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Abstract

This article explores the use of the phenomenological approach in the learning experiences of homosexual learners in schools. We conducted the research at a time when studies in education rarely use Heidegger’s phenomenological approach to explore educational phenomena. The question is: what are the lessons that can be learnt from the use of Heidegger’s phenomenological approach in exploring the learning experiences of homosexual learners in rural secondary schools of South Africa? The study used a phenomenological design in a number of selected secondary schools in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. We generated data through semi-structured interviews and documents. We purposively selected six learners to participate in the study. Data were analysed by using a thematic approach. The approach helped us to reveal that homosexual learners were discriminated against by their teachers and were subjected to isolation from other learners due to religious beliefs, cultural norms, and traditional practices. The article argues that the use of the Heidegger’s phenomenological approach is more appropriate in unravelling nuances related to beliefs, cultural practices, and traditions that may hamper effective teaching and learning than the use of other designs such as surveys. The implication of this is that Heidegger’s phenomenological approach is helpful in conducting studies on the lived experiences of people who are discriminated in society, focusing on their well-being, support and care for their future. It also has the potential to contribute immensely towards policy formulation related to inclusive teaching and learning using learners’ voices based on their lived experiences.

Keywords

phenomenology case study hermaneutic phenomenology interpretive description social justice

Introduction

Phenomenology as a methodology is gradually gaining traction as a methodology of choice in South Africa. This is reflected in reviewed studies using it as an alternative methodology for data generation (Thani, 2012). The typology of studies reviewed can be categorised into different disciplines. This is in line with Embree (2010) who summarises it as disciplinarity in phenomenology which is outlined as philosophical phenomenology, communicological phenomenology, sociological phenomenology and psychological phenomenology. This study reviewed studies across disciplines which include Public Administration (Thani, 2012), education (Booysen, 2021; Isabirye & Makoe, 2018; Khanyile, 2020; Koopman, 2015; Koopman & Koopman, 2020; Mamabolo, 2002; Thomson, 2008; Van der Mescht, 2004), psychology (Furtak & Barnard, 2021; Kruger, 2001; Makoe, 2008; Van der Neut, 2020), Sociology (Brewer, 1979; Groenewald, 2004; Gukelberger & Meyer, 2021; Muchena, Howcroft & Stroud, 2018; Wojciechowska, Coetzee & Rau, 2019). The review reveals the importance of using a phenomenological approach in researching phenomena across disciplines. Some indicate it is more appropriate to use in solving social problems (Thani, 2012), and expletive-worldly experiences (Koopman, 2015). The focus of this manuscript is on education. In this reviewed literature, it is apparent that studies that used phenomenological approach in education have focused on more different aspects of higher education and not on secondary schools. Furthermore, not much have focused on the experiences of learners in secondary schools who belong to the minority groups like Albinos and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT). Consequently, this study served as a platform where LGBT learners were able to voice their experiences in line with the principle of inclusivity and social justice. Furthermore, studies done on phenomenology so far present the approach as if there is only one genre of phenomenology. They fail to show that there are different types of phenomenology. The differences, which, Finlay (2009) refers to as variants, are outlined as descriptive approach, heuristic approach, lifeworld approach, interpretative analysis approach, critical narrative approach and relational approach. It is against this background that this study was done using Heidegger’s interpretive phenomenology to research the experiences of LGBTQ learners’ experiences in secondary schools of South Africa. This is an approach that helped us to provide a detailed analysis of the lived experiences of homosexual learners in secondary schools. Our use of this approach allowed us to present a platform for learners to express themselves in line with the inclusivity agenda and social justice.

