Putting the Case for the Case Study

This paper sets out to review the on-going case study debate. We do not aim to enter the qualitative/quantitative discussion, nor do we suggest that the case study is the ultimate or only form of research. We suggest that case studies should be used in conjunction with other forms of research. What is important is that the techniques selected are appropriate for any proposed research undertaking so that quantitative and qualitative strategies can meaningfully co-exist within the same research project.

We do, however, suggest that in certain sectors the case study approach is misunderstood and under-utilized. The focus of the paper is an objective discussion of a number of issues which have been raised about the case study strategy. The discussion does not assume that there is ‘one type’ of case study, rather it refers to the multitude of case study approaches which can be classified under the case study label.

In addition to a review of the case study debate and some research strategies associated with the approach, the paper discusses a number of pertinent issues which continue to generate much debate. The issues of procedure, a multi-method strategy, objectivity, generalizability and presentation are reviewed in relation to case study research.

The case study approach has weaknesses, and its share of critics, but has become an established and respected form of research. Issues involved in case study research still need to be considered as it becomes more accepted as a viable and insightful form of research.     

Failures and possibilities of epistemic justice,with some implications for higher education

ABSTRACT

This papers draws on the compelling example of a political movement in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s to explore both how epistemic justice conditions of possibility and of failure play out in practice. It provides a springboard to understand how and why failures of epistemic justice matter tremendously for democratic and inclusive lives and how the historical example can point us in the direction of higher education as a space for Amartya Sen’s redressable injustices if underpinned by Miranda’s Fricker’s core capability of epistemic contribution being available pedagogically to all. The paper engages with ideas, practices and actions fostered by Black Consciousness against apartheid as both a hermeneutical and a testimonial injustice in South Africa, with both having a relational structure of giving and receiving, as Fricker argues and as Jose Medina elaborates by extending the structure to include the communicative and participatory. The paper then shows the importance of these conceptual frames to transformative higher education practices and how such practices might contribute to more epistemic justice in higher education.     

Identification and reporting of child maltreatment by Head Start personnel: attitudes and experiences

A two-part questionnaire was administered to 143 Head Start personnel in order to determine how personal characteristics of the Head Start workers and the characteristics of the families they serve, affect the identification and reporting of child maltreatment. Of additional interest was whether some forms of maltreatment, once identified, would be more likely to be reported than other forms of maltreatment. The results support the efficacy of educational programs in child maltreatment for increasing the identification and reporting of maltreatment by workers. They also indicate that there are complex interactions between certain characteristics of the reporter (e.g., educational level) and prior training in maltreatment identification. Finally, neglect, although more frequently identified by the workers, appears to be least likely of all forms of maltreatment to be reported to official sources. Results are discussed in light of their implications for future research and practical application.     

Emerging Principalship Collaborative Style: Towards Research in Mentoring

An earlier exploratory study (Chong, 1991) suggest that a collaborative style of principalship is expected to emerge from the mentoring process. This paper highlights aspects of the environment of school management in Singapore which are beginning to support this emerging style that future principals are learning to adopt. It also identifies some possible areas for further research. Implications for policy and management are discussed. Mentoring episodes in Singapore could provide a unique opportunity for research that explicate a theory of morphogenesis.     

Teachers' Interpretations of Effective Whole-class Interactive Teaching in Secondary Mathematics Classrooms

Prompted by ongoing concerns over standards of numeracy, eight mathematics teachers from four secondary schools in south Wales formed a teacher inquiry group to research the impact of introducing whole-class interactive teaching strategies into their own practice. Possible teaching approaches and activities were developed and agreed during group meetings. These were trialled by the teachers during their normal mathematics lessons. Lesson observations, interviews with teachers and discussions at the group meetings, however, indicated that the implementation of the approaches varied significantly across teachers. This paper analyses the variation in interpretations and teaching styles, and discusses their impact on the quality of the classroom discourse. The determining features discerned within the classroom dialogue included the extent to which pupils were encouraged to reflect on their mathematical knowledge, and the ways in which teachers were able to scaffold pupils' learning.     

Understanding the Relationship Between Latino Students’ Preferred Learning Styles and Their Language Spoken at Home

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between Latino students’ learning styles and their language spoken at home. Results of the study indicated that students who spoke Spanish at home had higher means in the Active Experimentation modality of learning (M = 31.38, SD = 5.70) than students who spoke English (M = 28.08, SD = 5.36) or both languages (M = 30.79, SD = 5.93) at home. Students in all 3 groups—students who spoke Spanish, English, and both languages at home—had similar means and standard deviations in the Reflective Observation modality of learning.     

Stitching Codeable Circuits: High School Students’ Learning About Circuitry and Coding with Electronic Textiles

Learning about circuitry by connecting a battery, light bulb, and wires is a common activity in many science classrooms. In this paper, we expand students’ learning about circuitry with electronic textiles, which use conductive thread instead of wires and sewable LEDs instead of lightbulbs, by integrating programming sensor inputs and light outputs and examining how the two domains interact. We implemented an electronic textiles unit with 23 high school students ages 16–17 years who learned how to craft and code circuits with the LilyPad Arduino, an electronic textile construction kit. Our analyses not only confirm significant increases in students’ understanding of functional circuits but also showcase students’ ability in designing and remixing program code for controlling circuits. In our discussion, we address opportunities and challenges of introducing codeable circuit design for integrating maker activities that include engineering and computing into classrooms.     

An introduction to education research methods: exploring the learning journey of pre-service teachers in a transnational programme

Internationally there is interest in developing the research skills of pre-service teachers as a means of ongoing professional renewal with a distinct need for systematic and longitudinal investigation of student learning. The current study takes a unique perspective by exploring the research learning journey of pre-service teachers participating in a transnational degree programme. Using a case-study design that includes both a self-reported and direct measure of research knowledge, the results indicate a progression in learning, as well as evidence that this research knowledge is continued or maintained when the pre-service teachers return to their home university. The findings of this study have implications for both pre-service teacher research training and transnational programmes.     

Radical Artists & Art Students versus Management & Bureaucracy during the 1970s

This paper is an account of the impact of Conceptual art and art theory upon art students, studio tutors and managers during the 1970s in certain British art schools. The impact on students resulted in a shift away from the making of physical artefacts to the production of writings and magazines. It also problematised ‘the visual’ and encouraged critiques of art and the art education system. Some tutors responsible for art theory courses were dismissed and some students became politicised and attacked those in charge of art schools and polytechnics. Managers disciplined the students and, in some instances, failed and expelled them. William Furlong and Bruce McLean were two London based artists who responded to the ever‐increasing bureaucracy of art colleges by mounting a parodic performance.