scholarly journals Drawing out classroom social climate: The use of participant-produced drawings in research on psychosocial classroom learning environment in the context of school mathematics

Author(s):  
Ana Kuzle ◽  
Dubravka Glasnović Gracin

Over the last twenty years, visual methods in childhood research have become more mainstream across social science research. Through this paradigm shift, children became active agents in the research process. Participant-produced drawings in particular allow a constructive process of thinking in action, rather than seeing drawings as simple representations of the participants’ worldviews. In this paper, we use participant-produced drawings as a window into students’ perceptions of the mathematics classroom learning milieu from a social perspective. The goals of this report are threefold: (1) to conceptualize the complex and multifaceted construct of classroom social climate from the standpoint of primary grade students by using a qualitative research approach (i.e., participant-produced drawings), (2) to evaluate the extent to which participant-produced drawings can be used when researching the construct of classroom social climate, and (3) to provide two analytical tools that can be used in qualitative inquiry on classroom social climate in different mathematics lessons. To conclude, versatile recommendations for theory and practice are discussed regarding the employed methodology (i.e., participant-produced drawings as a visual research method) as well as some possible future directions.

2020 ◽  
pp. 089484532094125
Author(s):  
Uma Chandrika Millner ◽  
Erna Sally Rogers ◽  
Philippe Bloch ◽  
William Costa ◽  
Sharon Pritchett ◽  
...  

Individuals diagnosed with serious mental illnesses continue to experience work-related disparities despite the existence of evidence-based practices. Understanding the meaning of work among these individuals is key to developing interventions grounded in career development theory and practice. This qualitative inquiry adapted a consensual qualitative research approach and utilized a participatory component to conduct an in-depth exploration of the meaning of work among a national sample of young adults and older adults living with serious mental illness. The psychology of working perspective was applied to the results after analyses. Results revealed categories that clustered within four overarching domains pertaining to work as central to survival, social connectedness, self-determination, and mental health recovery as proposed by the theory. Implications for services, research, and policy are discussed.


2002 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 175-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Whalley Hammell

Occupational therapists are increasingly embracing qualitative research methods yet little published advice exists in the occupational therapy literature to enable readers to gauge the quality and relevance of researchers' work. If qualitative research is to provide convincing evidence with which to inform theory and practice, it must be capable of withstanding critical scrutiny and practitioners must be given sufficient information with which to evaluate the strength and plausibility of the evidence reported. The process of undertaking qualitative research and of writing and critiquing subsequent reports is not about assessing adherence to rigid rules but of ensuring the appropriateness and thoroughness of data collection, analysis and reporting, given the nature and context of the issue. The espousal of a client-centred ethic also demands consideration of research relevance and usefulness to clients and the degree of consumer involvement throughout the research process. This paper examines an evaluative framework that may be used to assess the quality of qualitative evidence as this is both researched and reported. Recourse to a set of general strategies — used where appropriate – will serve to enhance the quality of qualitative research and assert its potential to inform the client-centred, evidence-based practice of occupational therapy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid Maria Carlgren

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the theoretical reflection on learning study as a research approach. The focus is on description and reflection on the methodology of learning study as paedeutic research. This research is for, not on, teachers, i.e. research into problems and challenges faced by teachers in their professional practice. Learning study as paedeutic research is about the content and processes of formation/Bildung in relation to specific learning objects. Its focus is on subject-specific ways of knowing as well as how such knowing is enabled through teaching. Design/methodology/approach The point of departure is a perspective on research approaches as practices, i.e. as activities with certain aims as well as ways of “making” knowledge. Based on a description of the knowledge machinery in a learning study, i.e. those mechanisms that together generate new knowledge, the knowledge claims that can be made are discussed together with the theoretical underpinning of the arguments. The knowledge machinery is described in relation to how it is organised around the delimitation and analysis of an object of Learning as well as designing and evaluating ways to make the critical aspects of this object of learning visible. As an epistemological underpinning, some aspects of pragmatic philosophical thinking regarding the relationship between theory and practice are outlined. Based on that the research process may be described as a development of means-ends relationships – from unconscious empirical relationships to conscious staging of internal and theoretical relations. Abduction is an important tool for this meaning-making. Findings Learning study can be described as a particularistic, theory-building research approach concerning the knowing of specific learning objects as well as how they can be taught and learnt. The knowledge that is generated in learning study is theoretical and describes aspects of the teaching and learning of specific objects of learning. The research process can be described in terms of specification where practice is gradually supplied with a more differentiated meaning. A learning study is organised around a specific object of learning that functions as an open and unfolding object of knowledge. It combines a practice-based development of theory with a theory-based development of practice. Originality/value The development of the thinking about learning study as research for, rather than on, teachers is paedeutical research. A contribution to reflection on the knowledge machinery and knowledge claims of such research.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 83-90
Author(s):  
Youba Raj Luintel

The research method in humanities and social sciences shares a certain theoretical frame and research design with the interpretive approach. The “interpretive approach” of ethnographic research brings humanities and social sciences together in the realms of naturalistic inquiry as well as knowledge production. This article discusses how ethnographers would tend to address these epistemological fronts in scholarship and research design in humanities and social sciences. It also raises some of the pragmatics and methodological utilities of the ethnographic approach, followed by a short description of ethical and practical issues involved in the research process. Both the humanities and social science research adopt the interpretive approach to explore the subject of investigation in the specific theoretical frame and from multiple perspectives. The article concludes that the strengths that it offers, particularly concerning unravelling complexities of people’s daily lives in their “meaning perspectives,” are unique and appealing even though ethnography never remains immune to some of the limitations of qualitative research.


