A phenomenological study of the awareness, comprehension and application of instruction design in management development among large companies in Newfoundland and Labrador

• Main Author: Morrissey, William James
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 1996
• Subjects: Newfoundland; Gorman
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/4480/; https://research.library.mun.ca/4480/1/Morrissey_WilliamJ.pdf; https://research.library.mun.ca/4480/3/Morrissey_WilliamJ.pdf

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to determine the awareness understanding and application of instructional design in corporate management development among the largest employers in Newfoundland and Labrador. The study attempted to determine the processes used by corporate trainers, given the absence of formal instructional design methodology. -- The study was a continuation of studies conducted by Tobin (1989), Gallant (1989), Thomey (1991), Graham (1991), and more recently Gorman (1993) and Healy (1994) in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador over the previous five years. These studies looked at instructional design usage in a variety of settings including primary, elementary, secondary and high school teachers, teacher librarians, and nurse educators. Results of these studies clearly demonstrated that formal instructional design methodology was not being applied. In its absence, the subjects relied upon related experiences to put together their training programs. -- The data for this study was collected in the fall of 1995 through a combination of questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews with ten corporate trainers. The subjects were selected by stratified random sample from among the largest 25 employers in the province. All but one interview was audiotaped with the permission of the respondents. The results were then transcribed and analyzed by common themes. -- The results of the study indicated that corporate trainers interviewed did not have a background in instructional design, and therefore were low in knowledge about its application. Most trainers used some form of instructional design, though the process was rudimentary and incomplete.