Narrative Case Study Research Articles

From “Robot” to “Rejuvenating Warrior”: An EFL Learner’s Conceptual Metaphors During School Transition

Drawing on conceptual metaphor theory, I investigated the school transition experience of an English as a foreign language (EFL) learner. In this narrative case study, the participant’s emotion labor was followed throughout his first semester at a high school in Turkey. Exploring narrative journals, conceptual metaphors, and interviews, I examined his dynamic emotional states. The findings revealed that school transition may entail inhibiting emotion labor for high school freshman EFL learners. Moreover, it was also shown that these emotions may force adolescent learners to reconceptualize foreign language learning with a negative perspective and develop surviving learner’s strategies that may support them in terms of getting satisfactory grades in a summative assessment culture but may jeopardize language learning in the long run.

Foster Youth Perspectives: How Foster Youth Navigate and Mobilize Their Rights within the Foster Care System

This paper explores the grounded realities of how foster youth attempt to improve their own lives by navigating the foster care system. From 2014 to 2016 in southern California, I conducted life history interviews with eight foster youth; interviewed two legal representatives; administered questionnaires to two social workers; and conducted participant observation. Referencing the California Foster Care Bill of Rights and deploying the legal mobilization model, interviews with foster youth focused on their perceptions about rights and how they seek redress for violations to their rights. Their experiences expose the system’s preoccupation with bureaucratic procedures, rather than teaching or acknowledging specific or written rights. Interlocutors aggregately experienced forty rights violations, variously responding with the following modes of action: Doing nothing; Non-Legal action; and Formal-Legal action. In all instances, their knowledge (or lack thereof) about their rights and the foster care system critically informed their actions and revealed their awareness of the power dynamics within the system. This case study centers foster youth perspectives and narratives which are important for identifying effective alternatives that ensure foster youth rights, mobilization for when rights are violated, and ultimately center their voices and power.

Synoptic Review of Theory and Practice of Diversity Management

Diversity is a topic which has gained much momentum and currency in modern academic discourse partially because of globalisation and also partially because of the increased use of information technology in global transactions. The complex operations of multinational corporations across the globe require prudent and efficient management of employees from different backgrounds. Management of diversity means many things to many people. In this article, the authors delineate the importance, pros and cons of diversity management for firms, and also they deploy the analysis of some case study videos to bring to the fore the growing importance of the phenomenon of diversity. The authors used secondary data and qualitative analysis in their discourse. The authors reviewed literature from diverse sources to give a theoretical foundation to the article and at the same time they approached the topic in a multi-faceted manner to whet the appetite of both theoreticians and practitioners. The philosophical underpinning of their approach was based on Grounded Theory as it could be seen in the video case study narratives and in their own interpretative narrative of the subject.

Use of Prolonged Exposure Therapy in Discharge Planning.

Social workers are more than just discharge planners within a hospital setting. In fact, licensed social workers are credentialed to provide therapeutic interventions such as counseling to enhance the discharge planning process. This case study narrative examines prolonged exposure therapy (PE) as an intervention for the discharge of a female veteran psychiatrically hospitalized for one year. The methodology was selected in response to the dearth of research regarding the psychotherapeutic use of PE during the discharge planning process. The veteran in this study experienced both guilt and shame related to her psychiatric hospitalization and was avoidant of her discharge. There is a scarcity of research that examines the impact of distorted beliefs associated with a prolonged hospital stay and the psychotherapeutic approaches within discharge planning in either the medical or psychiatric hospital settings. This article attempts to fill in the gaps in research by specifically reviewing the use of PE to reduce distorted thoughts of guilt and shame because of the fear of returning home posthospitalization.

In the Shadow of the Mountain: A Socio-Historical Case Study on Rapid Population Growth in Two Neighboring Population Centers in the Western United States

US Census population estimates show that every state in the Western US reported significant population growth increases over the past two decades. Furthermore, Western population growth represents one of the largest and most significant US demographic trends in recent decades. For many Western US communities, this increase in population growth has resulted in significant changes to its residents’ day-to-day lived experience. Dramatic population growth can change the types of services available, economic opportunities, and perceived satisfaction of communities. This change in the lived experience of a community is perhaps most pronounced when small rural communities undergo a rapid increase in population size. To that end, we present a socio-historical narrative case study examining how population growth-historical and contemporary-has shaped residents’ lived experience in two neighboring population centers in the modern rural West: Utah’s Heber Valley and Park City, Utah.

