McCosker, H.M. (1995) Women s conceptions of Domestic Violence during the childbearing years. Master of Nursing Dissertation, Queensland University of Technology, Faculty of Health, School of Nursing, Brisbane.

Domestic violence against women during pregnancy as been predominately explored through the use of numerical data, and has ignored the voices of the women experiencing this phenomenon. This dissertation explores the phenomenon of domestic violence during the childbearing years through a phenomenographic methodology. Transcripts of interviews with six women who had completed a "Freedom from Violence" course were analysed to reveal their collective conceptions of the experience of domestic violence. Three conceptions were identified: domestic violence is experienced as being controlled, domestic violence is experienced as destruction and domestic violence is experienced as loss of self.

McCosker, H. (1994) Phenomenographic interview applied to women and domestic violence: potential conflict of interest. In R. Ballantyne & C. Bruce (eds.) Phenomenography: Philosophy and Practice. Proceedings. QUT, Brisbane, Australia, pp. 299- 306.

This paper discusses the application of the phenomenographic interview to a sensitive issue: abuse and pregnancy. Similarities and differences between the therapeutic and research interview including the purpose, expectations and role of the interviewer are discussed. (Adapted from author s abstract). This paper became pivotal to discussion of the data gathering process and feminist issues during the conference, being regularly referred to by subsequent speakers.

McCracken, J. (1995) Implications of phenomenographic study for instructional design: A study in geological mapping. Paper presented to the 6th EARLI Conference, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, August 26 - 31.

Instructional design as a professional practice seeks to prescribe methods and strategies for organizing and presenting materials for a particular instructional situation. The analysis carried out, which drives the decisions regarding which methods and strategies to apply, focuses on developing a set of instructional requirements in the form of objectives, content structures, and learner characteristics. The main methodology employed to acquire informa tion for determining these requirements is an iterative set of interviews with subject matter experts or teachers. In contrast, phenomenographic studies employ a rigorous methodology for studying students in order to discover qualitatively distinct ways in which students conceptualize a particular topic they are attempting the learn. One can consider this metho dology as a special learning needs analysis, the results of which provide the designer with a precise descriptions of students' conceptions and the kinds of approaches to learning students employ. This paper reports on the results of a three-stage research effort; a pheno menographic study of students learning to interpret geological maps, the design of learning materials which integrated the results of the first study, and an evaluation of learning outcomes carried out with students who used the learning materials. (Author s abstract).

Martin, E. (1994) Variations in awareness. EQARD Occasional paper 94.1, RMIT, Melbourne, Victoria.

This paper represents a development from previous phenomenographic studies focussing on conceptions of teaching and learning to a focus on awareness. The study reported examines teaching and learning in two first year courses that teach creative writing. When we examine what lecturers in these subjects believe the topics to be about, and how students are helped to understand them, we see different interpretations of what creative writing is and what it takes to learn it as an academic subject .(p.1)

Martin, E. & Balla, M. (1991) Conceptions of teaching and implications for learning. Research and Development in Higher Education, 13. Papers presented at the 13th annual HERDSA Conference at Griffith University 6th - 9th July 1990. Bob Ross (ed.) HERDSA: Sydney.

As the title indicates this paper reports university teachers conceptions of teaching. The conceptions identifies are not identical with those found by Dall Alba in her study reported at the same conference.

Martin, E., Bowden, J. & Ramsden, P. (1990) Students Conceptions of Adaptation to Higher Education. Occasional Paper 90.2. ERADU: RMIT.

In this paper we describe important differences in the ways in which students adapt to learning in higher education... Fifty three students were interviewed in first year, thirty two of these same students were interviewed at the end of their second year.... Students were asked the same question in both years: How do you feel you have adapted from learning at school to learning in higher education? The development of students perceptions is traced over the two years.

Martin, E. & Milton, J. (1992) Role of the Computer in the Teaching of Design. Occasional Paper 92.3., Educational Research and Development Unit, RMIT.

This study identifies ways of looking at computers as held by design educators. Five categories of description are the outcomes:

Category A: Basic computer skills
Category B: A tool for producing a graphic image
Category C: An additional graphic technique
Category D: An aid to seeing an image differently
Category E: An aid to visual problem solving


The scheme is hierarchical with each successive conception incorporating earlier ones.

Martin E. & Ramsden, P. (1986) Do learning skills courses improve student learning? In J. Bowden (ed.) Student Learning: Research Into Practice - the Marysville Symposium, CSHE, University of Melbourne.