Context and the Phenomenon

South Africa is known as one of the countries that have a progressive constitution and legal systems that promote the rights of all people including people of different sexual orientations (Leonard, 2021). However, homophobic attacks seem to continue unabated (Westman, 2022). This takes place in different societal structures like churches and schools. In a school context, attacks take place despite the Equality Clause 9 (3) of the South African Constitution (The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996) and the South African Schools Act (SASA) of 1996 (Republic of South Africa, 1996). These and other laws are meant to repeal discriminatory practices and usher in a new education system that is non-racial and non-sexist. As Leonard (2021) indicates, attacks on gays and lesbians take different forms, which include verbal abuse, physical and sexual violence, psychological harm, and social exclusion. This becomes more vexing as in some instances attacks are led by teachers who are supposed to be inclusive and create safe and enabling environments for all in their approach to teaching and learning (Breshears & Beer, 2016; Francis, 2017; Nichols & Brown, 2021). Homosexuality is seen as a deviant behaviour that needs to be corrected. Against this backdrop, Lees (2017) is emphatic when he writes that homosexuality is still a taboo in South African communities and, therefore, teachers do not want to work with homosexual people and teach homosexual learners. Thus, homosexual learners are denied their right to be free as stipulated in the South African Constitution. Therefore, there is a need for research that focuses on the experiences of homosexual learners in South African schools. This is more so in that as Breshears and Beer (2016) and Ngcobo (2021) indicate, studies in this area are limited and those that have been done, as Daniel et al. (2019) indicate, have been done in urban areas.

It is against this background that we thought we could understand the experiences of homosexual learners better by using the phenomenological approach. Consequently, it was important for us to explore the phenomenon, by answering the following three questions: What are the lessons learned from the use of the phenomenological approach in exploring the learning experiences of homosexual learners in rural secondary schools? What language do teachers use in interacting with homosexual learners? How do homosexual learners survive in schools?

In this article, we suggest some possible answers to these questions. However, before that, we provide a brief historical transformative agenda with regard to inclusivity in the South African schools’ context. Subsequently, the following section addresses inclusivity in schools.

Inclusive Education

Our research comes at a time when the call for inclusive education is growing louder and louder in South African schools. All forms of discriminatory laws in South Africa were repealed in the last 25 years, including those that govern schools (South African Schools’ Act, 1996). One such new policy is inclusive education, where all learners, regardless of their physical and mental abilities, race, gender, or other issues should be accommodated in ordinary schools. The issue of homosexual learners facing discrimination in schools has recently come under the spotlight (Vanderbeck & Johnson, 2015). More learners are becoming courageous to reveal their sexual status as homosexuals. However, the revelation is met with teachers who are biased and have a negative attitude against such learners. In Canada, a study revealed that teachers’ beliefs, perspectives, and practices regarding inclusion in their inclusive classrooms varied, and revealed a lack of confidence (Taylor, et al., 2016). In the US, it was found that the participation of gays in dance education was a hot issue in schools. Risner (2002) found that muted discourses regarding homosexuality in dance pedagogy were not only short-sighted but also unwittingly reproduced narrow stereotypes of male dancers and deleterious homosexual mythologies for gay male youth in dance.

