Longitudinal Inquiry Research Articles

Making routines the same: Crafting similarity and singularity in routines transfer

Building on theoretical advances in Routine Dynamics, complemented by insights from Science and Technology Studies, we conduct an in-depth, longitudinal inquiry into how organizations are able to (re)create the ‘same’ routine not despite but within a pervasive background of difference and multiplicity. We draw on a three-year ethnographic study of the exact transfer of a high-end computer and production facility at a leading US technology organization to show how routines are enacted into being the same. In contrast with the literature, which sees replication as the one-directional implementation of an accessible and available origin template at destination, we theorize transfer as the simultaneous co-creation of routines across multiple sites. In so doing, we show how routines similarity and singularity are the (emergent, skilful, effortful and temporary) outcomes of repairing and distributing practices, and their sociomaterial assemblages, which coordinate multiple enactments of the routine within and across locations. These micro-level practices underpin routines emergence and persistence as well as acting as the basis for the emergence of dynamic capabilities.

Developing Primary EFL Students’ Multiliteracies Competence Through Drama Teaching: A Case Study in China

Multiliteracies competence has emerged as an important research field, yet it remains a great challenge for primary EFL teachers in China to develop students’ multiliteracies competence. With the implementation of educational reform in K12 education in China, the importance of cultivating multiliteracies competence for primary school students has become increasingly prominent. Meanwhile, in the current K12 education curriculum in China, the practice of offering English drama courses caters to the needs of enhancing students’ multiliteracies competence. This qualitative study aims to exlore: (1) how are dramas taught in primary EFL classes in China? (2) how is students’ multiliteracies competence developed through learning drama? The participant of this longitudinal narrative inquiry is an EFL teacher at a primary school in Southern China. Data include two-semester-long observation of the English drama classes in the school, weekly meetings on drama teaching, workshops with foreign drama experts and interview narratives, as well as documents such as the participants’ lesson plans, journals and students’ feedback. Findings show that EFL drama teaching in the primary school adopts multiliteracies pedagogy, drawing on a range of media and aiming to develop students’ all-around skills. Findings also reveal that students’ language competence and multiliteracies competence are indeed greatly enhanced through drama teaching and learning. Implications for further teacher development are discussed, including offering English drama education in pre-service programs, enhancing acting skills mentoring in internship and in-service training, and observing and reflecting on one’s own and their peers’ drama teaching practices and raising their multiliteracies awareness and intercultural awareness.

Longitudinal perspectives on students’ experiences of feedback: a need for teacher–student partnerships

ABSTRACTHow students react to and use feedback is an important element of their higher education experience. Within the constraints of mass higher education, effective feedback processes are, however, difficult to manage. The aim of this longitudinal qualitative inquiry is to investigate through repeated interviews and related documentary analysis how four case study learners experienced feedback processes over the duration of their undergraduate studies. The analysis is guided by a social constructivist perspective on feedback research. The findings highlight students’ development of more sophisticated orientations to feedback over time; how they experienced and used feedback over the shorter and longer term; their varied affective responses; and how their perspectives evolved. The novel aspects of the findings lie in detailing the individual nature of students’ responses to feedback and documenting the different ways these changed during their undergraduate studies. The role of grades and projected honours classification was a significant element of the performative nature of the students’ experience, and impacted on the extent to which they engaged with feedback. Students often felt that there were dissonances between feedback that teachers were providing and what would be useful or palatable to them. The implications propose that the concept of students as partners can support the reframing of feedback processes as a partnership between students and teachers. Partnership approaches resonate with the need for social constructivist approaches to feedback where knowledge and understanding are co-constructed. Feedback partnerships also carry potential to enable the mutual development of staff and student feedback literacy.

Investing in English private tutoring to move socially upward: a narrative inquiry of an underprivileged student in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT Access to private tutoring, or shadow education, significantly contributes to the increasing disparities in the attainment of language learners from different family backgrounds worldwide. In ESL/EFL contexts, many students subscribe to English private tutoring (EPT) in hopes of getting good English results in high-stakes examinations to secure a university place. This longitudinal narrative inquiry investigates the experiences of a financially disadvantaged student who managed to pay the tuition to subscribe to an EPT class in Hong Kong. Multiple sources of data collected throughout the year from six rounds of in-depth interviews with the student; three reflective essays; classroom observations and interviews with the student’s tutor, schoolteacher and parent yielded thick description of the student’s narrative. Informed by Norton Pierce’s notion of investment, the analysis reveals how the participant invested in EPT to overcome existing educational inequalities. The tutorial class was perceived by the student as a place to expand her social network with students from prestigious schools, with a hope to ultimately gain the economic capital for escaping poverty. This study has implications regarding the effects of inequalities of educational opportunities in affluent societies. It indicates the need for further research on language learners’ experiences in the shadow education context.

