Doing qualitative comparative research on teaching: Challenges and benefits of working with grounded theory

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 422-433
Author(s):  
Claudia Rupp
Keyword(s):  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Research On Teaching ◽  
International Comparative Research ◽  
International Comparative ◽  
Methodological Aspects ◽  
Teaching Challenges

The last decades have seen the completion of an increasing number of qualitative comparative research projects on teaching. Challenges and benefits which might arise from a qualitative international comparative research design have been considered. However, very little has been published on challenges and benefits which may arise from using grounded theory in international comparative research projects. This article explores some of these challenges and benefits, focusing on two methodological aspects: the emergent process of developing a grounded theory and analysing data in a foreign language. In order to illustrate the argument, an international comparative PhD project is used. The project is centred on how teachers see themselves with regards to accountability reforms in England and Germany.

scholarly journals Legislative science advice in Europe: the case for international comparative research

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Kenny ◽  
Carla-Leanne Washbourne ◽  
Chris Tyler ◽  
Jason J. Blackstock
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Research ◽  
International Comparative Research ◽  
Science Advice ◽  
International Comparative

Problemen Bij Woordselectie

1977 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 47-57
Author(s):  
A.G. Sciarone
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Foreign Language Teaching ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Alphabetical List

Problems with vocabulary selection. Comparative research into the criteria which are used in selecting a vocabulary for foreign language teaching has showed that the criterion of frequency yields the best selection. The criticisms of Frequency-lists (such as: F-lists yield too few words; F-lists don't contain nouns; F-lists contain words which don't seem to be very useful) appear to be based upon an incomplete understanding of the structure of a F-list, which is, in fact, considered as an unclassified alphabetical list. This holds also for the pilot research projects on vocabulary selection initiated by the CMLVT. In order to determine the most "useful" words, the F-list has to fulfill certain conditions: 1) The corpus on which the F-list is based, must be representative of the kind of language one wants to teach. Most lists in use in teaching, among which the 'Français Fondamental, do not fulfill this condition. 2) The frequencies must be sufficiently reliable. The lower the frequency, the more accidental the composition of the list will be, and consequently, the more accidental the order of words with that frequency. Most lists, including the Français Fondamental do not fulfill this condition. 3) The F-list must contain enough words. This condition is all but neglected in the literature. The selection made from a F-list for teaching purposes is rather arbitrary. The FF selects a little more than 800 words from a F-list of about 8000, whereas Juilland selects 5000 words from a list of approximately 15.000. If the list contains too few words which fulfill the conditions 1 and 2, the result will be a lack of useful words. The criticisms of the criterion of frequency are unjustified. The criti-cism should concern the irresponsible dealing with the criterion of frequency, which yields unsatisfactory results.

Mapping the field of international comparative research in school social work

2020 ◽  
pp. 002087281989774
Author(s):  
Kathrin Franziska Beck ◽  
Juha Hämäläinen
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
School Social Work ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
School Social Workers ◽  
Culturally Appropriate ◽  
International Comparative Research ◽  
International Comparative ◽  
National Boundaries

This article maps the field of international comparative research in school social work. For this purpose, a systematic literature review was conducted and subjected to a narrative synthesis. The review reveals 11 publications that are predominantly non-empirical, take mainly Asian, European, North American countries and Australia and New Zealand into account, and are focused on profession-related and sociopolitical aspects of school social work. A synthesis of school social work practice themes transcending national boundaries emerged from the findings, covering child-, family-, school-, and community-related issues. Accordingly, children are predominantly confronted with similar issues, irrespective of the place where they live, such as violence toward themselves, at home, in school, and in their community. Bearing in mind methodological challenges when carrying out comparative studies, recommendations include the conduct of practice-focused studies that generate new stimuli to improve already well-developed practices in a culturally appropriate way and enable mutual learning among school social workers.

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