Qualitative data analysis in cross‐cultural projects

Large‐scale research projects, conducted in a cross‐European context, are increasingly attractive to educational researchers and policy‐makers. However, this form of comparative research across cultures brings problems concerning the standardization of data collection and analysis, particularly where ethnographic research is concerned, as it prioritizes a full range of qualitative research strategies. This paper outlines the use of a universal model and the approaches recently taken by two research teams and contrasts these with another recent nine‐partner comparative European study that used ethnographic methods. We then describe the analytical procedures used in the project, which encouraged participant observation and individual researcher interpretation in order to generate grounded accounts and outline how they were culturally sensitive and meaningful to research teams who used varied analytical approaches. However, this raised difficult issues for the ‘final’ analysis and the production of a loosely coupled research report. Our pragmatic solution was a process of ‘qualitative synthesis’ whereby individual partner reports were collated by the Project Director and treated as data and a grounded theory approach was applied to generate tentative theory in respect of creative learning. The paper concludes by arguing that data generated by a loosely coupled approach to qualitative comparative research which uses a wide range of data collection methods can be effectively analysed with a qualitative synthesis.     

Coping Collectively: The formation of a teacher self-help group

Some social movements theorists argue that contemporary social movements such as pressure groups and support groups are increasingly fulfilling the protest function of political parties and trades unions in post-industrial societies. Furthermore, these social, cultural, emotional and economic developments are occurring on a global scale. This article is an ethnographic account of teachers in an English local education authority who formed a self-help group for what they perceived to be 'bullied' (i.e. abused in the workplace) local authority and private sector employees. This was a mode of collective rather than individual coping. The identity work involved in self-renewal for these workers was a collective, social and political process, involving networking with other similar individuals and groups nationally. I argue that, given the decline in trades union powers, the teachers can be considered to be reinventing collectivity and collective protest. And the self-help group studied is not fundamentally different in character to labour movements of the past.     

Managing course design

Any complex activity, such as course design, which involves group work must be managed. In universities, where academics are not always familiar with managing, it is often unsystematic. A modest attention to management can help a project, and may pay dividends in the avoidance of waste, conflict, overruns of time or budget or other potential disasters. The author presents a comprehensive framework for the various aspects of managing that may be needed and offers an extended checklist.     

Interactive Multimedia in Introductory Accounting: A preliminary analysis

This paper describes the development of an interactive multimedia package designed for incorporation into the teaching program for degree‐level first year accounting. The initial module forms part of a pilot study at James Cook University where interactive multimedia will form an integral part of the teaching program in accounting. This module includes four sessions, equivalent to one quarter of the semester's requirement. These sessions were trialed by students, colleagues and practitioners to assess the package's effectiveness in communicating introductory accounting concepts and enhancing the learning process. Some results of these trials are presented.     

Inclusive education: a critical perspective

The Gulliford Lecture 2002 was given by Professor Geoff Lindsay, Director of the Centre for Educational Development, Appraisal and Research (CEDAR) at the University of Warwick. Professor Lindsay's lecture, on which this paper is based, addressed a number of key topics, including the development of inclusion and inclusive practices; models of special educational needs and disability; and the values that underpin our thinking about these matters. Basing his argument on the research evidence, Professor Lindsay provides a searching critique of prevailing notions about inclusion and of current approaches to research. His conclusions will be of interest to everyone concerned with the education of children and young people with special educational needs.     

Developing different forms of student feedback to promote teacher reflection: A 10-year collaboration

This paper describes a 10-year collaboration between a teacher educator and a high-school science teacher as they investigated different ways to gather student feedback to enhance teacher reflection. Four different procedures were developed during this time: (i) interviews by a teacher educator with students; (ii) learning logs written by students; (iii) observation schedules completed by students; and (iv) a survey completed by students and teachers. Of the four procedures, the most meaningful for teacher reflection was the student interviews because they were the most personal. However, other procedures for gathering student feedback may be more useful to initiate teacher reflection because they are less confronting.