What is the ‘World’ of Phenomenography?

Abstract

Phenomenographic research (especially that which aims to uncover student conceptions of key disciplinary concepts) is subjected to critical review on two main fronts. (1) We consider the adequacy with which research procedures for revealing student conceptions are stipulated. There are clear methodological requirements for the study of life worlds, not all of which phenomenography consistently meets. (2) The product of phenomenographic research is to arrive at a structure of categories of description. This aim threatens to subvert entry into the actual student life world, which may well have less coherence than phenomenography requires. Additionally, phenomenography can show over‐concern with ‘authorized conceptions’: student perceptions of the world are implicitly seen as deficient versions of the official views. The article advocate that phenomenographic research should give more active consideration to the process of research in revealing the actual lived worlds of students.