KWALON ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-41
Author(s):  
Gabry Vanderveen

Abstract Visuals in qualitative social science research The visual is omnipresent in daily life. Though research is still mainly verbal by nature, visual studies and visual methods have become part of academic social research. This contribution intends to introduce visual methods to students and researchers who are not familiar with the possibilities. First, the reasons why researchers work with visuals are described. Next, following , ) we distinguish between visuals as data, as part of the data collection method and as output of research. Just like in any other research, autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence and justice are the guiding principles when making choices during the research process.


2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emidia Vagnoni ◽  
Chiara Oppi

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on an action research project carried out in an Italian university hospital that was facing a strategic challenge. The role of intellectual capital (IC) for university hospital strategic management is discussed after developing and applying an IC framework to enhance the visualisation of strategic IC elements. Design/methodology/approach – An action research process has been applied in the studied setting based on Susman and Evered’s (1978) definition of the engaged research cycle. Findings – The action research process allowed a gap between theory and practice to be bridged; the strategic control process resulted supported by new measures; a different approach to strategy management was launched, and other organisations perceived the relevance of the IC representation and wished to import it. Research limitations/implications – Research limitations are related to those recognised for the interventionist research approach. Practical implications – The paper contributes to the improvement of managerial and accounting technologies for practitioners managing university hospitals and discusses a university hospital’s strategic goals. Originality/value – The paper represents a methodological contribution related to the interventionist research stream of literature, and enriches the limited studies focused on IC in health care organisations. Furthermore, the paper enables appreciation of the role of academics in the convergence of theory and practice.


The concept of context is a cornerstone of a large part of social science research, particularly in organization and management studies, yet it has received little theoretical and methodological attention in lieu of its relevance. This book offers a definition of context as a theoretical construct, a discussion of the methodological implications of this, and a framework for how to reflect upon and operationalize the role of context in the different stages of a research process, from formulating research questions to analyzing and writing about results. The chapters presented here integrate lessons derived from various research experiences across the complex and dynamic field of health care. Contributors share their experiences with theorizing about and empirically studying significant organizational phenomena such as implementation of policy, organizational change, integration of care, patient involvement, human-technology interactions in practice, and the interplay between work environment and care outcomes in eldercare. These contributions exemplify how a nuanced approach to context might unfold in different fields, through different designs, methods, and analytical lenses. Relevant to researchers and practitioners, within both healthcare, organization and management studies, and the social sciences more broadly, this book leaves the reader with a practical framework from which to carry out contextual research and analysis and a gain deeper understanding of the significance of context in organizational life.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 160940692110258
Author(s):  
Constance Iloh

Memes are a prominent feature of global life in the 21st century. The author asserts that memes are significant to current and future qualitative research. In particular, the text establishes memes as: (a) part of everyday communication, expression, and explanation, thus useful in qualitative research; (b) valuable cultural units and symbols; (c) forms of rapport building and cultivating relational research; (d) approaches that bolster and sustain remote data collection; (e) methods that infuse agency, humor, and creativity into the research process. The author then showcases distinctive ways memes can be effectively incorporated in qualitative research pursuits and publications. The article concludes with the necessity of data collection and representation approaches that advance the meaningfulness and cultural-relevance of qualitative inquiry.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 160940691983247
Author(s):  
Amber Green ◽  
Myriam Denov

Globally, the numbers of children living in conflict zones and displaced by war have risen dramatically over the past two decades, and with this, scholarly attention to the impacts of war on children. More recently, researchers have examined how war-affected children are being studied, revealing important shortcomings. These limitations relate to the lack of child participation in research, the need for researchers to engage children in the research process as “active agents” rather than “passive objects” under study, as well as the need for researchers to pay closer attention to ethical dilemmas associated with researching war-affected children. To address these realities, innovative research methods that can be adapted across diverse sociocultural contexts are warranted. In light of these shortcomings, our research team integrated two arts-based methods: mask-making and drawing, alongside traditional qualitative data collection methods with a particularly marginalized population of young people: children born in captivity within the Lord’s Resistance Army in northern Uganda. In this article, we provide information on the context of northern Uganda. We describe how the use of mask-making and drawing was used as data gathering tools and the ways in which these arts-based methods had important benefits for the research participants, researchers, and impacted on the validity of the research as a whole. We propose that the use of these participatory visual methods enriched the themes elicited through more traditional methods. The article describes how these arts-based mediums fostered community building among children typically excluded from their communities and were successful as a tool to build trust between participants and the research team when exploring sensitive topics. The article concludes with implications for future research with war-affected children.


KWALON ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-51
Author(s):  
Jing Hiah

Abstract Navigating the research and researchers’ field: Reflections on positionality in (assumed) insider research To challenge rigid ideas about objectivity in social science research, qualitative researchers question their own subjectivity in the research process. In such endeavors, the focus is mainly on the positionality of the researcher vis-à-vis their respondents in the research field. In this contribution, I argue that the positionality of the researcher in academia, what I refer to as the researchers’ field, is equally important as it influences the way research findings are received and evaluated. Through reflections on positionality in my insider research concerning labour relations and exploitation in Chinese migrant businesses in the Netherlands and Romania, I explore how my positionality as an insider negatively influenced my credibility and approachability in the researchers’ field. I conclude that it is necessary to pay more attention to researchers’ positionality in academia as it may shed light on and make it possible to discuss the written and unwritten standards of researchers’ credibility and approachability as an academic in the researchers’ field. Accordingly, this could provide insights into the causes of inequalities in academia and contribute to the current challenge for more diversity in academia.


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