A History of Qualitative Research in Education in China

Author(s):  
Manli Li

Since the early 2000s, qualitative research (QR) emerged as an interpretive approach and has gained increasing interest in education in China, while it is deeply rooted in Chinese intellectual history. Indigenously, the concept of QR methodology sought to explore the richness, depth, and complexity of phenomena, which was a way to gain insights through discovering meanings by improving the comprehension of the whole overall. In the 1920s, pioneering intellectuals promoted Western education or new education in the New Culture Movement (around the time of the May 4 Movement in 1919), led by Hu Shih, Chen Tuhsiu, Li Tachao, and others. They actively advocated democracy and science. The May 4th Campaign dealt a heavy blow to the traditional rituals that ruled China for more than 2,000 years. It has inspired people’s democratic consciousness and promoted the development of modern science in China. Quantitative research, like statistical methods, was introduced in the field of education. With the development of theories and methods of probabilistic statistics for studying randomness, small sample theory, statistical estimation, and statistical tests were widely introduced in the 1940s. In the upcoming decades, for many, quantitative research evoked a strong allegiance in academia, particularly in education, since it was considered to be based on a belief in science, perhaps more so than what many considered qualitative research in China. Actually, the relationship between qualitative and quantitative research in education has been fraught with misunderstanding, confusion, and tension in China. After the 1990s, QR, which has been primarily advocated by Western researchers, has also grown in importance in educational and cultural studies in China as a methodological approach to research that aligns in important ways with quantitative research. Thus, internal tensions within the field of education have also emerged. Yet, though both approaches vary and have distinct genealogies and commitments, QR may be seen as a broad methodological genre in which open-ended interviews, participatory and non-participation observation, literature analysis, case studies, and other methods of social phenomena engage in long-term, in-depth, and meticulous studies. Such critically oriented QR has important implications for educational research.

Author(s):  
Kristal Moore Clemons

Black feminist thought and qualitative research in education is guided by a particular understanding of the learning strategies informed by Black women’s historical experiences with race, gender, and class. Scholars of Black feminist thought remind us of a Black feminist pedagogy that fosters a mindset of intellectual inclusion. Black feminist thought challenges Western intellectual traditions of exclusivity and chauvinism. This article presents a synopsis of the nature and scope of Black feminist thought and qualitative research in education. Further, this article highlights the work of scholars who describe the importance of an Afrocentric methodological approach in the field of education because it offers scholars and practitioners a methodological opportunity to promote equality and multiple perspectives.


2017 ◽  
pp. 93-104
Author(s):  
Sławomir Trusz

Trusz Sławomir, O znaczeniu badań ilościowo-jakościowych w edukacji1. Próba łączenia wody z ogniem… [The Meaning of Mixed Quantitative and Qualitative Research in Education. An Attempt to Combine Fire and Water]. Studia Edukacyjne nr 44, 2017, Poznań 2017, pp. 93-104. Adam Mickiewicz University Press. ISSN 1233-6688. DOI: 10.14746/se.2017.44.6 Social research, including educational studies, could be conducted in accordance with ontological and epistemological assumptions of quantitative vs. qualitative research orientations. When such a distinction is present, the same phenomena are analyzed and presented in a significantly different and often mutually excluding way. Is such an approach justified? It seems it is not. Based on the precedence of a research subject over the method, it could be said that a more comprehensive picture of the phenomena analyzed emerges when researchers make use of methods accepted in both quantitative and qualitative research orientations. The article presents theoretical assumptions and interesting practical solutions of a mixed approach (a mixed methodology) in social research. On the one hand, solutions and methods recommended for the quantitative research can be useful for studies conducted in accordance with the assumptions of qualitative orientation, and on the other hand, solutions and methods recommended for the qualitative research may be useful for the studies conducted in accordance with the assumptions of quantitative orientation. Both approaches have been illustrated by particular examples of research practices.


Author(s):  
Gary Goertz ◽  
James Mahoney

This chapter examines how the qualitative and quantitative research traditions treat within-case analysis versus cross-case analysis for causal inference. In qualitative research, the primary focus is on specific events and processes taking place within each individual case. Leading qualitative methodologies of hypothesis testing, such as process tracing and counterfactual analysis, are fundamentally methods of within-case analysis. By contrast, quantitative research traditionally involves exclusively cross-case comparison. The chapter begins with a comparison of the typical roles (or nonroles) of within-case and cross-case analysis in case studies versus experiments. It then considers how causal inference in quantitative and qualitative research is linked to the use of “data-set observations” and “causal-process observations,” respectively. It also explains the differences between process-tracing tests and statistical tests and concludes by suggesting that cross-case analysis and within-case analysis can and often should be combined.


Human Affairs ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Radomír Masaryk ◽  
Lenka Sokolová

AbstractThe paper explores the possibilities of using applied qualitative research to help to achieve changes in the context of education. It presents three case studies: an evaluation of an educational software package which may be implemented nationally; an assessment of the impact of a 1:1 Technology Rich Learning Environment experimental project conducted in two Slovak elementary schools; and international comparative research on the curricula of psychology courses in secondary schools. The authors ask three questions: 1. does qualitative research have the potential/resources/capacity to guide us in the process of making policy related decisions? 2. Does it have enough credibility in the eyes of the consumers—whether these are decision-makers themselves or a wider community that often plays a role in public decisions? 3. Could this type of work still count as academic inquiry? The discussion evolves around the reflection of the position of researchers in this type of research design, and the authors conclude that applied qualitative research could be the source of solid evidence for making decisions related to education—although this evidence is different to that provided by quantitative research.


