Seeking a Respec(table) Environment: A Phenomenological Inquiry into Pre-Service Teachers’ Lived Experience of Anaphylaxis

• Main Author: Shipley, Jordan
• Other Authors: Lloyd, Rebecca
• Language: en
• Published: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa 2015
• Subjects: Pre-Service Teacher Education; Anaphylaxis; Allergies; Phenomenology; Eating as a social phenomenon
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10393/32164; http://dx.doi.org/10.20381/ruor-2841

This phenomenological inquiry delved into the lived experience of what it is like to have anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially fatal allergy, for those in the teacher education context. Hence, an understanding of the phenomenon of living with a severe allergy as well as the impact it has on the professional development of teachers emerged. Three pre-service teachers with first-hand experience of anaphylaxis participated in a series of in-depth interviews over the course of five months. Guided by the hermeneutic approach to phenomenological research outlined by Max van Manen as well as the philosophical writings of Bernd Jager on the social experiences of eating, several essential themes surfaced. The lived experience of anaphylaxis can thus be understood through two actions: ‘The Inhale’ which is associated with perceived barriers of anaphylaxis and ‘The Exhale’ which is a sense of relief one experiences when one is managing an anaphylactic allergy. The three most significant contexts where these actions notably hindered or empowered pre-service teachers were: ‘The Habi(table) Environment’, the concept of safe spaces for those with anaphylactic allergies, ‘The Confron(table) Environment’, represented by spaces beyond a safe environment where there is a need to confront the allergy, and ‘The Respec(table) Environment’ which is an inter-subjective space between those with allergies and those without who are able to negotiate their needs with one another, allowing for the creation of respectable community. These themes, comprised of two actions and three contexts, thus serve to offer a sense of what it is like to live with and manage anaphylaxis. They also sensitize educators toward developing thoughtful, pedagogical responses to the increasing rates of anaphylaxis in the classroom.