CLOSENESS OF FIT TO THE IDEAL: CLASSIFICATION AND SIMILARITY OF TEACHERS’ REFLECTIONS USING MULTI-DIMENSIONAL SCALING

Abstract

The objectives of this research are to provide the theoretical basis for the analysis of qualitative data, such as teachers' responses to reflective questions using quantitative methods such as multidimensional scaling. The starting point is Estes' assumption that classification is basic to all intellectual activities, and since reflections are artefacts of intellectual activities, they should be amenable to classificatory methods such as multidimensional scaling. Similarity relates to distance between perceptions and MDS can utilise this feature. By way of example, N=29 teachers - graduates, experienced primary and experienced secondary - were probed for reflections on a science lesson and the results reflections analysed by the application of a scoring rubric and subsequent MDS - they were compared to a hypothetical 'ideal'. This method is discussed and future possibilities for analysing teachers' perceptions and reflections. The results of this method provide a valuable means to adapt a standard classification tool to involve a comparative element thus moving beyond mere representation of data. Key words: multidimensional scaling, teachers' reflections, measuring to the ideal.