Educational Research Approach Research Articles

Comparing and Contrasting Quantitative and Qualitative Research Approaches in Education: the Peculiar Situation of Medical Education

Research is about trying to discover the world and its phenomena in a systematic and structured manner. Humans have approached research in different ways based on their assumptions about social reality, knowledge, and human nature, namely ontology, epistemology, and methodology. These assumptions gave rise to two poles; quantitative and qualitative research and they have long been viewed as a dichotomy that can never be subject to compromise. This view has slightly changed with the realisation that quantitative and qualitative research can be complementary to each other. This is usually the case when the need for theory emerges and gets realised by qualitative research in order to guide quantitative research. Medical education is a social science that has almost the same categorisation of assumptions about the world. Medical educators and educationists apply both quantitative and qualitative research in order to elucidate some insights about teaching and learning in medicine, and about the best evidence and the best practices that can be applied by healthcare providers and medical educators. The aim of this review is to highlight the main similarities and differences between quantitative and qualitative research approaches/paradigms, present their origins from a historical and philosophical background, and focus on the case of medical education in terms of how it tackles quantitative and qualitative research, and what special attributes of medical education should be taken into consideration while conducting research.

Comparing and Contrasting Quantitative and Qualitative Research Approaches in Education: The Peculiar Situation of Medical Education

Comparing and Contrasting Quantitative and Qualitative Research Approaches in Education: The Peculiar Situation of Medical Education

The Exploration of the Usefulness of Comparative Educational Approach in Education Policy Studies

이 연구의 목적은 교육정책 탐구에 있어서 비교교육연구접근이 활용되는 영역과 내용, 방법 등의 분석을 통하여 합리적인 교육정책 개발과 집행을 위해 비교 교육(학)연구 접근의 유용성을 규명하는 데 있다. 본 논문에서 제시한 교육정책(학)연구의 개념구조의 요소들, 즉 교육정책이념, 교육정책과정과 분석, 교육정책내용과 환경을 한국비교교육학회에서 학술지로서 발간하고 있는 ‘비교교육연구’의 내용 분석틀로 사용하였다. 분석결과, ‘비교교육 연구’(1971년부터 2017년 9월)에 게재된 총 748편의 논문 중 교육정책(학)연구 관련 논문은 157편(21.1%)인 것으로 나타났다. 교육정책연구 관련 전체 논문 182편(내용 중복 25편) 중에서, 교육정책이념 1편(0.54%), 교육정책과정 40편(21.98%), 교육정책분석 7편(3.85%), 교육정책내용(교육개혁 제외) 60편 (32.97%), 교육개혁 51편(28.02%), 그리고 교육정책환경과 관련한 연구 23편 (12.64%)으로 나타났다. 또한, 교육정책과정에 관한 연구 논문 40편을 분석한 결과 교육정책집행에 관한 논문이 가장 많은 것(24편, 60%)으로 나타났다. 교육개혁에 관한 논문을 제외한 교육정책내용으로 분류된 60편 연구논문 중 정책유형의 분석한 결과 국제 비교연구의 특성상 배분정책(27편, 45.0%)과 재분배정책(23편 33.3%)이 주종을 이루고 있음을 알 수 있다. 본 연구에서 비교교육(학)연구 접근을 통해 분석된 주요 교육정책에 관한 연구 혹은 정책 집행에 대한 연구결과들은 궁극적으로 비교교육학의 학문적 측면에서 비교교육연구 방법과 절차의 타당성, 정교성을 개발시키고, 또한 실제 합리적인 교육정책 개발과 집행에 유용한 시사점을 제공하게 될 것이다.The purpose of the study is to identify the usefulness of comparative educational research approach for rational educational policy development and operation through the analysis of the area, contents, methods, and so on that comparative educational research approach in educational policy studies is used. For achieving the purpose, the study examined as the follows. First, the study discussed the academic traits and research target of educational policy and comparative education using the academic trait of definition method and the academic trait of approach method. Second, the study examined the contents of the exploration of educational policy studies in comparative education. For this, the study analyzed previous research on the relationship between comparative education and general education. And using articles published in Journal of Comparative Education, the study analyzed the contents of educational policy research in comparative education. Based on the main results, the discussions and suggestions are provided.

