Young people looked after are under any circumstances a homogenous group and the findings from this small scale research by no means can be extended towards understanding and locating the experiences at a universal level. However, whilst acknowledging the limitations of a representative sample, it is also worth highlighting that the research does provide additional unique insights into an area that is often underrepresented in wider CYPLA research. Moreover, Brodie et al. (2009) systematic review into improving educational outcomes for CYPLA highlighted ongoing gaps in the evidence base. The review concludes that in order for improvements to be made in this area there needs to be a better understanding of learners, their environment and emotional and care needs. The findings in this study hope to illustrate the way that young people looked after in residential care experience education. I wanted to capture their views, thoughts, feelings and how they ascribe meaning and present their unique experiences. I chose to use the interpretive phenomenological methodological approach to elicit meaning and interpret the young responses. I chose to root my research in people’s phenomenology due to its interpretive approach which provided the methodological structure for this research. Phenomenology is not only a research approach however. It is fundamentally a philosophy, with both epistemological and ontological branches influencing knowledge development throughout its evolution in the twentieth century (Mackey, 2005: 179). In using IPA as an approach there is acknowledgement that experiential interpretations are bound by those presented by the individual and those interpreted and analysed by the researcher (Brocki and Weardon, 2006). An essential component to the research cycle has been in the area of reflexivity, without this the research would be vacuous. acknowledging the positionality of knowledge, hermeneutics adds reflexivity to “In our research inquiries, turning us to meaningful questions and concerns that are culturally and historically relevant. Without this emphasis our explorations may lack depth and significance in our current world. (Todris and Wheeler, 2001:6) Brocki and Weardon (2006) provide a critical analysis in the use of IPA as a methodological approach and reinforce the view that as a qualitative research method, IPA is inevitably subjective as no two analysts with the same data are likely to come up with an exact replication of the analysis. They consider that these others’
Young people looked after are under any circumstances a homogenous group and the findings from this small scale research by no means can be extended towards understanding and locating the experiences at a universal level. However, whilst acknowledging the limitations of a representative sample, it is also worth highlighting that the research does provide additional unique insights into an area that is often underrepresented in wider CYPLA research. Moreover, Brodie et al. (2009) systematic review into improving educational outcomes for CYPLA highlighted ongoing gaps in the evidence base. The review concludes that in order for improvements to be made in this area there needs to be a better understanding of learners, their environment and emotional and care needs. The findings in this study hope to illustrate the way that young people looked after in residential care experience education. I wanted to capture their views, thoughts, feelings and how they ascribe meaning and present their unique experiences. I chose to use the interpretive phenomenological methodological approach to elicit meaning and interpret the young people’s responses. I chose to root my research in phenomenology due to its interpretive approach which provided the methodological structure for this research. Phenomenology is not only a research approach however. It is fundamentally a philosophy, with both epistemological and ontological branches influencing knowledge development throughout its evolution in the twentieth century (Mackey, 2005: 179). In using IPA as an approach there is acknowledgement that experiential interpretations are bound by those presented by the individual and those interpreted and analysed by the researcher (Brocki and Weardon, 2006). An essential component to the research cycle has been in the area of reflexivity, without this the research would be vacuous. “In acknowledging the positionality of knowledge, hermeneutics adds reflexivity to our research inquiries, turning us to meaningful questions and concerns that are culturally and historically relevant. Without this emphasis our explorations may lack depth and significance in our current world. (Todris and Wheeler, 2001:6) Brocki and Weardon (2006) provide a critical analysis in the use of IPA as a methodological approach and reinforce the view that as a qualitative research method, IPA is inevitably subjective as no two analysts with the same data are likely to come up with an exact replication of the others’ analysis. They consider that these
FINAL%20THESIS%2022.06.2017.docx