The phenomenon of lesbian and gay youths manifests itself in different ways in different high schools in South Africa. However, it would seem that their presence and identities are kept secret in South Africa (DBE, 2014). Research (Francis, 2012; Mudrey-Camino, 2002) highlights that a number of young Black and White people in South Africa experience same-sex attraction, and this is usually experienced during the adolescent stage whilst in high school. Policies on inclusive education expect that these learners be treated with dignity and respect. However, as Bhana, 2012 and Francis (2022) indicate, in the South African context, it would seem that teachers exhibit negative attitudes toward learners who identify themselves as homosexuals. Furthermore, emating from research, homosexual leaners experience various challenges in South Africa. Challenges include discrimination, humiliation and epidemic violence (Bhana, 2012); stigmatisation, abuse and bullying, intimidation, hostility and name calling which impact on their academic performance (Dare, 2015); dropping out of school and staying silent as a coping strategy (Daniels et al., 2019). What further complicate issues is that as Francis (2019) indicates, the South African school curriculum is silent on the phenomenon. There is also a gap in the literature on the teaching and learning experiences of homosexual learners in South Africa especially in rural areas (Daniels et al., 2019). Against this backdrop, we opted to employ the phenomenological approach to elicit the lived experiences of homosexual learners in schools using focus group interviews to learn more about their experiences which may be helpful in contributing towards the use of the phenomenological approach and the formulation of policies for schools. This is due to the fact that most studies conducted so far used surveys Barry, 2014, others used case studies, (Mahasha, 2017; Ngcobo, 2021; Nichols, 2016) and others used literature and systematic reviews (Francis, 2017; Muller & Hughes, 2016). Francis (2017) reviewed 27 articles on LGBT and found that schools proliferated compulsory heterosexuality and heteronormativity. Additionally, some studies on the phenomenon used mixed methods (Sopitshi, 2016). Besides, information on homosexuality is scarce in South Africa, despite the increasing incidents of attacks on homosexuals (Daniels et al., 2019). Although the issue of homosexuality is important, our article intended to highlight the importance of using the phenomenological in researching social phenomena such as homosexuality. Consequently, within this backdrop, we specifically, wanted to answer the question: What lessons can be learnt from the use of the phenomenological approach when exploring the experiences of homosexual learners in rural secondary schools of South Africa?

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework for the study is within the phenomenological philosophy which emphasises the understanding and description of a specific phenomenon such as homosexuality in depth in order to reach the essences of participants’ lived experiences. Here we specifically, draw on the philosophy of Merleau-Ponty (2013). To him, perception is the background of experience, which guides every conscious action. The use of Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy, was done within Heidegger’s phenomenological approach which provided us with tenets that we used to analyse homosexual learners’ perceptions of being in the world. The world is a field of perceptions, and human consciousness assigns meaning to the world. We cannot separate ourselves from our perceptions of the world. It is within this understanding that we located our study of learners’ experiences of their own sexuality in secondary schools (Merleau-Ponty, 2013). We, thus, wanted to begin with an analysis of their concrete experiences, perceptions, and difficulties, of human existence at their schools using.

Methodology

Design

Garmston and Wellman (2016) are instructive when they say that having the intention to learn more about the perspectives and experiences of learners in diverse school environments is vital in an increasingly complex, diverse, and changing world. To achieve this intent, there is a need to conduct human sciences research through a phenomenological approach (Smith, 2010). The approach is more appropriate because it helps the researcher to explore phenomena beyond the surface of the phenomenon. This helps in searching for an invariant deeper meaning, which could be important in understanding people’s experiences in accommodating amongst other things diversity in classrooms. Smith (2010) further indicates that the phenomenological approach helps to create an environment where the researcher can generate data with those who have experienced the phenomenon. In a way, the approach assists in unravelling multiple meanings that both the researcher and the participants attach to phenomena. To operationalise this, focus group interviews are paramount (Bowden & Galindo-Gonzalez, 2015). This approach to data construction appealed to us as a way to explore the lived experiences of homosexual learners in the selected rural schools of Mpumalanga Province in South Africa. It helped us to freely interact with the participants and to listen to their stories from an insider perspective (Dahlberg, 2006; Finlay, 2009; Moustakas, 1994; Vagle, 2009).

We adopted the qualitative methodological approach using the interpretive phenomenological research design to explore the experiences of homosexual learners in rural contexts. This was done by generating data using focus group interviews and documents. The use of interpretive phenomenological research design, helped us to focus on the interpretation and understanding of the participants of the phenomenon from their subjective lived experiences as homosexuals and the meanings that they attach to the phenomenon. The interpretive approach assumes that reality and knowledge are context-bound and they depend on the participants’ interpretation (Holmes, Ganassin & Li, 2022). This was done with the assumption that interventions developed from their understanding and interpretation of the phenomenon would be more authentic than the use of other kinds of designs. Furthermore, the use of the phenomenological approach was in line with the advice by Neuber, Witkop and Varpio (2019) who indicate that the approach enables the researcher to explore the participants’ experiences in a particular context. This was done while being aware that there are different approaches to phenomenological research as already indicated. Due to the nature of this study, the interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to explore the experiences of homosexual learners in rural schools. The approach was used being aware of both its weaknesses and criticisms which Tuffour (2017) outlines as ambiguity, lack of standardisation, lack of sufficient interpretation, lack of communication by the participants to communicate their experiences, and the lack of a rigorous follow-up on the reasons for the issues being what they are. Criticisms and weaknesses notwithstanding, as Smith (2004) indicates, it helped us to explore the experiences of homosexual learners and the way in which they communicate them (experiences).