2020 ◽  
pp. 016001762093417
Author(s):  
José Miguel Giner-Pérez ◽  
María Jesús Santa-María

The food industry is the most important industrial activity in Spain in terms of production and employment; its spatial concentration is considerable. However, there is a lack of quantitative research on its agglomerations, especially at high levels of spatial and sectorial disaggregation. With the study presented, this deficit is addressed, using systematic and quantitative methods to examine the spatial agglomeration in the subsectors that the food industry is specialized. Spanish food industry clusters have been identified by applying a top-down quantitative methodological approach—the cluster index—and following a high level of territorial and sectorial disaggregation. Clusters were identified at the three- and four-digit sectorial disaggregation. The number of four-digit-level relevant clusters was higher than three-digit disaggregation. This evidence was verified using nonparametric statistical tests (Wilcoxon signed-rank test). Furthermore, the analysis of four significant three-digit subsectors allows us to advance two alternative explanations for the divergent results at the different levels of the analysis (three digits vs. four digits). This partly explains the potential competitiveness of Spain in the food industry and shows the possibility of establishing policies for the development of clusters.


2004 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 641-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alizon K. Draper

The present paper provides an overview of the methodological principles that underpinqualitative research and how these principles differ from those of quantitative research. It is intended to set the scene for the following papers that outline two specific approaches to the analysis of qualitative data. Within the tradition of qualitative research there are many different theoretical perspectives, of which these approaches are only two examples, but they need to be set within this broader tradition in order to highlight their specific features. Qualitative and quantitative research differ from each other in far more than their methods and data. They are each based on very different premises about both the nature of the world and the nature of our knowledge of it and how this information is generated. These approaches have implications for all aspects of research strategy, including the assessment of the quality of research findings and their wider utility or application. In relation to the latter, lack of detail in the reporting of qualitative research and small sample sizes has tended to create the impression that the findings of qualitative research have little application outside the particular research setting. While there is need for more rigor in reporting, it needs to be recognized that qualitative research can offer insights and understandings with wider relevance, althoughthese outcomes are of a different type from those provided by quantitative research.


Author(s):  
Lyn English

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span>In this brief commentary, I first overview the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research in education and also briefly consider mixed methods. I then offer a few suggestions for reporting on particular methodological components and the results of qualitative research. I do not address the reporting on other significant components such as the literature review and theoretical framework, given that these aspects are generic to both qualitative and quantitative research. The points I make are brief and are by no means exhaustive. Nevertheless, it is hoped that they offer some guidance for authors in education who adopt primarily qualitative methods. </span></p></div></div></div>


2019 ◽  
Vol 129 (4) ◽  
pp. 127-131
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Parfin ◽  
Krystian Wdowiak ◽  
Marzena Furtak-Niczyporuk ◽  
Jolanta Herda

AbstractIntroduction. The COVID-19 is the name of an infectious disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2). It was first diagnosed in December 2019 in patients in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. The symptoms are dominated by features of respiratory tract infections, in some patients with a very severe course leading to respiratory failure and, in extreme cases to death. Due to the spread of the infection worldwide, the WHO declared a pandemic in March 2020.Aim. An investigation of the impact of social isolation introduced due to the coronavirus pandemic on selected aspects of life. The researchers focused on observing changes in habits related to physical activity and their connections with people’s subjective well-being and emotional state.Material and methods. The study was carried out within the international project of the group „IRG on COVID and exercise”. The research tool was a standardized questionnaire.Results. Based on the data collected and the analysis of the percentage results, it can be observed that the overwhelming majority of people taking up physical activity reported a better mood during the pandemic. However, statistical tests do not confirm these relationships due to the small sample size.Conclusions. Isolation favours physical activity. Future, in-depth studies, by enlarging the population group, are necessary to confirm the above observations.


Author(s):  
Alessandro Pollini ◽  
Tiziana C. Callari ◽  
Alessandra Tedeschi ◽  
Daniele Ruscio ◽  
Luca Save ◽  
...  

AbstractComputer and Information Security (CIS) is usually approached adopting a technology-centric viewpoint, where the human components of sociotechnical systems are generally considered as their weakest part, with little consideration for the end users’ cognitive characteristics, needs and motivations. This paper presents a holistic/Human Factors (HF) approach, where the individual, organisational and technological factors are investigated in pilot healthcare organisations to show how HF vulnerabilities may impact on cybersecurity risks. An overview of current challenges in relation to cybersecurity is first provided, followed by the presentation of an integrated top–down and bottom–up methodology using qualitative and quantitative research methods to assess the level of maturity of the pilot organisations with respect to their capability to face and tackle cyber threats and attacks. This approach adopts a user-centred perspective, involving both the organisations’ management and employees, The results show that a better cyber-security culture does not always correspond with more rule compliant behaviour. In addition, conflicts among cybersecurity rules and procedures may trigger human vulnerabilities. In conclusion, the integration of traditional technical solutions with guidelines to enhance CIS systems by leveraging HF in cybersecurity may lead to the adoption of non-technical countermeasures (such as user awareness) for a comprehensive and holistic way to manage cyber security in organisations.


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