Lost voices part 1: A narrative case study of two young men with learning disabilities disclosing experiences of sexual, emotional and physical abuse

Accessible Summary Two young men who have learning disabilities were students at a college. While they were there, they were sexually abused by people who were meant to care for them. When they tried to tell people, some people would not listen. Some people listened but could not understand them. They became mentally ill because of the abuse. Then, some people started to listen and help them tell their stories. Then, the police and the courts said that the two young men could not give evidence in court because of their learning disabilities. This paper matters because it writes about ways to protect people with learning disabilities from people who abuse them. We need to try and help people who have been abused to tell their stories. We need to make sure those stories are listened to. AbstractTwo young men disclosed emotional, sexual and physical abuse while attending college and living with Shared Lives carers in the UK. This paper provides a narrative account of the period when the two men were exposed to the abuse, the disclosures, the investigation and the legal and safeguarding investigation outcomes. A second paper describes the therapeutic response and outcomes for the men. A review of the literature on abuse and learning disabilities highlights the difficulties in conducting research in this area. Authors find significant barriers exist to disclosing abuse and to being believed. Prosecutions are rare despite evidence that abuse may be widespread towards people with learning disabilities. This paper considers the narrative experience of the two young men, the barriers they faced to being heard and believed and how their personal accounts were discounted and eventually lost to the investigation. Lessons for practice are considered for learning disability mental health and social care professionals, education, police and legal services. Further research suggestions are made.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs): Key to Socio-Economic Development of Nigeria

In Nigeria, as in many other developing and emerging economies, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) contribute to their socio-economic development and growth hence, successive governments have invested resources in intervention programs aimed at stimulating the sector to achieve sustainable development. The main objectives of the study are to; review the role of SMEs to the socio-economic development of Nigeria, identify current government efforts and challenges to stimulating SMEs performance especially as it relates to wealth creation and employment generation. The study found that; SMEs play a key role in socio economic development of the country especially in the area of employment generation and wealth creation. However, there are prevailing economic and political conditions that have not given room for SMEs to thrive, as evidenced in the internal and external challenging factors they are currently facing in the country despite the enormous government intervention initiatives. It is recommended that government should reform the implementation of these initiatives, ensure programmes continuity due to change on government, fight corruption and insecurity, improve on the business environment and evolve youth re-orientation programme to cause them to embrace entrepreneurship. The methodology adopted for this work is narrative textual case study.

The learning experience of a visually impaired learner at a higher education institution regarding emergency blended teaching and learning

Disability or impairment in general does not deprive one of the rights to basic human needs and care. However, often people with disabilities encounter barriers such as unfriendly infrastructure to access basic services such as education and health care. In this paper the authors explore the experiences of learners with visual impairment on the implementation of blended learning to thwart the challenges of COVID-19 in institutions of higher education. This narrative case study employed a telephonic semi-structured interview guide to collect data on a visually impaired learner enrolled with the University of Eswatini (UNESWA). There were two research questions that the study sought answers for: what was the learning experience of a visually impaired learner regarding blended learning during COVID-19? And, how did a visually impaired learner cope academically during the emergency blended learning and teaching? The study found the following: a) incompatible devices; b) poor internet connection; c) challenges to log onto and manoeuvre Moodle and d) a need for a step-by-step guide to help the visually impaired learner to master the Moodle platform. Thus, the study recommends a) awareness creation on disability issues; b) installation of JAWS software in the computer labs; c) intensive Moodle training for visually impaired learners; d) a need for a resource centre that caters for different impairments, e) technologically savvy lecturers to troubleshoot and f) institutional opportunities for learners to procure affordable devices.

‘Not Worth the Minimum Wage?’ Unpacking the Complexities of Intellectual Disability and its Intersection with Employment Structures

As a signifier of worth and recognition, employment is presented as a route to reduce inequality. Yet, for people who have an intellectual disability (ID) and are in receipt of social care, employment policy is often a site of tension. With less than six percent of working-aged people within this demographic in any form of employment in the UK (Learning Disabilities Observatory 2016), work is offered through a marginalised context, with individuals who wish to explore work often excluded from the very programmes set up to support them. Based on ethnographic research at a job club supporting people with an ID and using a case study narrative approach, I unpack the multifaceted reality of everyday life for learning disabled people struggling to access work, its intersections with national minimum wage legislation, and how space can be crafted in response to such exclusion.