Sampling

A criterion-sampling strategy was used to select the participants for the study. This was done in line with the phenomenological approach that was used (Moser & Korstjens, 2018). We did note that there are differences in terms of the number of participants who can be selected to participate in a phenomenological study (Gentles et al., 2015). In this study, six participants were selected to participate. The selection of the six participants was done in line with Bartholomew et al., (2021) and Cohen, Kahn and Steeves’ (2000) recommendation that the number six is appropriate for researchers to construct data necessary to respond to research questions in a phenomenological study.

Pre-arranged criteria were used to select the participants. Criteria included that the participants were learners in the selected three schools and known by teachers as being members of the homosexual learners’ community, and were regarded as learners who knew the phenomenon, lived the phenomenon to understand it, and were expected to articulate, reflect, motivate and communicate issues related to homosexuality. From each of the three selected schools, we selected two learners for the study. The schools that served as settings are situated in rural areas. The Life Orientation subject (focuses on the study of self in relation to others and to society) teachers and assistant teachers helped us to select the learners because they were the ones who were assigned to take care of learners who experienced challenges, including psychosocial factors. Consequently, learners felt comfortable to open up about their experiences in the schools. They were also open to relating their experiences of being members of homosexual learners’ community. Due to the sensitive nature of the phenomenon under study, and their age group (15–18 years of age), we had to obtain the parents’ assent for their participation in the study. We anonymised their identity by coding them as Laban, Esther, Malaicha, Jeremiah, Merrian, and Ludick.

Data Generation

We used the focused group interview and document review strategy to generate data. We held three separate interview sessions, away from schools because learners were not allowed to talk openly or display their sexual orientation within the school milieu. The focus group interview method was deemed appropriate for use in the study because as Dilshad and Latif (2013) and Adler, Salanterä and Zumstein-Shaha (2019) indicate that it helps to focus on the participants’ personal experiences and understanding of the phenomenon under consideration. In line with Gundumogula and Gundumogula’s (2020) advice, we had a session that served as a preplanning exercise for the interview sessions. This involved the creation of a safer peer environment and the consideration of ethical issues. The session was done to mitigate any weakness inherent in the use of the focus group interview technique. The advantages of using it, as Adler, Salanterä and Zumstein-Shaha (2019) indicate, was the creation of a safe peer environment where participants felt free to participate and expressed their thoughts and feelings as members of the group in their own words. It also helped to stimulate debates (i.e. leveraging on their social capital). The weaknesses include ethical issues such as consent, confidentiality, and anonymity, and the risk of harm in the group (Sim & Waterfield, 2019), the reluctance of the participants to discuss sensitive issues (Nyumba et al., 2018), and the distraction of the attention of some participants by other participants (Adler, Salanterä & Zumstein-Shaha, 2019). Interviews were conducted by using prompts and in some instances open ended grounded approach where they were allowed to discuss whatever was not covered through prompts. This was done by requesting them to discuss anything that they thought was not covered through prompts.

We received ethical clearance by obtaining permission from the University of Westland Ethics Committee (REC) and the Mpumalanga Department of Basic Education before commencing with data generation. Participants were made aware of their rights to either participate or withdraw from the study at any time they wished to do so. Additionally, participants were informed that their responses would only be used for research and not for any other purpose (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011; Ketefian, 2015).