The motivational propensity and consistency of EFL undergraduate students in selecting research topic and design

Purpose The selection of the research topic and design crucially determines the success of conducting a research. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to explore the process by which undergraduate students select their research topic and design, as viewed from the lens of motivation theory proposed by Ryan and Deci (2000), which focuses on motivational propensity and consistency. Design/methodology/approach A longitudinal narrative inquiry was employed to address the gap. In total, 10 Indonesian graduates from different educational backgrounds were purposively selected. The interview focused on their longitudinal experiences from the freshman period to skripsi (undergraduate thesis) supervision period. Data analysis included inductive thematic analysis, member checking by the researchers, and cross-checking by the participants. Findings The motivational propensity and consistency in selecting research topic and design are highly dynamic. Specifically, autonomy, high curiosity, self-reflection of past interest and perceived competence, and library research become the major factors toward the manifestation of intrinsic motivation in the selected topics and designs. Meanwhile, friends’ preferences, lecturer’s expertise and suggestion, and unclear input from the relevant previous courses result in the manifestation of various types of external motivation. Practical implications Therefore, the implementation of dialogic discussion might be more effective when tensions prevail between the department, academic advisor or skripsi supervisors, and students with respect to the selected topics and designs. Moreover, the provision of constructive tasks like case studies, group discussion, and/or research proposal writing can be applied in research methodology course to enhance their repertoire about research topic and design. Autonomy and self-reflection should become the driving objectives. Originality/value The exploration of the issue has to be intensively oriented toward prescriptive handbook development in selecting research topic and design. This study sheds light on the explanation of the actual cyclical process of the undergraduate students’ motivational propensity and consistency generated from internal and external regulations, as viewed from the lens of motivation theory.

The vocational/academic divide in widening participation: the higher education decision making of further education students

ABSTRACT Despite the shift from an elite to a mass higher education (HE) system in the UK, participation between students with Business Technology Education Council (BTEC) and Advanced-Level (A-level) qualifications remains unequal. The data presented here is taken from a longitudinal narrative inquiry funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The study aimed to understand the reasons, influences, experiences and enabling and constraining factors that informed further education (FE) students’ HE decision making and choices. Qualitative data was gathered using a combination of interviews, focus groups, paper and audio diaries with 13 FE students in England over an 18-month period, studying on either BTEC Level 3 or A-Level courses. Inequalities between the HE decisions and choices of BTEC and A-Level students emerged early on in their decision-making journeys. A-Level students had the advantage of being targeted and involved in national and local outreach initiatives, which allowed them to bypass financial constraints, and were provided with crucial opportunities to establish a sense of ‘place’ in higher education institutions (HEIs) as a result. The same financial constraints served to limit BTEC students’ choices, and restricted their opportunities to establish the same sense of ‘place’. Implications for policy as well as outreach and widening participation (WP) practices to work towards redressing these inequalities are proposed and discussed.

Longitudinal L2 motivation inquiry: a response to Lamb’s (2016) ‘when motivation research motivates: issues in long-term empirical investigations’

ABSTRACTIn this paper we review Martin Lamb’s (2016) publication when motivation research motivates: issues in long-term empirical investigations. We discuss his insightful arguments about the challenges and opportunities related to the engagement with longitudinal research. We begin with a discussion of the concept of context and unpack the complex socio-cultural dimensions associated with this notion. We also reflect on the potential of establishing a sustainable relationship with research participants and highlight some of the critical ethical considerations concerning a longitudinal researcher-participant relationship. We then delve into the effects a researcher may have on their participants and, here again, offer some suggestions and recommendations which would promote ethical behaviour that safeguards both the participants’ and researcher’s well-being. Finally, we critique the notion of ‘validity’ in relation to the findings emerging from a longitudinal qualitative research project where the researcher directly influences the process(es) involved, their participants and, ultimately, their data. We recommend a reflexive and reflective approach whereby the researcher capitalises on their own presence within the research context and utilises such presence and the research itself as beneficial influences on the participants’ life.