The authors present a study aimed at changing first year tertiary students conceptions of learning. Another paper examining what phenomenographic research and its outcomes can offer.

Marton, F. (in press) Cognosco Ergo Sum. Nordisk Pedagogik.

Some of the critique of phenomenogrpahy appearing in this series is commented on and responded to. In relation to the most fundamental question raised it is argued that the basic unit of phenomenography is experiential, non-0dualistic, an internal person-world relationship, a stripped depiction of capability and constraint, non-psychological, collective but individually and culturally distributed, a reflection of the collective anatomy of awareness, inherent in a particular perspective. (Author s abstract).

Marton, F. (1994a) On the structure of awareness. In J. Bowden & E. Walsh (eds.) Phenomenographic Research: Variations in Method. EQARD, RMIT.

This a key paper examining some important ontological issues in relation to the phenomenographic approach. Includes sections dealing with
1. the non-dualistic nature of phenomenography
2. What is a phenomenon?
3. The nature of awareness.
Some scholars may wish to consult the original manuscript dated 1/6/1993 for minor variations.

Marton, F. (1994b) On the structure of teachers awareness. In I. Carlgren, G. Handale, S. Vaage (eds.) Teachers minds and actions. Research on teachers thinking and practice. London: Falmer Press.

Marton, F. (1994) Phenomenography. In T. Husen & T.N. Postlethwaite (eds.) International Encyclopaedia of Education. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

A review of the development of phenomenography. Includes sections on origins, the object of research, experience, awareness and methods.

Marton, F. (1993) Our experience of the physical world. Cognition and Instruction, 10(28.3): 227-38.

This is a commentary responding to Andrea de Sessa s monograph Toward an Epistemology of Physics. In this short commentary Marton makes clear his rejection of the cognitivist approach, that is the presumption that all psychological explanations must be framed in terms of internal mental representations and processes (or rules) by which these representations are manipulated and transformed (p233).

Marton, F. (1992a) The phenomenography of learning: a qualitative approach to educational research and some of its implications for didactics. Learning and Instruction 2(1): 601-616.

A brief overview of phenomenography as applied to learning. Reviews research into different conceptions of learning and restates the nature of phenomenography. The main message is about two distinctive interpretations of the phrase the phenomenography of learning .
1. as the study of the different ways in which learning is conceptualised
2. as studying learning as a change between qualitatively different conceptions of one and the same phenomenon.
The latter seems very close to Bowden s phenomenographic pedagogy . Marton draws on Dagmar Neuman s research into children conceptions of number relations for illustration.

Marton, F. (1992b) Notes on ontology, Manuscript published as Searching for a pedagogy of awareness . Forskning om utbildning, 19(4): 28-40.

An important paper analysing theoretical assumptions in relation to the non-dualist position and the nature of a phenomenon. Includes an extended section on awareness. This paper specifies that in phenomenography the concepts of conception, experience, understanding, perception etc all refer to the underlying subject object relation. In this paper Marton also describes the outcome space as representing the phenomenon.

Marton, F. (1989) Towards a pedagogy of content. Educational Psychologist, 24(1): 1-23.

The relation between educational research and educational practice is examined from the point of view of the content of learning and teaching. The line of reasoning is framed in terms of four seemingly contradictory propositions .This paper would be of interest to those interested in using phenomenographic research to improve teaching practice.

Marton, F. (1988a) Phenomenography: exploring different conceptions of reality. In D. Fetterman (ed.) Qualitative Approaches to Evaluation in Education: the silent revolution. New York: Praeger.

An important exposition of many key aspects of phenomenography, including its development and what are now regarded as the three lines of phenomenographic research. Also compares and contrasts phenomenography with ethnography and phenomenology. This paper deals only with the work of the Gothenerg kernel group , it does not examine British or Australian work in the area.

Marton, F. (1988b) Describing and improving learning. In Ronald Schmeck (ed.) Learning Strategies and Learning Styles, Plenum Press: New York.

This paper examines the relational aspect of learning with particular emphasis on the notions of structure and reference. It is possibly one of the least easy to read of Marton papers but may be regarded as one of the more important. Concludes with a section on learning as conceptual change and one on a relational view of learning. The notion of a relational view of learning also appears in Ramsden Improving Learning: New Perspectives.