We analysed documents which included school policies, minutes, and logbooks. They helped us to probe the participants during interviews. As Corbin and Strauss (2008) indicate, document analysis is a systematic procedure for reviewing or evaluating documents — both printed and electronic (computer-based and Internet-transmitted) material. In this study, on Atkinson and Coffey’s (2004) advice, we examined and interpreted documents to elicit meaning, gain understanding, and develop information about the experiences of these learners.

Trustworthiness

To ensure the trustworthiness of the study, we took the credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability of the study into consideration. As already indicated in the previous section, this was done by selecting six learners as participants in the study and the use of more than one method of data generation. Details of the steps taken to conduct the study were provided. We also provided an organised process of data generation. To enhance transferability, we have provided a detailed description of how the study was conducted.

Data Analysis

Due to the nature of the phenomenological approach, which describes textures and structures of the essential meaning of the lived experiences (although recent writers point out that there are variations of those basic analysis methods) (Sundler, Lindberg, Nilsson & Palmér, 2019), we had to analyse data in line with the approach. Consequently, we adopted the phenomenological analysis approach. It helped us to analyse meanings from the lived experiences of the participants. As Chang and Wang (2021) indicate, we had to unravel the experiences of the participants by listening to the descriptions of their lived experiences repeatedly and converting that into textual data. This was followed by arranging textual data to develop meaningful commonalities with regard to the lived experiences of the participants. This involved moving from the original data to the identification of meanings through the development of codes, categories, and organising patterns that led to the development of themes.

From this process, five themes emerged from the data. The themes that emerged include being in the world of homosexual learners, lived experiences as homosexual learners, the help and the support that they get as homosexual learners, their experiences with other learners, and their care structure as homosexual learners.

Findings and Discussion

Five themes, (a) being in the world of homosexual learners, (b) lived experiences as homosexual learners, (c) the help and support of homosexual learners, (d) their experiences with other learners, and (e) their care structure for learners as homosexuals. The themes became clearer when each of them was examined closely. Thus, in the next section, we explicate each of them.

Being in the World of Homosexuals

Our analysis of data revealed the participants’ expression of being in the world as homosexuals in the social context. Some expressed that as a difficult thing because some of the teachers deny their existence. This is due to the fact that some of the school stakeholders such as teachers deny that homosexuality exists and treat these learners as people who are falsely making an impression that they are homosexuals. Consequently, they treat them as none existent. This was explicitly expressed by Esther who stated that:

My Life Science teacher is a male and would tell the class that there is nothing like homosexuality. It is just that people choose this type of lifestyle, it is from your mind and you start to change and practice homosexuality, naturally there is no such, it is an individual’s preferred act. So all learners are taught that homosexuality is a choice of a lifestyle.

In line with the literature reviewed, this study confirms that teachers’ lack of knowledge of homosexuality as a concept leads them to the conclusion that the homosexuality phenomenon does not exist (Lees, 2017; Perez- Jorge et al., 2020).

Lived Experiences as Homosexual Learners

The study used a phenomenological approach to explore the lived experiences of learners as homosexuals. This was done because we sought their first-hand involvement or direct encounters with homosexuality instead of mediated experiences (Frechette, et al., 2020; Prosek & Gibson, 2021). It is apparent that learners had various first-hand experiences. This included being misunderstood by ridiculed by teachers, learners, and different school stakeholders. This was succinctly expressed by Malaicha who supported Esther’s sentiments and said:

My Business Studies teacher called me a demon possessed learner and everybody laughed. One learner passed a joke that was directed to me and the teacher asked if I was really gay, before I say anything the class chorused “Yes he is gay” She said “I do not like demons in my class”. Everybody laughed so loud that I ended up crying as I was so angry and hurt.