Religious In-group Preference: A Replication and Extension into the Domain of Identity

Jewish success has led to questions of how Jews may differ from non-Jews. There is clear evidence that Ashkenazi Jews have greater general cognitive ability. There is more recent evidence that U.S. Jews differ in personality; specifically that they have a higher general factor of personality. Most recently it was also found that U.S. Jews exhibit high levels of in-group preference, despite having a low level of religiosity (itself being strongly positively correlated with in-group preference). In the current investigation this finding is replicated using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study and inquiry extended to examine differences in personal identity. Consistent with the previous findings, Jews showed high levels of in-group preference and low levels of religiosity. Additionally, Jews put more importance on ethnic, and possibly political, identity. These results are interpreted as Jews conflating identifying as a religious and as an ethnic group. A clear limitation of the study is the small Jewish sample. It is recommended that future research test the replicability of the findings of differences in personal identity.

Advancing Industry through Design: A Longitudinal Case Study of the Aviation Industry

Design educators and industry partners are critical knowledge managers and co-drivers of change, and design graduate and post-graduate students can act as catalysts for new ideas, energy, and perspectives. In this article, we will explore how design advances industry development through the lens of a longitudinal inquiry into activities carried out as part of a Dutch design faculty-industry collaboration. We analyze seventy-five (75) Master of Science (MSc) thesis outcomes and seven (7) Doctorate (PhD) thesis outcomes (five in progress) to identify ways that design activities have influenced advances in the Dutch aviation industry over time. Based on these findings, we then introduce an Industry Design Framework, which organizes the industry/design relationship as a three-layered system. This novel approach to engaging industry in design research and design education has immediate practical value and theoretical significance, both in the present and for future research.

Reflexivity, structure and agency: using reflexivity to understand Further Education students’ Higher Education decision-making and choices

The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate Archer’s reflexive modalities in relation to Further Education (FE) students’ higher education (HE) decision-making and choices. To do this, it draws on data from a qualitative, longitudinal narrative inquiry that explored how socioeconomically under-represented FE students made their HE decisions and choices. On a conceptual level, the research aimed to identify whether participants’ HE decisions and choices were individualised or mediated by structure. Margaret Archer’s reflexive modes were adapted to understand, first, how young people made their educational choices and decisions and, second, what role agency and structure played in this process. How participants’ different reflexive modes were interpreted and how this facilitated more intricate understandings of how agency is exerted in the face of structural constraints are discussed. Yet, this paper also critically reflects on and questions the explanatory power of Archer’s work in the context of this research.

Feedback loops and the longer-term: towards feedback spirals

A key challenge for feedback practice involves promoting student uptake through the closing of feedback loops. This paper investigates feedback loops by using the concepts of single and double-loop learning to interrogate student responses to feedback. Single-loop learning tackles an identified problem or task, whereas double-loop learning additionally re-evaluates how the problem or task is approached. Evidence from a five-year longitudinal enquiry into four undergraduate students’ experiences of feedback is used to analyse feedback loops. Students reported a variety of experiences: failing to engage significantly with end-of-semester comments; short-term uptake within modules which had two assignments; and longer-term efforts at improving their learning strategies. A model of long-term student engagement with feedback is proposed, including single-loop feedback processes, double-loop feedback processes and unresolved learning puzzles. Whereas feedback loops are mainly focused on the shorter-term, it is suggested that feedback spirals represent an alternative way of analysing complex, iterative longer-term learning processes. Implications for practice focus on student self-regulation and the development of student feedback literacy.

A longitudinal inquiry into directionality of effects between coping and information needs in hypertensive patients.

PurposeIt is well recognized that effective health communication is associated with better adherence to medical prescriptions, behavioral changes, and enhanced perception of control over the disease. However, there is limited knowledge about the variables on which to tailor health messages. This study examined whether coping strategies were related to information needs over time in a sample of patients with hypertension.Patients and methodsA three-wave longitudinal design was used to examine the potential reciprocal relationships among variables. The sample included 271 patients (43.5% women) affected by essential arterial hypertension with a mean age of 54.66 years (SD =10.74 years; range 30–78 years). Data on patients’ demographic characteristics, coping strategies, and information needs were collected three times over 12 months. To test the directionality of the relationships linking coping to information needs, cross-lagged path analyses were applied in a structural equation modeling approach.ResultsActive coping was related to a greater need for information regarding behavioral habits; avoidance coping was negatively associated with the need for information regarding daily life activities, while passive coping showed a positive relationship with this need. Moreover, results sustained the hypothesis that the relationship between coping and information needs was bi-directional. In fact, greater need for information about the disease and its pharmacological treatment was related to greater adoption of active coping strategies. The need for information about risk and complications was associated with the coping strategy related to alcohol use.ConclusionThese results provide important suggestions for implementing more effective intervention programs aimed at fostering patients’ self-care abilities. As it was possible to modify coping strategies, health care providers may consider measuring patients’ strategies before the medical examination so they have time to refine the information they give to patients.

