Hearing the educational experiences of primary-aged children from army families: an interpretative phenomenological analysis
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Abstract
This thesis explores how children from Army families experience education and contributes to the current evidence base and understanding of educational experiences for this population of children. This group of children may experience military-directed mobility patterns which result in school transitions and can affect the educational attainment, friendships and emotional wellbeing of these children. Some children from military families, inclusive of those from Army families, may also experience prolonged separation from a parent resulting from military deployment.
There is a scarcity of qualitative research which directly explores the educational experiences of children from military families and thus to acknowledge the voice of this group of children, this study directly explores the educational experiences of primary-aged children from Army families. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse semi-structured interviews which led to personal experiential themes from each participant. Four overarching themes were identified across the participants:
- ‘“It’s like the same like every kid”: sameness of school experience’
- ‘Making sense of unique military lifestyle challenges and their effect on educational experiences’
- ‘Leaving, being left and feeling left out’
- ‘Seeking and securing connection: the positives of school relocation’.
Findings were discussed in the context of relevant psychological theory and existing research. Implications for educational psychologists are discussed as well as recommendations for future areas of research.
