A Phenomenological Analysis of Elementary School Teachers’ Experiences of the Dynamics of Learning Culture

Abstract

This study aimed to explore and interpret elementary school teachers’ lived experiences of the dynamics of learning culture in schools in Tehran. This qualitative study was conducted using an interpretative phenomenological approach. The participants were 11 elementary school teachers working in public, private, and board-of-trustee schools in Tehran who were selected through purposive sampling. Eligibility required at least five years of elementary teaching experience, and sampling continued until meaning saturation was achieved. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and field notes. All interviews were audio-recorded with participants’ consent, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The analytical process involved repeated reading of transcripts, identification of meaning units, initial coding, constant comparison and integration of overlapping codes, and development of subordinate and overarching themes. MAXQDA software was used to organize and manage the qualitative data. The analysis generated 246 initial codes, which were organized into 28 subthemes and five overarching themes: components and indicators of learning-culture dynamics; contextual and environmental factors affecting learning culture; challenges, conflicts, and opportunities within learning culture; teachers’ strategies and actions for strengthening or transforming learning culture; and the personal, emotional, and professional meanings of learning culture. The core theme was identified as “learning culture as a dynamic field of interaction among teacher agency, human relationships, and school structures.” The findings indicated that student participation, psychological safety, acceptance of mistakes, instructional innovation, collective professional learning, supportive leadership, and professional autonomy facilitated a dynamic learning culture, whereas administrative control, structural constraints, curriculum pressures, and grade-oriented practices restricted it. Learning culture in elementary schools is a dynamic, relational, multilevel, and context-dependent phenomenon emerging from interactions among teacher agency, interpersonal relationships, and organizational structures. Strengthening this culture therefore requires psychological safety, meaningful participation, greater teacher autonomy, supportive leadership, collective learning, and the reduction of structural and administrative barriers.