Case Study Methodology

This chapter provides an overview of case study methodology and its applications in writing case studies. The reader is introduced to the specific procedures that are implemented when developing a case study for educational purposes. The methodology discussed here is comprised of three parts: secondary data analysis (external and internal sources), qualitative data collection and analysis (e.g., in-depth interviews and observation technique), and quantitative data collection and analysis (e.g., surveys and questionnaires). After describing each method, the authors provide specific examples from published business cases to cement reader's understanding of how to successfully develop that method.

Challenges of a Case Study

This chapter envisions the key challenges of a case study research being faced by researchers and case study itself in terms of the criticism. The case study is an interlinked, multi-perspective and a dynamic analysis-based method, applicable to both qualitative and qualitative research. Considering the significance of applying case study in research methods, there are various advantages with some disadvantages too. These disadvantages are contributing to creating the challenges to case studies. Having a deep strength and weakness analysis of the case study, the factors contributing to challenging the case studies can be easily identified. The major challenges to case studies are based on generalization, validity, reliability, theory role, authority, and authenticity, dependency, and longevity of the case. This chapter provides a detailed overview of the challenges being faced by researchers throughout the application of case study research and has presented a section comprising a solution to these challenges in practical terms.

The Good Teacher in the Good School

The two authors of this chapter work at the Department of Ancient and Modern Civilization of the University of Messina and both have been appointed by their Department to teach two modules (Fundamentals of Cultural Anthropology and Philosophical Anthropology) of 6 CFUs (European credit transfer system credits) each for the FIT program. Both gave their lectures in the second semester of 2018 to approximately 850 future teachers. Their modules are part of phase one of the three we have mentioned above, that is, preparation for the degree that allows access to teaching. This involves the collection of 24 CFUs which are to be collected in the anthropological and psycho-pedagogic disciplines. Based on fieldwork and participant observation, which lasted three months and until December 2018, this chapter suggests a view to understanding the new Italian educational system through what we have first seen from within our own classrooms, and later through what we will see following the teachers in their own classrooms in September (classrooms and teachers which we have already identified).

Practicing What We Preach

Creating inclusive classrooms is a challenge in general education. To prepare new teachers for diverse K-12 classrooms, faculty at one Midwestern university redesigned their education program to prepare preservice teachers for dual licensure in general and special education. The redesign required middle childhood faculty to learn more about complex conceptual frameworks that are prioritized in school districts across the country. One of these, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), became a non-negotiable component of the new program. An essential learning outcome became preparing pre-service teachers to utilize UDL. After the program was approved, content-area faculty questioned whether they were prepared to implement the framework. Having varied expertise in UDL, faculty wondered if they were teaching UDL effectively, and questioned whether they were modeling UDL concepts with fidelity in their own teaching. Thus, the Dual Licensure Implementation Team (DLIT) was born. This case study describes the process and product of the team's effort to implement UDL with fidelity.

Developing a Case Writing Club to Create Local Cases in a Private University in Puebla, Mexico

In a business school in Puebla, Mexico, numerous methodologies were introduced to create a more active learning environment as part of the new educational model. One of such methodologies was the use of case studies. Initially, cases were bought from different case centers, and/or adapted from books, which was costly and did not necessarily help students from rural communities and small villages understand the reality that businesses in the region were facing. An initiative was established to develop a writing group integrated by faculty members. Integration was fast and smooth, and the initiative turned into a writing club that produced case studies based on local businesses and businessmen, and specialized in rural and marginalized communities that have developed different entrepreneurial projects. The process in which the group was organized and the methods used to promote collaborative writing are described including the tricks of the trade of the group, which in only two years has created a repository of over 50 cases. The cases will be published as a book in 2019.

Student-Authored Case Studies

This chapter discusses the use of pre-prepared as well as student-authored case studies within the context of a blended learning educational leadership course at an English-speaking university within Kazakhstan. The course was developed to focus on graduate student applications of educational leadership principles and skills, specifically for teacher leadership. The class required students to collect survey data and other information from their home schools prior to face-to-face sessions. The students were introduced to case studies via prepared case studies that focused on educational leadership issues in western schools. After student groups worked though the assigned case studies, they were tasked with developing their own case studies based on the Kazakhstani context. These student-authored case studies were then piloted with their peers. This chapter describes in detail the classroom pedagogy utilized as well as assesses the value of the approach using classroom artifacts such as student reflections.

“Asking the Woman Question” in Case Study Research

Case study research provides the researcher with the opportunity to decide the most convincing epistemological orientation. Such versatility is nonetheless embedded in the assumption of objectivity contends G. Griffin in Difference in View: Women and Modernism, which speaks of an “abstract masculinity” intended here as the assumption of universal humanity where men's and women's experiences are melted into one experience. Case study research, this contribution contends, even when about women, hinders the experience of women, an experience that is always situated, relational, and engaged. In other words, ontologically, it is argued here, the reality of women's lives is absent from the domain of case study research because the language adopted when framing case study research is still very much a language that talks about women, but it does not allow women to speak.

The Types of Case Studies in Research and Career-Based Endeavors

This chapter focuses on the overarching components of the case study methodology in the context of research and career-based teaching and organizational learning settings. More specifically, this chapter, presented in several distinct sections, provides a description of the various types of case studies that can be selected for research purposes as well as for use as a teaching tool for career professionals, higher education faculty, and others interested in employing this type methodology. This chapter is intended to serve as a foundation to the subsequent text in this book pertaining to the detailed descriptions and elements of the case study serving as either a research design or a function of the teaching and learning process in academic and career-based settings. Providing a rich initial presentation of the types and qualities of the case study research design, this chapter will launch additional structure for the later chapters to offer a deeper understanding for the reader.

Using Case Studies in the Higher Education Classroom

There is a proven paucity of literature regarding the implementation of case studies in the higher education classroom. This theoretical review will synthesize the research that has emerged and explore the student learning outcomes for inclusion in higher education pedagogy. In this investigation, the usage of case studies with a specific purpose and guided analysis has been found to be beneficial for the explanation of content. When provided the scaffolding for moving from theory to practice, students are prompted to familiarize themselves with the case study and examine the nuances and implications. Based upon this study of the relevant literature, the benefits and advantages of using the strategy of the case study approach outweigh the disadvantages.

The Utility of Interdisciplinary Case Study

This chapter deals with various definitions and implementations of a case study from the literature and focuses on the utility of case study for interdisciplinary research and education. Along with beneficial aspects of case study theory, misconceptions and conflicting definitions abound and will be highlighted in order to present a clearer picture of the perceptions of case study researchers and educators and how this affects implementation. Four case studies dealing with the integration of mathematics and music are closely examined. The definitions, methodology and implementation for each are discussed and compared, to shed light on the issues outlined above. The results of the studies shed light on the implications for interdisciplinary work in the two subjects.