The Interplay of Race, Class, and Gender: A Phenomenological Study

Location

1053

Format Type

Event

Format Type

Paper

Start Date

January 2018

End Date

January 2018

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to understand the work lives of young adults after high school graduation. The study revealed an interplay of race, class and gender influence the kinds of decisions your adults make when they leave secondary schools. Participants varied in style and ways of responding to questions. Data from the study showed that race, class, and gender matters in the way participants’ value education and school knowledge. In addition, results shows that local economic and social conditions influenced participants’ job opportunities independent of their educational preparation. Coming from a quantitative background to becoming a qualitative researcher made me appreciate the rich data from this qualitative study. The presenter will share how to overcome the most difficult stage of a phenomenological study, which is putting the entire puzzle together. This initially, I thought, would take three months, but I spent six months tearing the pieces apart and trying to understand the data in many ways. In this presentation, I will discuss how I compile my data through the months of data collection. Background knowledge gathered from field notes provided rich data base for the study. As Costa, Hall, and Spear (2016) asserted, “researcher’s own background, experiences, and personal history with the subject of the study all work to color the interpretation, and are thus central to gaining a full understanding of the study results” (p. 673).

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Jan 11th, 1:45 PM Jan 11th, 2:05 PM

The Interplay of Race, Class, and Gender: A Phenomenological Study

1053

The purpose of the study is to understand the work lives of young adults after high school graduation. The study revealed an interplay of race, class and gender influence the kinds of decisions your adults make when they leave secondary schools. Participants varied in style and ways of responding to questions. Data from the study showed that race, class, and gender matters in the way participants’ value education and school knowledge. In addition, results shows that local economic and social conditions influenced participants’ job opportunities independent of their educational preparation. Coming from a quantitative background to becoming a qualitative researcher made me appreciate the rich data from this qualitative study. The presenter will share how to overcome the most difficult stage of a phenomenological study, which is putting the entire puzzle together. This initially, I thought, would take three months, but I spent six months tearing the pieces apart and trying to understand the data in many ways. In this presentation, I will discuss how I compile my data through the months of data collection. Background knowledge gathered from field notes provided rich data base for the study. As Costa, Hall, and Spear (2016) asserted, “researcher’s own background, experiences, and personal history with the subject of the study all work to color the interpretation, and are thus central to gaining a full understanding of the study results” (p. 673).