Marton, F. (1988c) Phenomenography and "the art of teaching all things to all men". Fenomenografiska notiser 8. Institutionen for pedagogik. Goteborgs universitet.

Each phenomenon in the world around us can be seen and understood in only a limited number of distinctively different ways. According to the research specialisation named phenomenography, the various understandings are experiential relations between individual and phenomenon. It is suggested that changes between such understandings constitute the most important form of learning. In order to characterize teaching methods in a reasonably precise way we have to specify the kind of learning and understanding the teaching methods are aimed at bringing about. And in order to develop teaching methods which are reasonably effective in bringing about changes in the understanding of various phenomena, we have to start by revealing the nature of the actual differences in the understanding of those phenomena. Consequently, teaching methods have to be characterised and developed in relation to each phenomenon taught about

Marton, F. (1986a) Some reflections on the improvement of learning. In J. Bowden (ed.) Student Learning: Research into Practice - the Marysville Symposium. CSHE, University of Melbourne.

Marton stresses the relational character of learning, ie. learning is always the learning of something. This paper responds to the following questions: Can we not make theoretical generalisations about learning? Does research have to be descriptive - can we not draw any predictive or prescriptive conclusions from it?
What is the use of phenomenographic research?

Marton, F. (1986b) Phenomenography - a research approach to investigating different understandings of reality. Journal of Thought, 21(3): 28-49.

This paper is an updated version of Marton 1981 paper in Instructional Science. Deals with the historical development of phenomenography and Marton perception of its relationship with phenomenology. Essential reading.

The point of departure is an assumption that psychology in the future has to go beyond the single individual and as one of its main tasks, will involve the analysis and description of the distinctively different ways in which human beings relate themselves to various aspects of their world . Examines phenomenography in relation to phenomenology. Includes a section on conceptions and categories of description. Defines conceptions as man-world relations (p61). Points to noema and noesis as being equivalent to the what and the how of phenomenography. An important theoretical paper.

Marton, F. (1981a) Phenomenography - describing conceptions of the world around us. Instructional Science, 10: 177-200.

A seminal paper outlining phenomenography as a research approach. Deals with the research questions which phenomenography may appropriately illuminate. Focuses on the importance of researching the second-order perspective. Describes categories of description as denoting a collective intellect . Also examines the relationship of phenomenography with phenomenology. Essential reading.

Marton, F. (1981b) Studying conceptions of reality - a metatheoretical note. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 25(4): 159-169.

It is argued that descriptions of the qualitatively different ways in which people experience and understand various aspects of reality make up an autonomous field of inquiry . Marton compares the work of Piaget with phenomenography, suggesting that Piaget s initial research was very much akin to the work of phenomenography. A departure occurs when Piaget shifts from describing the world as it is seen by the child to describing the child as he/she is seen by the researcher . At this point, in Piaget s work, the experiential perspective is lost.

Marton, F. (1976) On non-verbatim learning 11. The erosion effect of a task-induced learning algorithm. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 17: 41-48.

One of a series of early papers from which the phenomenographic approach evolved. This paper takes a strong experimental psychology approach.

Marton, F. (1975) On non-verbatim learning 1. Level of processing and level of outcome, Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 16: 273-279.

One of the earliest papers in the development of the phenomenographic approach.

Marton, F. & Booth, S. (in press) The learner s experience of learning. In D.R. Olson & N. Torrance (eds.) The Handbook of Education and Human Development: New models of learning, teaching and schooling. Oxford: Blackwell.

Headings include: Alternative perspectives on learning; Experience as the object of research; Qualitative differences in the experience of learning; The experience of learning by reading; The experience of learning clinical diagnosis; Generalizability of approaches to learning; The educational significance of the learner s experience of learning.

Marton, F., Carlsson-Asplund, M. & Halasz, L. (1994) The reverse effect of an attempt to shape reader awareness. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 38:291-298.

Marton, F., Fensham, P. & Chaiklin, S. (1994) A Nobel s eye view of scientific intuition. International Journal of Science Education, 16:457-473.

Marton, F., Dall Alba, G. & Beaty, E. (1993) Conceptions of learning. International Journal of Educational Research, 19(3): 277-300.

Explores the view of learning held by students in a Social sciences Foundation course at the Open University. Of the six conceptions discovered, the first five are identical to those found by Saljo in earlier studies( p.283-284):
1. Increasing one s knowledge
2. Memorizing and reproducing
3. Applying
4. Understanding
5. Seeing something in a different way
6. Changing as a person
Individuals participating in the study are also investigated as cases for stability and development .

