Recent Qualitative Research Research Articles

Young People and the Reproduction of Disadvantage through Transnational Higher Education in Hong Kong

This paper examines the role of transnational higher education in reproducing local patterns of disadvantage in Hong Kong. Specifically, it considers the expectations and experiences of local students undertaking British degree programmes, drawing on the findings of a recent qualitative research project. In this paper, we argue that through the introduction of so-called ‘top-up’ programmes, British universities are providing degree-level education to students unable to access local higher education (HE) in Hong Kong through the ‘traditional’ route. Drawing upon our interviews with students and graduates, we show the immense cultural and social expectations, placed upon young people in Hong Kong, to obtain a university degree, and the role of ‘international’ education in (partially) offsetting the shortfall in domestic university places. However, we also suggest that these students/graduates are in various ways relatively disadvantaged by these degrees - they often have less cultural capital and social capital on which to draw, and find that their degrees are less valued than their local equivalent. There are broader implications of our findings for understanding the role of transnational educational provision in localised reproduction of (dis)advantage, especially in East Asia.

Working as a Hospice Volunteer

Drawing on recent qualitative research undertaken in a large English hospice, this article discusses the experience of being a hospice volunteer. The research explored a range of issues connected to the process and experience of voluntary work in this setting including who volunteers, what roles volunteers take up, how they are trained and supported, and the ways in which role boundaries are established and maintained. The research revealed that hospice volunteering is rewarding but often emotionally challenging, and is now highly routinized and closely monitored in ways paralleling practices in the paid labor market. Although volunteers freely give their time to the work of hospice, their activities are subject to significant management prescription, with hospices increasingly adopting sophisticated business models to underpin their operation and, in many cases, their expansion (Watts, 2010).

Close encounters with nature in an urban kindergarten: a study of learners' inquiry and experience

This article reports on the findings of a recent qualitative grounded theory research study in a metropolitan area in the south-east of Canada examining one junior/senior kindergarten classroom's engagement with nature. It focuses on the role of the learners, the children and the teacher, in co-constructing two very different learning experiences. The findings suggest that when learners play an agentive role in constructing their own learning experience and are involved emotionally as well as cognitively, the level of engagement would be deeper, richer and more sustained.

Special considerations with response to intervention and instruction for students with diverse backgrounds

AbstractResponse to Intervention (RtI) has been heralded as having significant promise for improving outcomes, reducing disproportional placement in special education, and making education more culturally responsive for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) youth. This article reviews the major recent empirical and qualitative research findings with respect to its impact, particularly with regard to CLD youth. Extant policies are reviewed, in addition to best‐practice recommendations by experts in the field of culturally responsive RtI. The major conclusion of this article is that despite some recent high‐quality studies, insufficient research currently exists to support full implementation of an RtI model with CLD youth or those who have individual diversity. In many cases, researchers need to minimally disaggregate their findings and more clearly explain their samples and methods, moving beyond providing simple ethnicity counts as proxies for culture. Future studies should include fully described contextual variables and consider the science to pedagogical practice gap. In addition, outcomes for youth need to be documented as part of assessing whether RtI is having the desired effect on producing a more equitable educational milieu. Finally, additional research is needed in subject areas beyond reading and should be conducted more frequently with CLD adolescents. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Life-worlds of Elite Young Athletes: A Lens on their School/Sport Balancing Act

This article takes steps toward illuminating, from an ecological perspective and social network theory stance, the life-worlds of elite young athletes in New Zealand secondary schools. Recent qualitative research about the lives of four elite female sportswomen foregrounds this article which seeks to inform and to enlighten New Zealand educators and government policy makers about the needs and issues surrounding exceptional athletes. These athletes are present but not always visible in Physical Education lessons and co-curricular sport in New Zealand schools. This article aims to shed light on the micro, meso and macro worlds of exceptional young athletes, and the influences, interactions, interrelations and interdependencies that affect their everyday lives. The educator’s role in support of these exceptional young athletes has been investigated with recommendations made for future improvements. The challenge now is to initiate further discourse and to reflect on current policies and practices so that the notion of providing comprehensive and enduring provision (Ministry of Education, 2000) for gifted and talented students, within a Physical Education and sporting context, is recognised and acted upon.