Melanated minds and diasporic bodies: Womanist curricular praxis as radical intervention in study abroad

While university-based study abroad programs have become a core component of multicultural education, I argue that in many ways the dominant model of study abroad is rooted in a white masculinist episteme predicated on anthropological consumption of the “Other” without, and largely opposed to, meaningful examinations of the self. The present study is a critical exploration of a study abroad program created by Black women for students of African descent. Through two conceptual frameworks—Black Atlantic Consciousness and Womanism—I note the ways in which the study abroad program departed sharply from traditional programming found at historically white institutions. Utilizing narrative thematic case study analysis, findings reveal both the program designers’ goals and intentions for this study abroad program, as well as the ways those goals translated into pedagogical and curricular praxis. Three subthemes comprise the larger theme related to goals and intentions: self-awareness and communal awareness, African diasporic gendered identity, and deconstruction with student support. Four subthemes organize the theme curricular and pedagogical praxis: spiritually detoxing experiences, Afrocentric role-playing and storytelling/making, integration of counseling and emotional support resources, and institutional subversion. The article concludes with reflections on and implications for culturally relevant study abroad programming.

What ritual teaches about life, humor and ageing. Or vice versa?

ABSTRACT Reflective practice, based on narrative case studies, highlights the need for practitioners to observe and integrate their own lifecycle rituals and thus become more open to collaborative ritual-making. This paper reviews 40 years of texts and research that have resourced and informed ritual practice that addressed later life, ageing, life review, spiritual reminiscence and dying. The pastoral and spiritual care formation of the author owes much to patients and parishioners who joined with him in the communitas of liminal moments where ritual transforms and transcends the hierarchy of caregivers in the community of caregiving.

Chemistry Education and the Post-constructivist Perspective of Bruno Latour

Using Bruno Latour’s framework of a “collective of humans and nonhumans”, this paper presents an analysis of chemistry instruction in a high school curriculum and professional development setting to present the chemistry education community with a new way to think about reality and knowledge construction and, at the same time, to reconsider the contentious problem of constructivism and realism in chemistry education. Latour’s notion of science as a process where humans and nonhumans produce knowledge in “construction sites” enables a research and commentary project where, through the methodology of narrative case study, four different parts of Latour’s framework are considered: (1) mobilization of the world into scientific activity, (2) the use of procedures that act as “speech prostheses” where nonhumans can enter discourse, (3) the depiction of a process where small steps enable the activity of materials to circulate into the knowledge structures of the classroom, and (4) a process where humans and nonhumans have new identities constructed and stabilized through the mutual exchange of their properties. This paper presents Latour’s ideas through the research question: “What are empirical examples from chemistry education of the operation of Latour’s framework of a concept of collective of humans and nonhumans in knowledge construction?” These results support a conclusion where Latour’s collective of humans and nonhumans has the potential to support new ways to think about research and practice in chemistry education, including in ways that align with emerging feminist materialist research.

Purpose-driven improvisation during organisational shocks: case narrative of three critical organisations and Typhoon Haiyan.

Disasters often produce elements of shock that may render pre-established plans for action limited or otherwise inapplicable to the current situation. Improvisation is considered to be a common response among organisations that operate in such turbulent environments. Despite the prevalence of such plans for action, existing research is reticent with regard to the processes concerning how improvisation relates to pre-established organisational goals. This study explores how improvisation can be employed by organisations to attain specific objectives, amidst the emergent nature of the initiative. Using case study narratives of three small organisations that were critical to the response after Typhoon Haiyan struck Leyte, Philippines, in November 2013, the paper demonstrates that improvisation can be absorbed as a conscious mechanism that can aid the attainment of pre-established goals. Furthermore, it conceptualises the buffering effect of improvisation to elucidate the process via which it purposefully directs an organisation to preserve and fulfil its aims.

“It seemed like if you chose sign language you were going to be punished”: A narrative case study of participant experiences with supporting a deaf child in Ontario early childhood education and care

ABSTRACT In Ontario, Canada, the movement toward inclusive education has led to a resource consultant model in early childhood education and care (ECEC). The purpose of this narrative case study was to analyze participant experiences involving a daycare setting previously attended by a young deaf child who benefits from American Sign Language (ASL). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a community ASL instructor who was hired to provide services in a daycare, a parent of a young deaf child who attended this setting, and a child care resource consultant who worked with all participants. These interviews were used to construct a retrospective narrative of participant experiences in an Ontario ECEC setting. As study findings reveal, the current design of publicly funded early intervention sign language service to deaf children may sometimes be at odds with the ethos of an inclusive ECEC system.

