/HUTs

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Restricted to the UCF community until May 2027; it will then be open access.

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