Marton, F., Dall Alba, G. & Tse, L.K. (1993) The Paradox of the Chinese Learner. Occasional Paper 93.1 ERADU - RMIT.

In this paper we explore the ways in which learning is understood by a group of Chinese teacher educators and the extent to which rote learning features in these conceptions. We also examine how this group conceives of understanding, memorising and meaning, with a view to a more adequate solution of the paradox of the Asian learner. (p2).

Marton, F., Carlsson, M.A. & Halasz, L. (1992) Differences in understanding and the use of reflective variation in reading. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 62: 1-16.

This study differs from Marton s earlier studies on student learning from texts, in that it asks how students interpret a parable, and gathers written data on a number of occasions from the same students for analysis. The study was conducted in Swedish and Hungarian schools. For those who may find reading studies on conceptions of scientific concepts a little stretching this one makes a refreshing change. It is easy to read and the phenomenographic approach emerges clearly through the progression of the article.

Marton, F. & Dahlgren, L.O. (1976) On non-verbatim learning III. The outcome space of some basic concepts in economics. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 17: 49-55.

Another early paper in the development of the phenomenographic approach. The notions of outcome space and categories of description are present in their earliest forms.

Marton, F. & Neuman, D. (1990) The Perceptibility of Numbers and the Origin of Arithmetic Skill, Report 1990:05. Department of Education and Educational Research. University of Goteburg.

There is a generally agreed view of the development of arithmetic skills which suggests that children start by modelling simple addition and subtraction problems physically... An empirical study of 82 Swedish school starters yields results that seriously challenge this view of the development of arithmetic skills The aim of this study was to identify the different ways in which children experience the numbers, and number relations 1 - 10. Twelve qualitatively different ways of experiencing numbers were found, logically related and presented in an outcome space. The number of conceptions is far greater than those previously found in phenomenographic studies.

Marton, F. & Neuman, D. (1989) Constructivism and constitutionalism. Some implications for elementary mathematics education. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 33(1): 35-45.

Our aim in this paper has been to compare the constructivist paradigm with an alternative framework, here called constitutionalism. Above all we wanted to show how certain differences appear in views on the development of arithmetic skills.....The constructivist paradigm puts an emphasis on the individual s acts, while within a constitutional framework we are primarily interested in how various aspects of the world are seen by different individuals . Is Marton arguing that phenomenography and a constructivist approach are incompatible and if so what are the implications?

Marton, F. & Ramsden, P. (1988) What does it take to improve learning? In P. Ramsden (ed.) Improving Learning: New Perspectives. London: Kogan Page, pp. 268-286.

This chapter continues the theme of improving learning by taking a different approach to teaching. That is learning must be seen as changing conceptions of subject matter within a learning context . Aspects of a relational view of learning (p272), desirable conceptions of teaching (p276) and teaching strategies for conceptual change learning (p277) are also discussed. Concludes with a discussion of implications for educational research of such a view of teaching and learning.

Marton, F. & Saljo, R. (1984) Approaches to learning. In F. Marton, D. Hounsell & N. Entwistle (eds.) The Experience of Learning, Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press.

Describes the early studies on students reading texts. Represents a synthesis of the early development of the phenomenographic approach. Contains a description of the analysis procedure (p. 38-39) which is virtually identical to that described again by Marton in his 1988 paper: Phenomenography: exploring different conceptions of reality . Important reading to anyone interested in using phenomenography to describe student learning.

Marton, F. & Saljo, R. (1976) On qualitative differences in learning: 1-outcome and process. British Journal of Educational Psychology 46: 4-11.

This paper represents some of the earliest publication in journals of research results from the phenomenographic approach. The aim of the paper is to provide an outline of the experimental procedure adopted in a series of studies reported in more detail elsewhere (Marton 1975, Dahlgren 1975, and Saljo 1975). Despite the emphasis on the qualitative, the notion of experimental procedure still reflects the traditional approach to quantitative research.

Marton, F. & Svensson, L. (1979) Conceptions of research in student learning. Higher Education 8(4): 471-486.

Differences in approaches to research into student learning are analysed in terms of differences in the conception of six aspects of the research process.