Weight Management Interventions for Adults With Overweight or Obesity: An Evidence Analysis Center Scoping Review

The objectives of this evidence scoping review were to identify and characterize studies investigating weight management interventions provided by a registered dietitian nutritionist or international equivalent (RDN) among adults with overweight or obesity. A medical librarian conducted an electronic literature search in 6 databases—MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), PyscINFO (Ovid), Cochrane CENTRAL (Ovid), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Ovid), and CINAHL (Ebsco). Except for narrative review, gray literature, and case study or report, all types of peer-reviewed articles published between January 2008 and April 26, 2019 were eligible. Two content advisors, who are experts in adult weight management, guided the process and reviewed the search plan and findings. The literature search resulted in 30,551 records with 16 additional records identified through other sources. A total of 29,756 records were excluded during the first round of screening due to duplication or irrelevancy. Of the 811 full-text articles that were screened, 139 met the criteria and were included. Approximately 51% and 43% of the studies were conducted in the community setting and in the United States or Canada, respectively. Over 97% of the studies were clinical or quasi-experimental trials. A total of 6 different intervention delivery modes were reported, which resulted in 22 combinations of the modes of delivery. RDNs delivered the weight management intervention (especially the nutrition component) in all studies, but some (61%) also involved an interdisciplinary team to deliver other components of the intervention. The average length of the intervention was about 10 months with a follow-up that ranged from 0 to 9 years. The commonly reported outcomes were anthropometrics, endocrine, and cardiovascular measures; dietary intake; and physical activity. Based on the scoping review, there were systematic reviews and evidence-based practice guidelines on weight management interventions but none of them met the a priori inclusion or exclusion criteria. Therefore, it would be beneficial to conduct a systematic review and develop an evidence-based practice guideline on adult weight management interventions provided by an RDN to guide practitioners and to evaluate their effects on health and nutrition-related outcomes.

Negotiating and Defining "Self" as Science Teachers: A Narrative-Case Study among Non-Science Education Major Teachers

Learning to teach is a very fundamental stage with which beginning teachers should be concerned with. They, in particular should expect to encounter problems and frustrations, with which they must learn from their experiences and improve their instructional skills over time. This study examined how beginning non-science education major teachers developed and negotiated their science teacher identity in their first three years of teaching. Participants in this study were three public secondary teachers who are non-science education majors but are assigned to teach science subjects. A methodology combining case study research and narrative inquiry was employed in this study. Data were collected through interpretive research methods using data sources such as interviews, photo-elicited interviews, written answers to open-ended questions, observation notes, and researcher’s journal of informal face-to-face and phone conversations with the respondents. This study utilized Gee’s (2001) notion of D-identity and Holland et al.’s (1998) “concepts of tools of agency and self control and change”. The analysis of narratives showed that each participant displayed unique characteristics in negotiating their teacher identity. The first three years of teaching serve as the induction period of teachers thus, this is the stage when participants negotiate their teacher identities facing various struggles and enactments inside the classroom, from being non-science education teachers to science teachers.

Evidence-Based Education: The (Not So Simple) Case of French-Speaking Belgium

Purpose: Taking the case of educational reform in French-speaking Belgium (the Pact for Educational Excellence), this article aims to describe the process of integrating evidence-based education (EBE) into an educational reform within a country where the influence of qualitative research is important. Design/Approach/Methods: A narrative case study was conducted to analyze and understand the stages of the ongoing educational reform process and the successive involvements of our research center in the work of this reform. Inspired by the paradigm of EBE, we initiated both the consultation processes intended to set the direction of educational decisions and programs. Findings: According to Slavin (2017, 2019), providing educator-friendly reviews, making available a broad range of proven education programs, and providing resources to help schools to implement proven programs are levers for implementing evidence-based reform within an educational system. This article shows that one of the three levers is fully met. For the other two, work being done on EBE in the U.S. and the UK in particular can save us time. Originality/Value: This article highlights concrete actions that will ensure the gradual establishment and acceptance by political and educational actors of an evidence-based reform.

Nursing associate apprenticeship – a descriptive case study narrative of impact, innovation and quality improvement

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to explore how one higher education institution (HEI) has embraced the apprenticeship agenda and is successfully providing an apprenticeship programme for nursing associates (NA) a new profession within health and social care in the United Kingdom.Design/methodology/approachThis is a descriptive case study narrative about one programme from one HEI, selected for its relevance for the subject area of apprenticeships. This descriptive approach allows the provision of apprenticeships within HEI to be explored in depth by one institution.FindingsThis case study identifies the considerable value of apprenticeships within HEI for the students, the employers and the HEI. It also identifies that there are challenges within this. These findings will be of interest to those entering into the apprenticeship arena, especially within healthcare, and may inform an academic discourse in this area.Research limitations/implicationsIt is acknowledged that this case study does not seek to compare apprenticeships with other programmes. However, there is value in providing an academic narrative around the challenges of this provision which will be informative for others developing higher apprenticeships in the United Kingdom or similar delivery of apprenticeship models internationally.Practical implicationsThere is value in providing an academic narrative around the challenges of this provision which will be informative for others developing higher apprenticeships in the UK or similar delivery of apprenticeship models internationallySocial implicationsThese findings will be of interest to those entering into the apprenticeship arena, especially within healthcare, and will inform the academic discourse in this area.Originality/valueThis is original work and provides a new body of knowledge to the inform HEIs engaging with the relatively new context of higher and degree apprenticeships, as well as the new role within healthcare of the nursing associate.

