Opintojen henkilökohtaistaminen aikuisoppijoiden kokemana : eksistentiaalis-fenomenologinen tutkimus näyttötutkintomestarikoulutuksen kontekstissa

Abstract

The aim of this empirical qualitative PhD study was to describe and understand the phenomenon of the personalisation of studies. The theoretical framework was the existential phenomenology with holistic conception of man. In this study, the phenomenological experience was broadly understood as the experiential relationship of man to his own situation. The research assignment was 1) to describe the essence of personalised studies as appear in the experiences of an adult learner and 2) to describe a general network of meanings connected with individual experiences. The context of this research was the development of a training programme for specialists in competence-based qualifications conducted by the School of Professional Teacher Education in the Oulu University of Applied Sciences. The qualitative data in the study consisted of interviews in which 19 adult learners shared their experiences of personalising studies. In the analysis of the research data, the phenomenological psychology method developed by Amadeo Giorgi and the associated version developed by Juha Perttula were applied. This method based on existential phenomenology progressed from the individual level to the level of general knowledge that the researcher constructed. The empirical results of the study were, first, to define the individual ways the students experientially described their personalised learning processes and, second, to outline the general meaning network formed from those descriptions. The general meaning network of personalisation of studies consisted of the experiences of being an adult learner, participation and being guided. This doctoral dissertation diversifies the general knowledge of adult learning and provides conceptual tools to participate in the pedagogical debate on the personalisation of studies and the related dimensions of the individual. This research offers a new understanding of the underlying intentions of the individual adult learner and highlights the learner’s ‘voice’. Based on the research results there are presented ideas how to personalise studies in ways that increase appreciation of the learner’s uniqueness and individuality in the process of personalisation of studies.