The dialogic educational pathway as a strategy of care with elderly women in sexuality

Abstract Objective: Unveiling the critical knowledge mediated by a care-educational dialogic pathway in sexuality with elderly women. Method: Qualitative and participatory study, outlined in educational action research approach, for which it was anchored in the Paulo Freire's Research Itinerary. 15 elderly women from a group of socialization participated in the study. Three ethical precepts were followed. Results: It was evident that the women of this study had difficulty in conceptualizing sexuality, reducing the concept to sex. In addition to diverging sexuality for men and women and configuring it as a practice of the youth. Conclusion and implications for practice: Dialogic educational activity proved to be an important care tool, since it allowed the unleashing of prejudice concerning sexuality in Aging, promoting elderly health and showing new ways of care.

Meeting the demands of the C3 framework in elementary social studies methods

PurposeIn both elementary schools and elementary teacher education programs, social studies is marginalized while standards require increasingly more ambitious reasoning, reading, and writing in social studies than has historically been documented in American elementary schools. The purpose of this paper is to explain the challenges that elementary social studies teacher educators face in preparing elementary school teachers to facilitate the kind of ambitious social studies envisioned in the NCSS’s C3 Framework and advocate an approach to successfully address these challenges.Design/methodology/approachThis paper articulates a targeted and ambitious approach to elementary social studies teacher education. The authors describe five recommendations from the teacher education literature for supporting preservice teachers in learning disciplinary-oriented social studies teaching, recommendations that guided the redesign of the social studies methods course. The authors then highlight key aspects of the redesigned methods course and demonstrate how the authors engaged the challenges inherent in the work of elementary social studies teacher education.FindingsAlthough this paper is not arranged in such a way as to substantiate empirical findings, the purpose of the paper is to demonstrate an approach to elementary social studies education aligned with extant literature on preparing teachers to engage in reform teaching practices, specifically those disciplinary oriented practices suggested in NCSS’s C3 Framework. As such, the paper should be read as a perspective on practice.Research limitations/implicationsThe type of disciplinary-oriented approach described here is increasingly under investigation in secondary teacher education research and similar approaches are under investigation in elementary math and science education research. To the authors’ knowledge, the approach is novel in elementary social studies education. Furthermore, the authors believe it offers a direction for researchers interested in gaps in the literature related to practice based teacher education and disciplinary-oriented social studies teacher education.Practical implicationsThe approach described here offers specific guidance and resources for teacher educators who are struggling with the challenges of the contemporary social studies education landscape and/or who wish to focus methods courses in disciplinary ways.Social implicationsResearch in social studied education has demonstrated that when students are exposed to disciplinary practices in social studies, their literacy skills improve and they learn analytical skills that support their development as citizens (consumption of media, participation in public discourse, ability to discern arguments).Originality/valueAs noted above, the approach described here is novel in elementary social studies education. Combining a disciplinary approach with a practice-based frame in elementary social studies represents an opportunity for empirical research and offers new approaches to the practice of teacher education and early career professional development.

Using Analytics to Transform a Problem-Based Case Library: An Educational Design Research Approach

Using Analytics to Transform a Problem-Based Case Library: An Educational Design Research Approach

Estimating Perturbation and Meta-Stability in the Daily Attendance Rates of Six Small High Schools

This paper discusses the daily attendance rates in six small high schools over a ten-year period and evaluates how stable those rates are. “Stability” is approached from two vantage points: pulse models are fitted to estimate the impact of sudden perturbations and their reverberation through the series, and Autoregressive Fractionally Integrated Moving Average (ARFIMA) techniques are used to detect dependencies over the long range of the series. The analyses are meant to (1) exemplify the utility of time series approaches in educational research, which lacks a time series tradition, (2) discuss some time series features that seem to be particular to daily attendance rate trajectories such as the distinct downward pull coming from extreme observations, and (3) present an analytical approach to handle the important yet distinct patterns of variability that can be found in these data. The analysis also illustrates why the assumption of stability that underlies the habitual reporting of weekly, monthly and yearly averages in the educational literature is questionable, as it reveals dynamical processes (perturbation, meta-stability) that remain hidden in such summaries.

