Teachers' experiences with the use of Differentiated Instruction in a Jamaican Inner-City Primary School

This generic qualitative study presents the experiences of four teachers using differentiated instruction in an inner-city Jamaican primary school. The purpose was to ascertain the teachers’ understanding, perception, and the challenges they experienced with the use of differentiated instruction. The data from the four teachers revealed that they had mostly positive perceptions, possessed adequate knowledge and skills in the use of differentiated instruction, and considered it an effective strategy for pedagogy in the 21st century.

Differences Between Expert and Novice Tennis Coaches’ Perceptual Capacities

The purpose of this study was to examine analytic perceptions of expert and novice tennis coaches. Four expert and four novice tennis coaches volunteered as study participants. Both a video analysis and a recall test provided data for this investigation. In the video analysis protocol, participants were asked to describe what they observed while viewing a 10-minute video of a tennis practice session. In the recall test, a series of 10 tennis related slides were viewed by each of the coaches. After viewing each slide for five seconds, the coaches were asked what they recalled from the slide. The completed written accounts from the video analysis and the recall test audiotapes were transcribed and served as the primary data. The researchers looked for recurring themes and categories using the generic qualitative study technique. Data analysis revealed six themes: (a) the quantity of cues perceived, (b) attention to critical features, (c) analytic depth, (d) recognizing meaningful patterns, (e) anticipating the future, and (f) from description to prescription. These findings, while new to the coaching literature, supported previous research in other fields regarding the importance and domain specificity of experts’ superior perceptual capacities.

Teaching schools as teacher education laboratories

This study emanated from the <em>Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa</em>. This Framework proposes that teaching schools should be established in the country to improve the teaching practicum component of pre-service teacher education. A generic qualitative study was undertaken to explore the affordances of a teaching school to enable student teacher learning for the teaching profession. The overarching finding of the study is that a teaching school holds numerous affordances for enabling meaningful student teacher learning for the teaching profession. However, the full affordances of a teaching school will not be realised if a teaching school is viewed merely as a practicum site. Foregrounding a laboratory view of practice work in a teaching school could enable true research-oriented teacher education. A teaching school as a teacher education laboratory would imply a deliberate inclusion of cognitive apprenticeship and an inquiry orientation to learning in the schoo

Problematising child-headed households:The need for children’s participation in early childhood interventions

<p>There is insufficient literature and research that has problematised the use of the phenomenon of child-headed households (CHHs), that is, to find out if it is an acceptable term to use, if it is really a problem, and whether it needs solutions. Hence, the purpose of this study was to problematise the use of the term CHH, taking the theories of Freire and Foucault into consideration. This generic qualitative study consisted of a sample of 16 experts who worked with children from CHH. Data were collected through a questionnaire and individual telephonic interviews with the experts identified. The findings indicate that, for several reasons, the current use of the term CHH is acceptable and is a problem that has to be taken seriously by the relevant stakeholders. In light of the findings, the author emphasises the importance of recognising the capacity of children from CHH to actively participate in early childhood interventions geared to improve their social environments.</p><p><strong>Keywords: </strong>child; child-headed; early childhood interventions; households; problematize; rights; social justice; vulnerable children</p>

Ethical considerations in educational research involving children: Implications for educational researchers in South Africa

Adopting a social justice theoretical framework, the author proposes that the involvement of children in educational research is paramount. However, such involvement often exposes children to exploitation and a violation of their rights. As such, it is essential that all research involving children should be ethically sound. Hence, the purpose of this study was to explore ethical considerations in educational research involving children, especially in South Africa, which was historically known for the marginalization of and discrimination against children. This generic qualitative study included a sample of eight experts with extensive knowledge of the ethical concerns surrounding children’s participation in research activities. Data was collected through individual interviews, a questionnaire, and the analysis of documents and instruments pertaining to the ethical-legal protection of children’s involvement in research activities in South Africa. The findings identify several ethical principles that should be considered within a South African perspective and which have specific implications for educational researchers.

Graduating Black Males: A Generic Qualitative Study

Black males face a difficult educational battle. Across America, graduation statistics for Black males are sobering. The purpose of this study was to explore why Black males drop out of school and to examine the current employment status of the study participants. The research took place in rural North Carolina. Fifteen Black American male high school dropouts took part in a snowball sample. This study was qualitative and used open and axial coding. Findings from this study may provide guidance and directions for school and community leaders to help Black males stay in school through graduating.

Pursuing Both Breadth and Depth in Qualitative Research: Illustrated by a Study of the Experience of Intimate Caring for a Loved One with Alzheimer's Disease

In this article, the authors explore the methodological and epistemological tensions between breadth and depth with reference to a study into the experience of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease. They consider the benefits and limitations of each of two phases of the study: a generic qualitative study of narrative breadth and a descriptive phenomenological study of lifeworld depth into selected phenomena. The article concludes with a reflection on the kinds of distinctive knowledge generated by each of these two phases and the benefits of their complementary relationship with one another.