Teacher - Student Relationships in Court - Mandated Adult Education: A Phenomenological Study

While there is a considerable body of literature on adult correctional education, this literature almost exclusively deals with teachers and students working within incarceration settings, where students are in jail or prison. There is a lack of research on the experiences of teachers working with students who are a part of the correctional system but are placed within the community , i.e., community corrections. In this study the author examines the experiences of teachers working with court - mandated, community corrections students in GED/ABE programs. Seven adult education teachers share their experiences in this phenomenological study. The findings of the study indicate a special relationship, a chiasm, between teachers and students. Implications of this chiasm, an experience described by Merleau - Ponty, are explored

The Messy World of Reflexivity: Qualitative Journey

Qualitative Journeys is an insightful study and guide of the messy world of reflexivity in qualitative research. The difficulties are compounded as both mentors and students struggle with this prickly issue. Qualitative Journeys opens the space within which qualitative research is done and allows the reader to tag along on reflexive treks that exemplify the often messy processes that result when students and mentors undertake the qualitative walkabout

Forced to Learn: Community-based Correctional Education

Community-based correctional education has received scant attention in adult literacy research yet mandatory education is a growing part of the legal system and is fueled by research that suggests a link between correctional education and lower rates of recidivism. Growth in alternative to prison programs affects local ABE and GED programs. Adults who attend community-based correctional programs as a condition of their probation or parole face many challenges. The purpose of this existential-phenomenological study was to understand the experience of those adults. Findings describe students’ experiences of being forced to attend a GED program. Opening a space for these stories may help adult educators in community-based programs improve their practice by understanding how students experience the GED program

“It’s Like a Prison without Bars”: Experiences in a Mandatory GED Program

The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to describe how adult students experience a legally coerced GED program in a community alternative to prison program. A phenomenological-hermeneutical approach was used to derive common themes that represented essence of the students’ experiences

The Lived Experience of Artificial Intelligence: Phenomenological Robotics and Dear Old Mom

This paper is highly theoretical and imagines the use of phenomenological theory and methodology as a platform for a new field of artificial intelligence research - phenomenological robotics. Phenomenological theory and methodolgy will be examined. Artificial intelligence and robotics will be examined. The paradigmal verge of these two fields will be imagined and an example from organizational learning will be used to project a Meta-Organizational Memory (MOM) that operates based on phenomenological principles. Concepts that will be explored include organizational lebenswelt and the possibility of free imaginative variation by AI

Adult Education in the Shadows: A Phenomenological Study of Freemasonry

The Society of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons (Freemasons) is one of the largest fraternal organizations in the world. To become a member of this fraternity, individuals must learn, by rote, certain esoteric lessons. These lessons are then presented back to a lodge of Freemasons to determine proficiency in the work and eligibility for advancement. This process takes a significant amount of time and effort for both teachers and learners. This phenomenological research indicates that men are willing to engage in this time consuming effort because it creates a connection to the existential Other. This Other can also be understood within the context of Alfred Schutz\u27s social phenomenology and division of the Lifeworld