Getting Real: Is Realism a Blind Spot in Research Methodology?

In this paper we outline a case for including realism as an approach for carrying out research in education. Realism is often missing or under-represented in methodology text books which tend to misrepresent positivism and over-claim the epistemic authority possible for interpretivism. While interpretivism is arguably the dominant research approach in education, we argue it has limitations in regards to producing knowledge generalisable beyond specific research contexts. We suggest that realism has much to offer researchers and advocate for greater recognition of its usefulness in social science research. To this end, we describe the realist approach employed by one of the authors in her research to provide an example of how abstract ideas may look in practice.

Designing and Improving a Blended Synchronous Learning Environment: An Educational Design Research

<p class="3">In this study, a blended synchronous learning environment (BSLE) was created to support a group of graduate students when they were taking a course. Instruction was delivered to both face-to-face (F2F) and online students simultaneously. The purpose of this paper is to present how this BSLE was gradually designed, implemented, and improved by following the educational design research approach. Results showed that the BSLE environment had the capability to support online and classroom students at the same time and provide equivalent learning experiences for them, but challenges emerged in the process. Design principles were summarized to guide researchers or teachers when they design similar learning environments.</p>

Examining the epistemology of impact and success of educational interventions using a reflective case study of university bursaries

This paper engages with the continuing emphasis given to evidence‐based policy and ‘what works’ approaches in educational research, highlighting some of the continuing epistemological challenges from a post‐positivist perspective. To illustrate these, it uses the case of bursaries awarded by universities to improve outcomes for students from disadvantaged backgrounds as an example of an education intervention designed to address structural inequality. The paper then discusses critical reflections arising from a project commissioned by the Office for Fair Access in England, which aimed to enable universities to evaluate the impact of the bursaries that they award. These reflections provide a lens to explore the limitations of experimental and quasi‐experimental designs in complex social fields. The paper concludes that we lack a strong understanding of the relationship between financial and educational disadvantage prior to and during higher education, and this undermines efforts to ‘prove’ that certain interventions will ‘level the playing field’.

Improving the academic reading proficiency of university students in Ghana: an Educational Design Research approach

ABSTRACTThis study evaluated the effectiveness of a reading intervention in first-year university courses (Chemistry and Linguistics) in Ghana, emphasising text structure, vocabulary and reading motivation. A between-group design was used to compare experimental (n = 51) and control groups (n = 33) in a pre-test post-test setup. The experimental manipulation consisted of a weekly tutorial session including homework (one semester). The purpose was to investigate the effect on (1) the mean difference between pre- and post-test reading scores; (2) the mean differences between pre-and post-questionnaire results for reading behaviour, attitude, and self-concept, and (3) the final score on the course exams. By the end of the intervention the Linguistics experimental group had improved significantly on their academic reading proficiency. Time spent on reading had increased significantly more for the experimental group than for the control group. Chemistry students’ attitudes towards reading changed positively. Quantitative data were enriched with classroom observations and interviews.

Qualitative and Quantitative Debates in Contemporary Educational Research

This research paper will begin with philosophically exploring the saying “The Researcher You Are Is The Person You Are”. This provide an insight on the views and the perspectives of the researcher on the research as a subject. Subsequently, the other contents of the paper are divided into two major sections. The first section discusses the Qualitative and Quantitative philosophical and theoretical debates in contemporary educational research; Qualitative and Quantitative approaches in educational research; Objectivity and Subjectivity in educational research; Links between Data Collection and Data Analysis in educational research. The second part of the paper discussed the action research in education and the reflection of the person you are is the researcher you are in educational research settings. Finally, the paper conclude that there is no single formula when it comes to conducting research in education, each and every researcher regardless of his or her area of study would always be conducting research based on what he or she thinks and deems is the best research paradigm and method to adopt. However, there are some confident guiding principles that their application guarantee effectiveness to a certain degree in educational research.

