An Australian Challenge

The knowledge interest of phenomenographers originally was pragmatic. The aim was to find out how to make university studies more effective by means of a more sophisticated education. The point of departure was qualitative studies of student learning. In the search for a theoretical residence, however, a more 'academic' interest was adopted resulting in a huge amount of doctoral theses. The designation phenomenography was introduced at the same time as the approach was widened to comprise studies of "conceptions of the world around us". As a Swedish representative of phenomenography to day, Ingrid Pramling perhaps is the one that comes closest to the original pragmatic knowledge interest of phenomenography.

The initial knowledge interst, however, is what signifies the Australian line of phenomenography. Instead of carrying out phenomenographic analyses within the very framework of winning academic qualifications in a narrow sense (cf. all the Swedish dissertations), one approaches professional problems as practicing - mainly university - teachers. Since a long time ago the members of the group that originally invented the Göteborg phenomenography (Ference Marton, Lars Owe Dahlgren, Lennart Svensson and Roger Säljö) also often visit Australia during shorter and longer periods as 'visiting professors' or just to give lectures or to participate in conferences etc. It is rather a rule than an exception that phenomenographers that have written and defended their doctoral theses visit Australia.

'Developmental' phenomenography is what John Bowden, a representative of The Australian Challenge, propose as a designation for this phenomenographic direction. Other salient representatives of the direction are among others (in alphabetical order) Gloria Dall'Alba, Rod Gerber, Michael Prosser and Keith Trigwell.