Students' lived experiences of the realization of academic wrongness

249 Pages·2017·1.34 MB·English

Rowan University
Rowan Digital Works
Theses and Dissertations
12-21-2016
Students' lived experiences of the realization of academic
wrongness (RAW)
Dana Carol Kemery
Rowan University
Follow this and additional works at: https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd
Part of the Educational Psychology Commons
Let us know how access to this document benefts you -
share your thoughts on our feedback form.
Recommended Citation
Kemery, Dana Carol, "Students' lived experiences of the realization of academic wrongness (RAW)"
(2016). Theses and Dissertations. 2339.
https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/2339
This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Rowan Digital Works. It has been accepted for
inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Rowan Digital Works. For more
information, please contact
STUDENTS’ LIVED EXPERIENCES OF THE REALIZATION OF ACADEMIC
WRONGNESS (RAW)

by
Dana C. Kemery

A Dissertation
Submitted to the
Department of Educational Leadership
College of Education
In partial fulfillment of the requirement
For the degree of
Doctor of Education
at
Rowan University
August 16, 2016

Dissertation Chair: Monica Kerrigan, Ed D
© 2016 Dana C. Kemery
Dedication
I would like to dedicate this manuscript to my husband, Keith. Through
everything you have always known and you will always know. I carry you with me in
everything I do. You are my strength.
Acknowledgments
I would like to acknowledge some of the people who have made this journey
possible. I would like to thank the members of my dissertation committee. Dr. Kerrigan,
thank you for your support and guidance during this process. You have made this journey
meaningful in ways I could have only imagined. Dr. Galbiati and Dr. Lown, thank you
both for finding my proposal to be worthwhile and agreeing to work with me. Your
feedback as leaders and nurses has been invaluable to this work.
To all of the students I had the privilege and honor to work with, thank you for
allowing me to be part of your journey and for being part of mine.
To my family, thank you for understanding my need to take this journey. Your
support, love, and encouragement have meant the world to me.
Finally, to the Dream Team, I could not have imagined a more supportive and
dynamic group to have been part of my intellectual development. From the first night we
have struggled together, prayed together, and laughed together. We have made great
strides and have had set backs, but we go on. Thank you for your friendship and your
support.

iv
Abstract
Dana C. Kemery
STUDENTS’ LIVED EXPERIENCES OF THE REALIZATION OF ACADEMIC
WRONGNESS (RAW)
2015-2016
Monica Kerrigan, Ed D
Doctor of Education

Being wrong is a common phenomenon for students in academic environments;
however this phenomenon has yet to be described from the student perspective. The
purpose of this phenomenologic inquiry is to describe the realization of academic
wrongness (RAW) as experienced by senior level nursing students during a high stakes
testing period. Observations, class documents, communications, and semi-structured
interviews were collected to gain a full description for the realization of academic
wrongness within context as this phenomenon unfolded for students. Data were analyzed
using Moustakas (1994) 7 step phenomenological process. Fourteen invariant
constituents emerged during data analysis which when combined created three themes:
stories to tell, powerlessness, and anger. These themes suggested interdependence of
perceived cognition, self-beliefs, and social structure of the educational environment with
respect to RAW. The students used stories to describe their experiences with the
realization of academic wrongness which explained, minimized, and justified their
actions and interactions that led to RAW. They expressed feeling powerless and angry
during RAW, feelings which did not support students during review and remediation
activities. Although students stated the need for content review and remediation, the
impact of RAW on these students limited behaviors consistent with engagement in
review and remediation activities.
v
Table of Contents
Abstract ................................................................................................................................v
List of Figures .................................................................................................................... xi
List of Tables .................................................................................................................... xii
Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................1
Considering Being Wrong .............................................................................................. 2
Being Wrong as a Student .............................................................................................. 4
Considering Nursing Students. ................................................................................... 4
Nursing Program Considerations ................................................................................ 8
Nursing Students’ Experiences ....................................................................................... 9
Methodology and Research Questions ......................................................................... 10
Chapter 2: Literature Review .............................................................................................14
Bandura’s Self-Efficacy ................................................................................................ 15
Dweck’s Self-Theories of Intelligence ......................................................................... 19
Affective-Cognitive Consistency Theory ..................................................................... 21
Cultural Definitions of Wrongness ............................................................................... 24
Nursing Culture and Nursing Education. .................................................................. 26
Chapter 3: Methods ............................................................................................................35
Considering the Phenomenologic Perspective .............................................................. 36
Including the Nursing Perspective. ........................................................................... 39
vi
Table of Contents (Continued)

Operationalization of Phenomenology in Nursing. .................................................. 42
Setting ........................................................................................................................... 47
Units of Analysis .......................................................................................................... 49
Sampling Design ........................................................................................................... 50
Sampling in Context. ................................................................................................ 51
Participant Engagement and Early Recruitment ........................................................... 57
Before the Second Comprehensive HESI Exam Attempt. ....................................... 58
Data Collection ............................................................................................................. 59
Semi Structured Interviews. ...................................................................................... 60
Participant Observations. .......................................................................................... 65
In Class Activities. .................................................................................................... 67
Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 70
Moustakas’ Analysis. ................................................................................................ 72
Cautions on Othering .................................................................................................... 74
Rigor ............................................................................................................................. 75
Chapter 4: Data Analysis ...................................................................................................78
Co-Participant Researchers ........................................................................................... 78
Member Checking ......................................................................................................... 80
Changes to Text: Bettina. .......................................................................................... 81
vii
Table of Contents (Continued)

Changes to Text: Bridget. ......................................................................................... 82
Clarifications: Bridget. .............................................................................................. 85
Clarifications: Fidelma. ............................................................................................ 86
RAW and Relationships Revisited. .......................................................................... 87
Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 97
Step 1: Listing and Preliminary Grouping. ............................................................... 99
Step 2: Reduction and Elimination. ........................................................................ 100
Step 3: Clustering and Thematizing the Invariant Constituents. ............................ 100
Step 4: Validation. .................................................................................................. 117
Step 5: Individual Textural Description. ................................................................. 117
Step 6: Individual Structural Description. .............................................................. 131
Step 7: Individual Textural-Structural Descriptions. .............................................. 135
Composite Description. .......................................................................................... 138
Analyzing Other Data Sources. .............................................................................. 140
Unsolicited Emails. ................................................................................................. 140
Post –It Note Class Activity.................................................................................... 145
A Story to Tell. ....................................................................................................... 147
Powerlessness. ........................................................................................................ 148
Anger. ..................................................................................................................... 150
viii
Table of Contents (Continued)

Overlap Within Powerlessness. .............................................................................. 150
Observations. .......................................................................................................... 152
Brain Tool. .............................................................................................................. 156
Chapter 5: Discussion ......................................................................................................159
Lived Experiences and Behaviors at the Realization of Academic Wrongness ......... 162
A Story to Tell. ....................................................................................................... 162
Powerlessness. ........................................................................................................ 169
Anger. ..................................................................................................................... 178
Lived Experiences and Behaviors After the Realization of Academic Wrongness.... 184
Content Engagement and Remediation After RAW ................................................... 187
Implications ................................................................................................................ 191
Study Limitations ........................................................................................................ 194
The Essence of RAW. ............................................................................................. 196
Time. ....................................................................................................................... 197
Data Collection. ...................................................................................................... 201
Data Analysis. ......................................................................................................... 205
Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 207
References ........................................................................................................................210
Appendix A: Engagement Letter .....................................................................................220
ix