Realization of a Desired Future: Innovation in Education

Today and tomorrow, the world needs individuals who can manipulate critical and creative thinking skills to solve problems as a team. With technology, the way knowledge is obtained, constructed and communicated have completely transformed and altered. When it comes to education, it is a matter of question whether education is capable of creating critical and creative thinkers who can answer the needs of social and economic world of today and tomorrow. On the other hand, computers and smart devices are threatening the integrity of knowledge and knowing by damaging the authority of teachers in classrooms changing the way teachers are perceived. Therefore, terms such as guide, facilitator or coach have started to sound interchangeable with the word teacher. It is a widely known fact that schools are the learning environments for children. However, it is not certain how much they learn and how much of the content is supported by the ICTs. At an age when people are surrounded by technology all the time at work, in schools and everywhere, technological tools and smart devices have advanced too fast. The advances in technological devices used every day have gone faster than the advances in educational research and pedagogical approaches which incorporate educational technologies. This being the case, innovation in educational activities can be ensured through an understanding of the benefits of using technologies in education. This study is aimed at presenting that innovation in education is to be handled carefully. In order for this, this paper reviews the previous studies regarding innovation as a prerequisite for novel learning environments and revising strategies for successful adaption of technology to education, thus creating innovative learning environments. In conclusion, innovation is of vital importance in transforming and reconstructing the learning environments along with the curricula, the role of the teacher and teacher training.

More than meets the “I”: A polyphonic approach to video as dialogic meaning-making

This paper summons Bakhtin's principle of visual excess to the field of video research. Bakhtin's dialogic approach emphasises the visual as an effort of the eye, as well as the subjective “I”. Seeing is thus re-caste as an event where subjective and cultural boundaries are encountered, lived, and offer insight to those involved. Video is therefore posited as a visual and axiologic encounter that allows one to perceive beyond one's own limits. Here the researcher does not come with a predetermined set of categories or criteria, but seeks to encounter the form of language and the meaning of those forms, from multiple (polyphonic) visual and ideological standpoints. I argue that taking this approach opens up possibilities for seeing as an opportunity for dialogic speculation and interrogation- one that forms the basis of my research orientation. By way of demonstration the paper will introduce an example of video filmed in an infant educational setting which highlights the additional insights offered through different visual fields and their interpreted meanings. Synchronising four visual fields of the same event - from the view of the infants, teacher and researcher - visual surplus is thus operationalized as a multi-voiced polyphonic event. Dialogues concerning their pedagogical significance - for the teacher and the researcher - are discussed alongside the footage itself. Together they highlight subtle, yet highly significant potentialities for video work that set out to engage with the experience of the eye as an encounter with ‘other’. I argue that such visually oriented engagement can act as a central source of understanding and insight that far exceeds traditional approaches in educational research that view participants as mere objects for amusement or manipulation. Moreover, this approach poses a new video methodology in which meanings take precedence over what is aesthetically received.

ETeach3D

The acquisition of teacher digital competence is a key aspect in the initial training of teachers. However, most existing evaluation instruments do not provide sufficient evidence of this teaching competence. In this study, we describe the design and development process of a three-dimensional (3D) virtual environment for evaluating the teacher digital competence of future teachers, through a performance-based, collaborative and contextual evaluation. This environment, named ETeach3D, has been constructed using the educational design research approach. It is based on successive iterative cycles and is in accordance with the criteria of usefulness, validity, and effectiveness. In addition to the research team responsible for the project, participating in this study were 187 Spanish undergraduate students of Education and 22 experts in the field of educational technology. Results show that these environments, in addition to other characteristics, should (a) function smoothly and have simple interfaces, realistic scenes, and interactive activities and (b) follow a systematic evaluation procedure that integrates several strategies and levels of complexity. This research helps to improve the initial training of preservice teachers and contributes to the growing number of educational design research studies that focus in the field of evaluation of the curriculum domain.

