Un impianto originale per un progetto di grounded theory : una riflessione critica

Abstract

This paper presents a study that assessed the experiences of beginning teachers who were involved in an induction program within a school board in Ontario, Canada. More specifically, it illustrates a grounded theory methodology whereby observations grounded in the data conceptualized the direction of the analyses. Of special significance was the evolution of a unique blueprint of a grounded theory design that was itself a process towards a theory. To engage in grounded theory methodology demands from the researcher first a thorough understanding of the tenets that distinguish it and second a commitment to actively partake in what can be a painstakingly detailed yet illuminating conceptual interchange with data and theory. Further the paper critically reflects upon the rigorous and systematic process of data collection and examination techniques to describe how the researcher enabled the emergence of theory from the discussions with the data. A description of the demands of coding and constant comparison techniques as well as theoretical sampling and saturation are presented as they contributed to the identification of the basic social and psychological processes. It is also a reflection of a most compelling research experience that elucidated, for the researcher, the distinct strength of a methodology that conceptualized patterns based on listening to beginning teachers talk about matters that were relevant to them as neophyte professionals. Participants' descriptions about the challenges and rewards of the first year of teaching assumed a conceptual force of their own that in so doing revealed various insightful theoretical propositions. The tradition of grounded theory research demands a commitment from the researcher to sincerely engage in the various stages of data collection to produce emerging codes, categories, and properties that to a great extent determine the analysis. Novel to the research design being presented are the strategic sequences of literature reviews that were conducted prior to the theoretical saturation of categories (and therefore employed as a source of data) and subsequent to the identification of the basic social processes. The second review of the literature accounted for the properties of the grounded theory that emerged from the study and represented another layer of analyses. The research process was determined by the procedures set out in this unique synthesis approach to grounded theory. This process represents to some degree a personal journey into grounded theory methodology, a journey that progressed through the codes and categories to eventually evolve, via the developmental phases of grounded theory, into the means by which theory emerged from participants' experiences during their induction into teaching. It also represents a critical reflection of how the integration of this methodology metamorphosed into a most unique blueprint that assumed a conceptual life of its own. For both the novice and experienced researcher, grounded theory is a distinct methodology that is synchronously rigorous, flexible, rigid, and rewarding.