Field systems analysis: A tactical guide for exploring temporal relationships in classroom settings

Abstract

Many research paradigms are currently competing for acceptance in teacher effectiveness research, all striving to lend greater insight into the ecological and behavioral intricacies of expert instruction. One alternative, titled field systems analysis, is presented from conceptual and technical perspectives. This approach primarily focuses upon the temporal relationships among organismic behaviors and contextual elements in classroom settings, providing for the discovery of contiguous chains of behaviors. Driven by induction and description, the strategy de-emphasizes claims of independent causality. The methodology includes: (a) verbal description, (b) exhaustive category system construction, (c) alternative forms of data presentation, and (d) alternative dimensions of data interpretation. Selected results of an exemplary study with one teacher are provided to demonstrate the nature and benefits of the paradigm. Several chains of instructional behavior were apparent, and insight was gained into the temporal relationships among instructional, interpersonal, and managerial teacher behaviors.