Religious and cultural beliefs play a fundamental role in influencing teachers’ knowledge and understanding, and willingness to teach about sexuality in sex education, particularly homosexuality (Niewenhuis, Beckmann & Prinsloo, 2007; Bhana, 2012; Msibi, 2012; Johnson, 2014; Francis, 2017; Peter, Taylor, & Short, 2018). In this study, the issue of teachers’ behaviour based on religious beliefs was revealed by Jeremiah who indicated that instead of teachers supporting them, they wanted learners to change as per their interpretation of the Bible.

Experiences With Other Learners

The phenomenological approach also helped us to tease out the learners’ experiences with other learners. We found that homosexual learners were subjected to torture by their fellow none-homosexual learners. Homophobic language is used to start a fight or convey threats that sometimes become a reality and homosexual learners do not report to anyone. The fights may be at school or off the school premises. Merriam coherently pointed this out by stating:

When learners call me names and threaten to assault me I do not report to the teachers, as they will say or do nothing except blaming me as a course of the conflict. I am labelled as an angry learner that should not be taken serious since I have chosen to live a homosexual lifestyle.

This sentiment is supported by Jeremiah, who laughingly, mentioned:

Homophobic language is rife at my school, from teachers, Learners, and non-teaching staff and no one even cares and it escalates to threats and even violence. Some use words that I do not even understand like ‘faggot’ and I have to consult my dictionary. I cannot report that to my family as they say, I chose the kind of life that will always land me into trouble and an embarrassment to the family and school.

This finding is consistent with other findings elsewhere. Daniels et al. (2019) confirm that there is limited statistical data on school violence experienced by homosexual learners in South Africa, but it has been found that they experience discrimination, rejection, isolation, non-tolerance, marginalisation and harassment with little support from teachers and administrators. However, teachers and school management teams need information to develop strategies on how to prevent bullying and make schools safe environments for everyone (Department of Basic Education, 2014). There is therefore a need for schools to be safe and welcoming places for every learner; including homosexual learners. The use of homophobic language has a negative consequence on homosexual learners, as it makes them feel belittled and less likely to reach their full potential. In the worst cases, homophobic language affects young people’s mental health and wellbeing (Kibirige & Tryl, 2014). Teachers ought to be the ones guiding and defending learners.

Help and Support for Homosexual Learners

Following the lived experiences of homosexual learners, we sought to look at the help and support they get from other agencies. We found that there was little to no support for these learners. Our finding was consistent with that of Brown (2017) who observed that in Namibia, homosexuality is a criminal offence which subsequently presents numerous challenges to how school youth with same-sex identities are framed and treated. Brown (2020) also found that in South African schools these learners were perceived as having no need for care and support. Thus, support structures in the schools were nonresponsive in cases where there was discrimination and prejudice against learners with diverse sexual orientations. It was also found that some teachers within the school were perpetrators of homophobia and violence. Laban aptly expressed as follows: “I sometimes hate myself for being different as my father is not talking to me anymore, teachers and learners also display hatred against me”.

The Care Structure for Learners as Homosexuals

The other theme that was used in line with Heidegger’s tenets is the care structure of learners as homosexuals. This is an important theme because as Horrigan, Millar and Dowling (2016) indicate, it reveals the kind of care that learners receive as homosexuals. However, as Warren and Reich (1995), indicate, the concept may have two fundamental meanings. It may mean concerns, worries, troubles, and anxieties that learners have or giving welfare to another person. In this study, as Rousse (2016) and Keane (2020), advice, we focused on their concerns about the future. It should be noted that despite all sufferings that homosexual learners endure in these high schools, it is astonishing to hear that there is evidence of resistance, hope, and possibilities for the future. Not every learner is courageous but it pleases to notice that there is still a spark of hope for a better future for homosexual learners as noted by Laban who expressed as follows:

I do not show them that those remarks were hurting me and I just tell myself that life goes on. Not very long I will be out of high school and pursue my career and that will show them that even homosexuals can be successful as long as they put their minds into it.

Esther communicated similar feelings by stating that:

Some of us have developed a thick skin towards their humiliation, not giving them satisfaction of hurting us although it deeply hurts. I am in Grade twelve now and looking forward to completing my matric with good grades to be able to go to university and be a better person.

