A dual analysis study of classroom interactions in Japan and South Africa

Abstract

The demands of raising education at a classroom level to international standards require a nuanced analytical lens involving multiple perspectives to contribute to the best practices. Most classroom research adopts a singular perspective, usually from researchers who are familiar with the nuances of the classroom context under study. In other words, published studies involving classroom observations are often analyzed by insiders who already have the insight to understand the situated dynamics of the classroom interactions they analyze. While this is an important analytical orientation, this stance may overlook important insights about teaching and learning that outsiders’ perspectives may be able to identify. The study employed a qualitative approach. Which was guided by the dialogic interactive theory. The methodological approach in Japan was face-to-face semi-structured interviews while in the South African context, virtual data generation methods were employed to interview teachers on the classroom interactions with students. The study population was English students, while in South Africa it was health course teachers who taught students from various health professions. A total of eight teachers were purposively recruited in South Africa with one student participant in Japan. Findings revealed similarities and differences in dialogic interactions and the interpretation of such interactions. Participants from both contexts had deliberate silence and reluctance to speak which was interpreted differently by the teachers, and lack of reciprocal and purposive engagements by students. Based on the dialogic interactive theory, it can be concluded that the aspirations to achieve an inclusive quality of education can best be achieved when teachers are transparent about the expected interactions for all the tenets of the dialogic theory to be achieved. It is therefore recommended that broader conversations about the analysis of situated dynamics of classroom interaction be encouraged to yield critical insights for education towards the attainment of inclusive quality education.