Marton, F., Watkins, D. & Tang, C. (1995) Continuities and discontinuities in the experience of learning: an interview study of high school students in Hong Kong. Paper presented to the 6th EARLI Conference, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, August 26 - 31.

In an interview study carried out with 43 high school students in Hong Kong it was found that the variation in their views of learning could be described in terms of the crossing of two dimensions. One dimension refers to the temporality of learning as experienced. Although they are interwoven we can analytically separate three facets in the students' accounts: acquiring what is learned, knowing it (having it stored somehow), and subsequently making use of it (applying). The other dimension refers to the depth of learning. The students' experiences vary from a primary stress on the retentional aspect (memorizing), the meaning aspect (understanding), or the referential aspect (grasping the phenomenon which is being learnt about). Further discriminations are made within and in addition to the nine combinations of categories within these two dimensions and some findings supposedly typical for Chinese learners (such as the experienced interrelatedness of the retentional and meaning aspects of learning) will be reported. (Author s abstract).

Marton, F., Wen, Q. & Nagle, A. (1995) Are culturally different conceptions of learning conflicting or complementary to each other? - A comparative study of Chinese and Uruguayan university students. Paper presented to the 6th EARLI Conference, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, August 26 - 31.

This paper reports findings from a comparative study of Chinese and Uruguayan students' conceptions of learning. The results were obtained by re-analyzing the interview data of two independent studies. Our analysis of the data was undertaken in line with the general framework proposed by Marton (1994), in which culturally different conceptions of learning are structured along two dimensions, i.e. the temporal dimension (acquiring-knowing- applying) and depth of learning (surface-deep). The results showed that both Chinese and Uruguayan students emphasized the acquiring phase of learning and furthermore they shared the view that learning was always initiated by something being acquired from the outside. However, almost none of the subjects explained how they went about the initial action of learning. Their conceptions appeared to be opposite in many cases but actually they were complementary to a large extent once we put their different conceptions in the aforesaid framework. The Chinese students tended to emphasize the on-going aspect of learning while the Uruguayan students tended to focus on permanently keeping the knowledge within themselves. The Chinese students singled out the action of committing what they have read or told to their memory as one step of learning, while the Uruguayan students did not think such a conscious action was necessary because keeping things in the memory was regarded as a natural product of learning. The Chinese students placed more emphasis on outer behaviors such as repeated practice, whereas the Uruguayan students stressed inner acts such as assimilating, incorporating and self-experiencing. Finally, the Chinese students identified two kinds of memorization, mechanic and meaningful, which are interrelated with understanding, while the Uruguayan students simply equated memorization with rote learning and regarded it as being the opposite of understanding. (Author s abstract).

Marton, F. & Wenestam, C. (1988) Qualitative differences in retention when a text is read several times. In M.M. Gruneberg, P.E. Morris & R.E. Sykes (eds.) Practical Aspects of Memory: Current Research and Issues. Wiley: New York.

Eight subjects read a prose passage of high complexity several times. The findings clearly indicate that repetition per se is not sufficient for increased understanding of the text. Due to differences in the approaches adopted to the task, comprehension improved, deteriorated or remained unchanged.

Morgan, A. (1993) Improving Your Students Learning: reflections on the experience of study. Kogan Page: London.

This very readable text draws together much research from the phenomenographic school into student learning. It includes chapters on What is learning? How do students go about their studies? What are students supposed to learn? and How do students change and develop?

Mugler, F. & Landbeck, R. (1995) The meanings of learning for students at the University of the South Pacific: a pilot study. Paper presented to the 6th EARLI Conference, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, August 26 - 31.

How generalizable across cultures are the descriptions of student learning which have been well established in Western cultures? A project at the University of the South Pacific (USP) in Fiji could provide some answers to this question as USP has students from 12 Pacific nations and there are cultural differences also within each national group. However, we will argue that it is not possible to group students into broad cultural groups and make generalizations about learning conceptions in these groups. As a result we have tried to describe the learning of a group of students at USP rather than to make cultural comparisons. The major part of the paper will describe the results of a pilot project which studied student learning in a third year linguistics class. Two major themes emerged from the analysis of the phenomenographic interviews, namely, the transition and change experienced by students as they adapt to university life and their descriptions of learning and understanding. The students use two meanings for the word `learning'. The first meaning is the process of acquiring knowledge or broadening existing knowledge and the second is a much deeper meaning resulting from a process of coming to an understanding of the knowledge. (Author s abstract).

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, U, V, W, Z.