Posttraumatic psychopathology and the pace of the epigenetic clock: a longitudinal investigation.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and stress/trauma exposure are cross-sectionally associated with advanced DNA methylation age relative to chronological age. However, longitudinal inquiry and examination of associations between advanced DNA methylation age and a broader range of psychiatric disorders is lacking. The aim of this study was to examine if PTSD, depression, generalized anxiety, and alcohol-use disorders predicted acceleration of DNA methylation age over time (i.e. an increasing pace, or rate of advancement, of the epigenetic clock). Genome-wide DNA methylation and a comprehensive set of psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses were assessed in 179 Iraq/Afghanistan war veterans who completed two assessments over the course of approximately 2 years. Two DNA methylation age indices (Horvath and Hannum), each a weighted index of an array of genome-wide DNA methylation probes, were quantified. The pace of the epigenetic clock was operationalized as change in DNA methylation age as a function of time between assessments. Analyses revealed that alcohol-use disorders (p = 0.001) and PTSD avoidance and numbing symptoms (p = 0.02) at Time 1 were associated with an increasing pace of the epigenetic clock over time, per the Horvath (but not the Hannum) index of cellular aging. This is the first study to suggest that posttraumatic psychopathology is longitudinally associated with a quickened pace of the epigenetic clock. Results raise the possibility that accelerated cellular aging is a common biological consequence of stress-related psychopathology, which carries implications for identifying mechanisms of stress-related cellular aging and developing interventions to slow its pace.

Empowerment and Disempowerment of Workfare Volunteers: A Diachronic Approach to Activation Policy in the Netherlands

This article focuses on experiences of welfare recipients summoned to do volunteer work. Proponents of ‘workfare volunteerism’ argue that it leads to empowerment and employability while critics dismiss it as disempowering, stigmatising, and disciplining. Our longitudinal qualitative inquiry into experiences of sixty-six ‘workfare volunteers’ in the Netherlands shows how experiences of disempowerment or empowerment are dependent on caseworker approaches as well as on time. Disempowerment can turn into empowerment when an individual's past is considered, but can revert to disempowerment if changing needs go unrecognised. These findings have broader implications for debates on activating policies. They point to the need for diachronic approaches, which reflect the changing experiences of target groups over time and adaption of policies and caseworker approaches that respond to their clients’ changing needs and self-understanding.

Moderated Mediation Effect of Self-esteem on the Relationship Between Parenting Stress and Depression According to Employment Status in Married Women: A Longitudinal Study Utilizing Data from Panel Study on Korean Children

This study was to examined the moderated mediation effect of self-esteem on the relationship between parenting stress and depression among married women with children using longitudinal data from the 3rd to 6th Panel Studies on Korean. The data from the Panel Study of Korean Children (Korea Institute of Child Care and Education) was collected as part of a longitudinal inquiry of babies born in 2008, their parents and their community environments. Only the data collected from the married women over the age of 20 who participated in the maternal survey was used for this study. The initial level of married women's parenting stress affects the initial level and the rate of change in self-esteem; the initial level of self-esteem, the initial level and rate of change in depression; and the initial level of parenting stress, the initial level of depression. However, the impact of the rate of change in parenting stress on that of self-esteem was significant only in employed women while the impact of the rate of change in self-esteem on that of depression was significant only in unemployed women. It is necessary to manage parenting stress among married women through various programs and education that increase self-esteem in order to reduce their level of depression.

Identity, investment and language learning strategies of two Syrian students in Syria and Britain

ABSTRACTThis paper reports on a longitudinal phenomenographic inquiry into understanding how two postgraduate Syrian students’ ways of approaching English language learning in their homelands influenced the shape of their personal study abroad goals, language strategy use and L2 identity. It is guided by Norton’s [(2013). Identity and language learning: Extending the conversation (2nd ed.). Bristol: Multilingual Matters] conceptualisation of motivation as investment in learning a new language, and Hajar’s [(2016). Motivated by visions: A tale of a rural learner of English. The Language Learning Journal. doi:10.1080/09571736.2016.1146914] distinction between compulsory and voluntary strategies. The qualitative data suggest that the two participants acted agentively to accomplish their academic qualifications in the UK. However, the adjustments of the participant raised by a well-off, well-educated family and educated at outstanding private establishments to the new context appeared to be less taxing than the case of the other participant who came from a disadvantaged background in Syria. The former’s positive prior language learning experiences along with the assessment methods of his MA programme helped him to build a positive linguistic self-concept in the UK, using diverse voluntary language strategies. This study reveals how strategy use and L2 identity development of learners in similar contexts might be influenced by educational policy and distribution of resources. From this qualitative longitudinal study, pedagogical implications and areas for ongoing research are suggested.