Ideología profesional del altruismo de los practicantes de medicina rusos

Altruism has been seen as an important characteristic of professionals. In accordance with neo-Weberian critiques, our research does not deny the importance of the professional ideology of altruism: even though some medical practitioners’ actions may be self-enhancement, they are still providing a service for their patients or clients. In recent desk and qualitative research by Russian orthodox practitioners, professional ideology has been interpreted as a significant professional characteristic. The research pointed out the discrepancy between medical practitioners’ sense of reduced circumstances and their rather positive perception of their profession.

There seems no place for place: a gap analysis of the recovery literature

PurposeThis paper seeks to discuss recent research concerning the subjective experience of recovery from severe mental health difficulties, with the aim of appraising the extent to which this literature has attended to the role of environmental and social conditions.Design/methodology/approachFollowing an overview of research focusing on environmental and social conditions and mental health generally, a focused literature review was undertaken to analyse gaps within the recovery literature, specifically in relation to the importance of environmental or social contexts. Thematic analysis was used to derive salient themes from this literature. Research methodologies are appraised with regards to the extent to which they are congruent with an examination of the context of recovery.FindingsA total of 11 papers relating to the impact of place or context on recovery were reviewed. Key themes identified were: the relationship between place, social context, and identity; safety and security; social connectedness; and contradictory impacts of the mental health system. The authors argue that recent qualitative research has over emphasised the subjective experience of recovery at the expense of a rich description of the place in which research is conducted. This approach dislocates recovery from its geographical location and the wider political and economic system in which it occurs.Originality/valueA gap is identified within the current literature concerning recovery from severe mental health difficulties. In order to better understand the environmental factors that contribute to recovery, research needs to include rich descriptions of place, i.e. the physical and social environment as situated within the wider political and economic context.

Barriers to Emergency Contraception for Adolescents

Unintended teenage pregnancies are a critical public health issue, and reducing teenage pregnancy is an important health care goal. Even though health care providers want to encourage sexually active adolescents to use routine contraception correctly, emergency contraception (EC) provides an appropriate emergency option for patients whose first line of defense has failed. Recent cross-sectional, various non-experimental, and qualitative research has found significant barriers to adolescents having access to or obtaining EC. Decreasing barriers to teen access is an important issue because research has shown that a young person's increased access to EC increases its use. The purpose of this article is to review relevant literature focused on the barriers to EC use by adolescents. After reviewing the current state of the science, additional, higher levels of evidence about the current barriers to EC and more research focused on effective interventions to decrease those barriers are required.

I wouldn’t mind moving actually: Exploring Student Mobility in Northern Ireland

This article examines orientations towards future geographical mobility amongst young people in Northern Ireland presently studying at third level educational institutions. Following contextualisation of youth mobility as pertaining to students in this region, the results of recent quantitative and qualitative research are discussed. Over half of these young people, 55 per cent, see themselves living outside Northern Ireland at some point in the future. Furthermore, in response to a number of statements on family relationships, peer associations and community attachments, young people with mobility intentions are found to be more likely to have families who support migration intentions. These potentially mobile young people also tend to have peers and siblings with prior experience of geographical mobility and show signs of being less deeply attached to their local communities and/or local identities. A number of qualitative case studies further illustrate the diversity of mobility orientations within the sample, ranging from those positively predisposed towards migration to those more averse to such movement.

Exploring engagement with music in everyday life using experience sampling methodology

Recent qualitative research has highlighted differences in people’s music-listening behaviour according to their level of involvement with and interest in music, yet these findings are mainly based on retrospective accounts of patterns of behaviour ( Greasley, 2008 ; Greasley & Lamont, 2006 ; Lonie, 2009 ). Experience sampling methodology (ESM) is a valuable tool for studying music in everyday contexts, and it has been shown to increase people’s conscious awareness of the role of music in their lives ( Sloboda, O’Neill, & Ivaldi, 2001 ). Using ESM, the present study explored differences in people’s everyday engagement with music by recruiting three different types of listener: those identified as having low, moderate, or high engagement with music. Over seven days, quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 25 young adults (aged 18–30) on what they were doing while hearing music (e.g., activities) and the functions/effects of music (e.g., reasons influencing choices). Post-study interviews with 23 participants then generated retrospective accounts about specific musical experiences. Analysis revealed two broad types of listener: the less engaged, who listened for fewer hours a week (min = 3 hours, mean = 12 hours), were less likely to be hearing self-chosen music, and were more likely to listen to music to pass time, out of habit or to help them feel less alone; and the highly engaged, who listened for a greater number of hours per week (mean = 21 hours, max = 40 hours), were more likely to be hearing self-chosen music, and were more likely to use music to evoke specific moods, create an atmosphere, or enhance an activity. The study confirmed the usefulness of ESM for investigating the complex (and interacting) factors involved in people’s daily musical choices, and highlighted ways in which music can fulfil different functions concurrently. Findings show that future research on everyday musical behaviour should continue to account for the context of music listening in shaping responses to and uses of music; and account for individual differences in people’s levels of engagement with music.

