DECISIVE MOMENTS AND DECISIVE CHANGE: VETERAN PHOTOJOURNALIST PERSPECTIVES ON CHANGES IN LEARNING AND PRACTICE DISSERTATION Presented to the Graduate Council of Texas State University-San Marcos in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by David S. Nolan, AAS, BAAS, MA San Marcos, Texas December 2012 DECISIVE MOMENTS AND DECISIVE CHANGE: VETERAN PHOTOJOURNALIST PERSPECTIVES ON CHANGES IN LEARNING AND PRACTICE Committee Members Approved: _________________________________ Ann K. Brooks, Chair _________________________________ Jovita M. Ross-Gordon _________________________________ Sandhya Rao _________________________________ Robert F. Reardon Approved: J. Michael Willoughby Dean of the Graduate College COPYRIGHT by David S. Nolan, AAS, BAAS, MA 2012 FAIR USE AND AUTHOR’S PERMISSION STATEMENT Fair Use This work is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, section 107). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgment. Use of this material for financial gain without the author’s express written permission is not allowed. Duplication Permission As the copyright holder of this work I, David S. Nolan, refuse permission to copy in excess of the “Fair Use” exemption without my written permission. DEDICATION To my wife Renee’ without whose support none of this would have been possible. I love you. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the numerous contributions of the chair of my doctoral committee, Dr. Ann Brooks. Without her support, feedback and dogged pursuit of getting me to the finish line this dissertation would never have been completed. I am also indebted to Dr. Jovita Ross-Gordan, Dr. Sandhya Rao and Dr. Robert Reardon for serving on my committee and helping me to create a better dissertation. I would also like to thank Dr. Emily Summers, who helped shape the very beginning of this work many years ago. I do not think I could have had a better committee and support group. I would like to thank the five photojournalists who graciously shared their life stories with me, Dirck Halstead, Eli Reed, David Leeson, Anita Baca and Billy Calzada. Without these five wonderful people none of this would have been possible. Moreover, this process would not have been successful without all the professors and the Adult Professional and Community Education program itself at Texas State University-San Marcos. Thank you. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Renee’ Nolan, for enduring all the years of late nights, sacrificed weekends and holidays, and all the stress that comes with adding a doctoral program to a full-time teaching job. I could not have done this without her full support, assistance and love. This manuscript was submitted on September 13, 2012. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................... xi ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1 Background and Context ..................................................................................... 2 Problem Statement ............................................................................................... 5 Statement of Purpose and Research Questions ............................................... 5 Researcher Perspectives ....................................................................................... 5 Rationale and Significance ................................................................................... 9 Significance for Practice ....................................................................................... 9 Significance for Theory ........................................................................................ 10 Definitions of Key Terminology Used in This Study ..................................... 10 Learning .................................................................................................... 10 Veteran Photojournalist ......................................................................... 11 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................. 11 II. LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ................. 13 A Brief History of Technological Change ......................................................... 14 Learning, Technology and Photojournalism .................................................... 15 A Lack of Training and Professional Development in Media Organizations ............................................................................................. 17 Adult Learning and Photojournalists ................................................................. 23 Self-Directed Learning and Photojournalism ................................................... 27 Using Self-Directed Learning as a Theoretical Perspective ............................ 28 Foundations of Self-Directed Learning ............................................................. 31 Self-Directed Learning ......................................................................................... 33 Self-Directed Learner Characteristics ................................................................ 34 Critiques of Self-Directed Learning ................................................................... 36 Photojournalists as Free-Agent Learners .......................................................... 37 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................. 40 vii III. METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................... 42 Research Approach ............................................................................................... 42 Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and Life History ............ 42 Limitations of IPA .................................................................................. 44 Research Philosophy ............................................................................................. 45 Participant Selection and Timeline ..................................................................... 46 Dirck Halstead ......................................................................................... 49 Eli Reed ..................................................................................................... 49 David Leeson ........................................................................................... 50 Anita Baca ................................................................................................. 51 Billy Calzada ............................................................................................. 51 Data Collection ...................................................................................................... 52 Data Analysis ......................................................................................................... 53 Validity .................................................................................................................... 55 Ethical Considerations ......................................................................................... 57 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................. 58 IV. DIRCK HALSTEAD: VETERAN PHOTOJOURNALIST AND EDITOR OF THE DIGITAL JOURNALIST ..................................................... 60 Overview ................................................................................................................ 60 Learning Strategies from Life Experiences ....................................................... 60 Personal and Shared Experiences of Changes in Technology ....................... 94 Mentoring as a Positive Influence on Learning ............................................... 109 Application of Learning Strategies ..................................................................... 115 Perceptions of Learning Methods ...................................................................... 121 Perceptions of Significant Learning Experiences ............................................ 125 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................. 126 V. ELI REED: MAGNUM PHOTOJOURNALIST .................................................. 127 Overview ................................................................................................................ 127 Learning Strategies from Life Experiences ....................................................... 129 Personal and Shared Experiences of Changes in Technology ....................... 166 Mentoring as a Positive Influence on Learning ............................................... 169 Application of Learning Strategies ..................................................................... 171 Perceptions of Learning Methods ...................................................................... 178 Perceptions of Significant Learning Experiences ............................................ 181