It was further confirmed by Ludick who emphasised that:

Even if teachers and learners believe I am demonic I still think God loves me and I am in this world not by mistake. When I am done with my education I will come back to my school and assist homosexual learners with accurate information.

The stories from these learners displayed the view of seeing all homosexual learners as having hope clever and rich. This observation is driven by images of homosexual people in the South African media (Msibi, 2015). The participants displayed collaboration to support, protect and encourage each other in difficult times at school as they regarded finishing high school important for their future emancipation. Their hope about the future, reveals that despite the emerging negativity from some of the learners, there are some pockets of positive comments of their experiences. For example, we also found that young teachers compared to older ones were more amiable to homosexual learners. They were more receptive to homosexual learners and willing to give them support. This was explicitly expressed by Ludick who remarked that: “Young teachers seem to empathise with us. For example, they were willing to allow us to display who we are through the way in which we wanted to dress.”

Reflections on the use of Phenomenology

Having discussed the findings using Heidegger’s framework, in this section, we reflect on the use of the phenomenological approach in studying social phenomena such as homosexuality, the rationale for choosing phenomenological approach, and the use of Heidegger’s framework specifically. First and foremost, we have observed that phenomenological approach emancipate the participants to by creating a platform for them to express themselves freely including deep rooted lived experiences. Secondly, we found that more specifically, Heidegger’s framework enabled us to segment the different perspectives of their lived experiences (being in the world of homosexual learners, lived experiences as homosexual learners, the help and support of homosexual learners, their experiences with other learners, and care and support). Thirdly, we found the use of Heidegger’s framework interesting and useful to unravel sensitive experiences of the often neglected in society form different perspectives which other phenomenological approach lack.

Limitations of the Study

Despite the valuable contributions gained from the use of phenomenology in the study of exclusion and the unequal treatment of homosexual children, the findings have some limitations. The sample size of six learners remains a contentious issue in qualitative research (Bartholomew et al., 2021; Hennink et al., 2019; Trotter, 2012). It is therefore not easy to make conclusive statements on the issue. Furthermore, we could not interview gay learners who have not overtly revealed themselves as gays to teachers and peers. Also, we could not interview learners who are regarded as “straight” due to time constraints.

Conclusion

Our study sought to explore the use of the phenomenological approach in listening to the learning experiences of homosexual learners in rural secondary schools. To this end we used Heidegger’s framework to frame our study. We found his four tenets of phenomenology useful in allowing us to gain an insider perspective of the learners’ experiences. We conclude that the phenomenological is suitable for studying the deep-seated experiences of people such as homosexuality because it afforded participants a voice in a unique way. Future research may explore the use of the phenomenological in studying cultural and religious beliefs.

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the learners who gave us consent to interview them.

Author Contributions

Charlotte Nkosi-Generated the data by interviewing the learners as the PhD student. Layane Thomas Mabasa-Conceptualised and wrote the methodology section of the study. Mahlapahlapana Johannes Themane-Co-conceptualised, wrote the introduction, the conclusion and provided the technical outline of the study.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Ethical Statement

ORCID iD

Layane Thomas Mabasa

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Exploring the use of Heidegger’s Phenomenological Approach to Delve Into the Learning Experiences of Homosexual Learners in Mpumalanga Province,South Africa

Abstract

Keywords

Introduction

Context and the Phenomenon

Inclusive Education

Theoretical Framework

Methodology

Design

Sampling

Data Generation

Trustworthiness

Data Analysis

Findings and Discussion

Being in the World of Homosexuals

Lived Experiences as Homosexual Learners

Experiences With Other Learners

Help and Support for Homosexual Learners

The Care Structure for Learners as Homosexuals

Reflections on the use of Phenomenology

Limitations of the Study

Conclusion

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

Author Contributions

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

Funding

Ethical Statement

ORCID iD

References