About the Journal

Focus and Scope

Phenomenology & Practice is a human science journal dedicated to the study of the lived experience of a broad range of human practices. These include (but are not limited to) the professional practices of pedagogy, design, counseling, psychology, social work, and health science.   Increasingly, researchers and practitioners in these and other fields are adapting interpretive methodologies to address questions related to practice. Phenomenology & Practice is intended to serve as a forum for such research.

Correspondingly, "phenomenology" is understood in this context in broad and eclectic terms. Phenomenology has been practiced in various guises for centuries, but it came into its own in the early 20th century in the works of Husserl, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Levinas; and it has been developed as a method by various individuals and groups, such as the Utrecht School.

Phenomenology affirms the primacy of lived experience and of the lifeworld - everyday contexts which we inhabit as natural and taken-for-granted - over the conceptual and theoretical. It works to regain a fuller grasp of the nature and significance of our lived experiences. Merleau-Ponty (1962) called this the program of "re-learning to look at the world" by "re-awakening the basic experience of the world" (pp. 8, 11). Experience can be best understood integrally, using evocative, descriptive language that is neither analytic nor conceptual. It is, as Luijpen (1960) says, a question of "restoring to experience its ontological weight" (p. 88). Proceeding from these premises, phenomenology is understood here as a context-sensitive and transdisciplinary form of inquiry into lived experience that is employed both inside, outside and across of traditional disciplinary boundaries. 

 'Practice,' the second word in the journal's title, has complex and interrelated meanings. In one sense, it refers to professional and other domains: "the explicit and tacit dimensions of the rules, precepts, codes, principles, guides, commitments, affects, and behaviors that one observes or recommends within a domain of action" (OED, 1989). Practice is also understood as the application of theory; in practice we operationalize methods, techniques, knowledge, skills, and competencies. Additionally, practice can be viewed as having an integrity all of its own. Instead of deriving exclusively from theory, it can be characterized as non-cognitive, as residing in the body, in the world, in relations, and in action, rather than being explicitly known or formalized (van Manen, 1999). Knowing, in this sense, is co-emergent with practice in different situations, actions and relations; together, this practice and knowledge-in-action is manifest, for example, as habituation, demeanor, dwelling and intimacy.  All three of these meanings of practice listed above - as profession, as opposed to theory, and as 'non-cognitive' - are central to this journal. <i>Phenomenology &amp; Practice</i> consciously exploits the resonant and symbiotic relationship between the orientation of phenomenology to lived experience and the notion of practice as non-cognitive knowledge-in-action. It is this orientation in phenomenology and this dimension of practice to which this journal gives priority.

References:

Luijpen, W.A. (1960). Existential phenomenology. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press.

Merleau-Ponty, M. (1962). The phenomenology of perception. (C. Smith, Trans.). London: Routledge.

OED. (1989). Oxford English dictionary (2nd Ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

van Manen, M. (1999). The practice of practice. In M. Lange, J. Olson, H. Hansen, & W. Bander, (Eds.), Changing Schools/Changing Practices: Perspective on Educational Reform and Teacher Professionalism. Luvain: Garant.

Peer Review Process

Phenomenology & Practice consciously explores the resonant and symbiotic relationship between the orientation of phenomenology to lived experience and the notion of practice as non-cognitive knowledge-in-action. "Phenomenology" is understood in this context in broad and eclectic terms and the journal affirms the primacy of lived experience and of the lifeworld - everyday contexts, which we inhabit as natural and taken-for-granted - over the conceptual and theoretical.

'Practice,' the second word in the journal's title, has complex and interrelated meanings. Instead of deriving exclusively from theory, it can be characterized as non-cognitive, as residing in the body, in the world, in relations, and in action, rather than being explicitly known or formalized. Additionally, practice can be viewed as having an integrity all of its own.

It is this orientation in phenomenology and this dimension of practice to which this journal gives priority. Thus, peer reviewers for Phenomenology & Practice recognize that researchers and practitioners in the field of phenomenology are adapting interpretive methodologies to address questions related to a variety of professional practices.

Submitted articles will initially be read and judged by the Editorial Board. If the Editorial Board finds that the submitted article adheres to the focus and scope of Phenomenology & Practice, the article will be sent for review. The author(s) will be notified of the Board's decision within two weeks, subsequent to the time the article reachedPhenomenology & Practice. The two peer reviewers will be given not more than three months to submit their comments on the article. The author(s) will then be given a month to edit the article (if deemed necessary by the peer reviewers).
Please Note:

  • Authors whose articles have been accepted are expected to have their final manuscripts proof-read as part of the revision process.
  • Please only submit papers that have not yet been published or submitted for review to other journals or publication.

Guidelines for reviewers

Please provide comments for the author(s) on a separate sheet. Because this comments sheet may be sent to authors, it is essential that you leave out your name.

Broad guidelines: We suggest that you use van Manen's criteria for phenomenological writing as broad guidelines for evaluating the article: Is the text oriented, strong, rich, and deep? See van Manen, M. (1997). Researching Lived Experience. Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. London, Ont.: The Althouse Press, pp. 150-153.

Relevance: Does the paper contribute to phenomenological study, methodology, or understanding of practice?

Significance and originality: How well does the paper/research advance or contribute to the latest discussion on the topic or work in the field?  How well does it address work that has occurred in the past?

Literary quality and mechanics: Is the paper well written, easy to read, and does it use proper references, citations and other academic apparatus according to APA Formatting and Style Guide? Please pay close attention to the clarity and effectiveness of the authors' writing and also to their use of the literature. Provide detailed information about any potential issues for proofreading, editing or related to the submission's use of the literature, listing them on the draft or in a separate document.

Based on the above criteria, the submission will be judged as:

  • acceptable for publication "as is"
  • acceptable for publication with revisions (minor or major, as detailed by the reviewer
  • not acceptable for publication

NOTE: The journal doesn’t have APC or any submission charges.

Publication Frequency

Phenomenology & Practice publishes twice per year. Occasionally, special themed issues are published in addition to this.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License