Meaning in Measurement: Evaluating Young Autistic Adults' Active Engagement and Expressed Interest in Quality-of-Life Goals.

Why was this study done?: This study piloted a measurement strategy for deciding what to measure and support in real-world contexts of independent living and on-campus experiences in a 3-week residential program for young autistic adults.What was the purpose of this study?: The study aimed to measure and support autistic adults' quality of life (QoL) learning in terms of the extent to which pursuing self-set wellness goals, with supports, positively impacted autistic adults' active engagement (e.g., participation in wellness activities), and expressed interest (e.g., willingness to participate).Why was this program developed?: The program was developed because more young adults on the spectrum are aging into adulthood without personalized, respectful, and meaningful supports to promote engaged adult living. We wanted to build on our experience and feedback from autistic adults, family, and partners who have engaged in weekly social engagement groups on a university campus and called for more comprehensive transition programs.What did the program do?: The project was a pilot of an on-campus program aimed at facilitating personally meaningful improvements in QoL through empowering autistic adults to act on their personal motivations, interests, and goals. It also emphasized learning through experiences in real-life contexts, in collaboration with other participants, campus resources, community members, and program staff.How did the researchers evaluate the new program?: The program team used both quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative methods included standard self-report tools that autistic adults used to rate their safety needs, adult self-direction skills, autism-related self-concept, priority of self-set wellness goals, and confidence in abilities to achieve and learn more about one's own wellness goals. Predetermined qualitative methods included analysis of themes from participants' narrative data from their wellness interviews with participants and open-response items from self-report tools. The program was also responsive through a preprogram wellness interview with parents, staff's field notes about of participants' behaviors, conversational interactions with participants, and team discussions. Researchers contextualized and synthesized the data into narrative case studies about each participant's wellness journey.What were the early findings and what do they add to what was already known?: Results showed that the program was able to facilitate participants' QoL learning in personal wellness goals in collaboration with campus and community resources. Participants expressed meaningful changes in their expressed interests, active engagement, and self-concept through participating in this brief residential on-campus program.What are potential weaknesses of this pilot?: Weaknesses included a short time period of 3 weeks, a small participant count of 5, and the resource-intense supports needed for the program.What are the next steps?: The next steps are to adjust the program based on participant feedback and pursue creation of a multiyear program to continue piloting the measurement and support strategies for facilitating autistic adults' active wellness engagement and self-determined independent living.How will these findings and this work help autistic adults now or in the future?: This work informs future wellness interventions for measuring and supporting autistic adults' efforts to self-determine meaningful changes to their QoL.

Narrative Case study: The most essential determinants to child and maternal health in Sierra Leone

Abstract Background Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world, suffering from some of the worst maternal and child health outcomes. In 2013, it had a maternal mortality ratio of 1165/10000 live births and an under-five mortality of 156/1000 live births. The country has introduced a number of policies and interventions to tackle maternal and child health issues but still retains one of the highest global mortality rates. The purpose of this study is to determine the most essential determinants to infant, child and maternal health and recommend some interventions and policy changes to improve their health outcomes. Methods A small review of relevant policies and papers and analysis of relevant maternal and child health data and statistics was conducted to inform questions for Key Informant Interviews. Interviews were then conducted with relevant stakeholders to child and maternal health from UN Organisations, international NGOs and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS). Results Analysis of transcribed Interview data with NVIVO showed that the most essential determinants were the lack of effective coordination between the MoHS and partners due to the emergency mindset, systematic problems with the attitude of the healthcare workforce especially towards women and socio-cultural restriction on women restricting their ability to make choices about their own health and lives Conclusions The study found that there was a focus on policies and interventions targeted at improving clinical determinants and health statistics while consideration of socio-cultural context were negligible. An inclusion of interventions focused on women's empowerment and increasing their voices will help to tackle some of these most essential determinants. Key messages Sierra Leone has the policy environment, political will, and technical expertise to continue making improvements to their high maternal and child mortality problem. An emergency mindset approach, and interventions targeted only at reducing clinical determinants of maternal mortality are missing out on addressing wider socio-cultural issues to improving health.