Date
4-7-2026
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)
Chair
Meredith Park
Keywords
competency-based education, seminary, teacher’s experience, hermeneutic phenomenology, sociocultural theory, understanding by design
Disciplines
Education | Higher Education
Recommended Citation
Li, Jacob L. M., "A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study of the Lived Experiences of Seminary Teachers Transitioning from Designing and Delivering Instruction Traditionally to Competency-Based Education Approach" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 8156.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/8156
Abstract
The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences transitioning from designing and delivering instruction traditionally to a competency-based education approach using a learning management system for teachers at four seminaries based in North America. Competency-based education was generally defined as a highly personalized approach to education, where instructions are structured according to the interests, needs, and learning styles of the students who progress according to their competencies certified by formative process evaluation, irrespective of how long that would take, until they have reached the stated desired level of mastery, all the while acquiring knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for them to become lifelong learners. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and the understanding by design model by Wiggins and McTighe guided this study. The central research question of this study was: What are the lived experiences transitioning from designing and delivering instruction traditionally to a competency-based education approach using a learning management system for teachers at four seminaries? The hermeneutical phenomenological approach was chosen for this study because it enabled the researcher to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon by examining the reflections of those who have experienced it. This study investigated the experiences of 13 teachers from four seminaries. Data for this study were collected using individual interviews, a letter-writing exercise, and focus groups. The collected data underwent vivo coding, followed by focused coding. Five themes emerged from the data analysis: change in pedagogy, change in roles and responsibilities, personal transformation, design and delivery issues, and enabling factors.
