The Use of Phenomenography in Understanding the Complex Notion of Competence

To explain the theoretical, philosophical underpins of phenomenography and the application of phenomenographic study in exploring the conceptions of competence among Chinese novice university English teachers. Phenomenography originated in Sweden as a qualitative research approach. It aims at understanding the qualitatively different ways in which people experience, perceive, and conceptualize various phenomena. It differs from other qualitative research methods in that it focuses not on the phenomenon itself or on the individuals, but on the variation in individuals' conceptions of the phenomenon. The ontological foundation of phenomenography rests on the belief that there is only one world, which is simultaneously objective and subjective, as it is always experienced and interpreted by individuals. There is no such world that exists independently of human experience. Phenomenographic research explores the various ways in which people experience, understand, and conceptualize a particular phenomenon. It takes a second-order perspective, which focuses not on the phenomenon itself (first-order), but on how it is perceived and experienced by individuals. Reality is always mediated through human awareness. Besides, phenomenography also generates categories of description based on collective meanings, capturing the essential variations in how different individuals understand the same phenomenon. The outcome space is the structured set of categories of description that represent the qualitatively different ways people experience or understand a phenomenon. A combined framework for a phenomenographic research on conceptions of competence among Chinese novice university English teachers is illustrated by describing the stages of a phenomenographic research. By taking a second-order perspective and including more varied viewpoints, phenomenography helps represent many points of views visually and also get insights of the relationship between those views. Understanding how novice university English teachers in China experience competence in class teaching will greatly give voice to this previously overlooked group and add to the body of knowledge about competence.