Latina Youth, Education, and Citizenship: A Feminist Transnational Analysis

This article explores adolescent Latinas’ citizenship identities in school from a feminist transnational perspective. Data were drawn from qualitative research studies on Latina youths’ educational experiences and from a qualitative project conducted by the author. Cultural citizenship theories were used to analyze the data. The analysis revealed that adolescent Latinas experience their citizenship identities’ being-made through two strategies: (i) stereotypical images and (ii) language ideologies. The analysis also revealed that Latina youth self-make their citizenship identities through three strategies: (i) embracing education, (ii) cultural practices, and (iii) new citizenship identities in transnational spaces. Analyses suggest the need for more transnational approaches in educational research and practice on citizenship education. A feminist transnational approach highlights how discourses and images on Latinas, Latina/o immigration, and citizens materialize in school and provide the conditions in which adolescent Latinas negotiate their citizenship identities.

Using Generic Inductive Approach in Qualitative Educational Research: A Case Study Analysis

<p>Qualitative research strategy has been widely adopted by educational researchers in order to improve the quality of their empirical studies. This paper aims to introduce a generic inductive approach, pragmatic and flexible in qualitative theoretical support, by describing its application in a study of non-English major undergraduates’ English learning transition from school to university in China. Through an analysis of how this case study was conducted, the main features of the generic inductive approach are discussed in detail. Subsequently, some suggestions for its effective use are put forward so that this approach can help to provide meaningful interpretive power to make sense of the findings in educational research.</p>

Systematic student-driven literature reviews in sustainability science – an effective way to merge research and teaching

Sustainability science has gained momentum in recent years, with a rising number of publications and degree programs focusing on sustainability. However, sustainability research and sustainability education are often considered as two independent activities within Universities. In this paper we present an educational research approach for integrating teaching and learning settings into academic research. Based on our experience in international research education projects, we present a detailed description of how to empower students to conduct student-driven cutting-edge research that contributes to sustainability science. We established international research education projects with students to jointly conduct, draft and publish systematic literature reviews in sustainability science. Here we present an iterative review procedure for examining qualitative and quantitative data and organizing student-driven research projects. We discuss the demands and limitations of systematic literature reviews in sustainability science and elaborate on the benefits and key challenges from student-driven education research projects. Thus, the paper offers comprehensive guidance to the research community for actively engaging students and junior researchers in collaborative projects to effectively merge research and teaching. In conclusion, we call for stronger integration of students into sustainability research including jointly framing of research projects and collaboratively publishing of research findings in peer-reviewed journals.

Pedagogical Leadership to Restructure Teaching Beliefs and Improve Classroom Practices in Mapuche Context

This article aims to describe the pedagogical beliefs about teaching, learning and assessment underlying the practices of teaching in a rural Mapuche school, located in La Araucania, Chile. The study is executed in an educational research approach, uses a mixed descriptive character methodology. Participants are professionals in managerial and teaching positions in a school that includes transitional level up to 6th grade in the subjects of language/communication and history, geography and social sciences. To collect information on the beliefs, a questionnaire of Likert type scale was used; also, class observations were carried out through ethnographic records to all teachers of the center. Based on the results, it was possible to identify contradictions in the reference frames in both populations because they express both traditional and contemporary pedagogical beliefs. Meanwhile, in the classroom only traditional teaching practices that ignore the Mapuche context are observed. They show rote learning activities and use, preferably, summative evaluation. As a result, it can be concluded that teachers have ambiguities of conceptions in their pedagogical beliefs, it prevails a traditional approach in their classroom practices. Therefore, it is recommended to develop an effective educational leadership that systematically fosters collaborative thinking among peers as a strategy to enable the reconstruction of educational beliefs of principals and teachers.

Themes on the Meaning of Professionalism and Setting New Directions for Policy and Practice

The articles featured in this issue take up notions of professionalism as it occurs across a broad range of educational terrains. Multiple educational theories and research approaches are employed to strengthen and support professionalism across the continuum from pre-service and in-service teacher education to school leadership. Reading across these articles, students’ and educators’ points of views are envisioned that push for a meaningful appreciation of learning and for changes in the ways that facilitate envisioning learning more broadly.