Examining Scholar-Practitioner Identity in Peer-Led Research Communities in Higher Education Programs

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how research skills and communities can be promoted in student affairs and/or higher education graduate preparation programs through a peer-led, team-based model. Background: Numerous scholars emphasized a lack of empirical research being conducted by student affairs professionals, even though integration of scholarship with practice remains of critical importance to field of higher education. Methodology: Though a descriptive case study of a graduate research course, we engage both quantitative and qualitative data points in a convergent parallel mixed methods design. Contribution: This study provides an important contribution in understanding how graduate programs may better prepare students to engage within a spectrum of scholar-practitioner identity. Findings: Findings suggest that while participants see value in a scholar-practitioner identity and its impact on their future goals, there is often a discrepancy between the perceived feasibility of embodying the role in actual student affairs practice as well as variations across master’s and doctoral student levels. Recommendations for Practitioners: Recommendations for practice include working to integrate scholarship in professional positions and promoting greater collaboration between graduate coursework and professional supervisors. Recommendation for Researchers: Recommendations for researchers include continuing to examine how communities of practice develop across the levels of graduate socialization. Impact on Society: Understanding how individuals engage in scholarship in their fields carries interdisciplinary implications for merging research into professional roles. Future Research: A key area for future research is longitudinal inquiry into how emerging professionals in higher education/student affairs negotiate the scholar-practitioner spectrum across career development.

Does Persistent Pain Following a Motor Vehicle Crash Impact Functional Status in Older Adults?

Review of recent evidence with translation to practice for the advanced practice nurse (APN) role is presented using a case study module for "Persistent Pain Among Older Adults Discharged Home From the Emergency Department After Motor Vehicle Crash: A Prospective Cohort Study." This longitudinal inquiry enrolled 161 patients 65 years or older seeking care in an emergency department (ED) following a motor vehicle crash. Interviews were conducted at the initial ED visit and at 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year. Variables of interest were persistent pain, depressive symptoms, and interference with activities of daily living, with an end goal of impact on functionality. Study subjects with persistent pain at 6 months reported an overall decrease in their health status, and 23% needed additional assistance with their activities of daily living, resulting in a change in living arrangements compared with 8% of the subjects without persistent pain. Repeat ED visits in the 6 months following the crash were more likely to occur in those with persistent pain (30% vs. 15%). This study highlights the important role of the APN in providing quality care, communication about pain management, and related follow-up care.

Protocol for a mixed methods longitudinal enquiry into the impact of a community based supportive service for people affected by cancer.

BackgroundGlobally, cancer rates are increasing. In Scotland, it is estimated that 2 in 5 people will develop cancer in their lifetime. Therefore, this is crucial time to provide personalised care and support to individuals affected by cancer. In response to this a community based supportive cancer service was launched in Glasgow, Scotland. The aim of this service is to proactively provide those affected by cancer with an assessment of their needs and personalised support where needed. To our knowledge, there is no other service like this in the United Kingdom.MethodsThe aim of this study is to understand if and how the service impacts upon the experiences and outcomes of people living with and affected by cancer. The study uses a sequential mixed methods design across a 5 year time point. Data gathering includes questionnaires, interviews, observations and reflective diaries. Participants include people affected by cancer who have used the service, a comparative sample who have not used the service, individuals who deliver the service and wider stakeholders. Outcomes include measures of patient activation, quality of life, health status, and social support. Data collection occurs at baseline, 2.5 years and 4 years with data from observations and reflective diaries supplemented throughout.DiscussionThis study evaluates an innovative community based cancer service. It focuses on impact and process issues relevant to a) the individuals in receipt of the service, b) the service providers, and c) the wider culture. As the programme evolves overtime, the research has been designed to draw out learning from the programme in order to support future commissioning both within Scotland and across the UK.

Applications of Longitudinal Research to Advance Organizational Theory

The purpose of this article is to inform researchers about and encourage the use of longitudinal designs to further understanding of human resource development and organizational theory. This article presents information about a variety of longitudinal research designs, related statistical procedures, and an overview of general data collecting approaches, covering their strengths and weaknesses. The article also serves as a reminder of the importance of alignment between the research purpose, questions and methodology while highlighting the benefits of using multiple methods. Finally, importance of research replicability in the context of longitudinal inquiry is stressed.