Term

Spring 2026

Capstone

Dissertation

Degree Name

EdD

Primary Advisor/Dissertation Chair

Trish Harvey

Abstract

Martial education, particularly Muay Thai, rarely offers formal educator training, and what does exists is rarely backed by research. Educators frequently develop in isolation, within communities lacking evidence-based frameworks. Some practitioners may find their way to pedagogical knowledge, but most do not. Living Muay Thai (LMT) was founded in 2020 to address these gaps. This qualitative phenomenological study evaluated LMT’s impact on martial educators after its first five years (April 2020-July 2025) and identified 11 areas for future development. Seven Muay Thai educators participated in semi-structured interviews and a focus group. An emergent phenomenological analysis generated findings; a reflexive thematic analysis verified completeness against a conceptual framework comprising community, educator training, high-impact teaching tools, and instructional design. Four dynamic themes emerged: environmental nourishment, the road traveled, freedom, and metamorphosis. Each captured a facet of participants’ journeys from before LMT contact to after. Findings revealed that LMT’s community-centered, educator-driven structure supported professional growth, pedagogical freedom, and identity transformation. Conceptual framework analysis verified emergent findings, validating the application of broad educational research to martial education. Recommendations for LMT development are three-layered: sustainability, systematic support, and scalability. This study contributes to the limited literature on martial educator development by offering a model for community-driven professional growth outside K-12 educational contexts.

Research Methodology

Phenomenology

dc_type

text

dc_publisher

DigitalCommons@Hamline

dc_format

application/pdf

dc_source

School of Education Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

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