An End to Gender Display Through the Performance of Housework? A Review and Reassessment of the Quantitative Literature Using Insights From the Qualitative Literature

According to the gender-deviance neutralization hypothesis, men and women in household circumstances that contradict the normal expectations of gender display their gender accordingly, by either increasing or decreasing their contribution to household tasks. In this article, I review and reassess the large-scale quantitative evidence, concluding that considerable doubt has subsequently been cast on this hypothesis. For women, research shows that the original identification of gender-deviance neutralization behavior was questionable, as it failed to take into account women's absolute levels of income. For men, both more recent quantitative and indicative qualitative research suggests that such behavior was always limited to a very small group. Subsequent changes in the contributions to housework of men from lower socioeconomic groups suggest that such display may no longer be evident.

Benefits from Participation in the Chemo Club: Psychosocial Insights on an Exercise Program for Cancer Patients

Recent research has established the important beneficial relationship between exercise and cancer rehabilitation and survivorship. However, the complexities of this interrelationship are as yet underexplored. This article presents the findings of a recent qualitative research study that examined the psychosocial benefits associated with involvement in an exercise club (the Chemo Club) specifically designed for cancer patients during or postchemotherapy from the perspectives of the patients. The findings validate the important benefits involvement in the Chemo Club provides its members and highlight the need for further initiates, hospital based and external, to establish such services for cancer patients.

Through a Discourse Analysis lens less darkly: illuminating how SME principals and support agency practitioners see marketing in SMEs

The purpose of this paper is to explain the social contructivist approach taken to uncovering clearer, deeper meaning through a recent qualitative, interpretive and subjective research study. This study examined the ways in which marketing is seen and conducted in SMEs by SME principals and support agency practitioners. The research was designed with a particular method of data analysis (Discourse Analysis) in mind which was applied to the SME marketing context. The findings of the study provided a contribution to the SME marketing debate where the research approach taken proved to be instrumental in providing a contribution to both theory and practice of marketing in SMEs and the education, training and development activities of support agencies. The subjective nature of this research yielded benefits that would not have been available through a positivist research approach. The approach taken has more practical application than some traditionalists might believe. This paper explains how further understanding of SME marketing resulted from the study and how further original insights can be gained by applying the tools utilised in studies in SME marketing and marketing in other contexts.

Accelerating acculturation through tacit knowledge flows: refining a grounded theory model

PurposeIntercultural knowledge flows are critical to global enterprise performance, but the impact of knowledge management theory on such intercultural flows remains limited. This paper seeks to address this issue.Design/methodology/approachThe present investigation builds on and partially validates two prior studies: research to integrate institutional theory with knowledge flow theory, which provides a powerful theoretical framework for understanding how tacit knowledge flows across cultures; and recent qualitative research, which has employed this framework to develop a theoretical model of acculturation. The present investigation refines this model by drawing in particular from the mergers and acquisitions literature to characterize both accelerators and decelerators of acculturation.FindingsThe paper is able to identify theoretical dimensions to measure acculturative stress, a concept that proves to be useful in terms of validating, refining and simplifying the basic acculturation model.Research limitations/implicationsThe refined acculturation model maintains the essential structure and many elements of the basic model, but it links more closely with extant theory as characterized by the mergers and acquisitions and trust literatures; hence it is more broadly generalizable. The refined model also links well to institutional theory and explains how to increase or decrease the tacit knowledge flows underlying acculturation to affect organizational outcomes.Practical implicationsThe refined acculturation model provides the practicing leader and manager with clear insight into the kinds of promoters and inhibitors of intercultural knowledge flows, and identifies key actions that can be taken to affect such flows and the corresponding organizational outcomes.Social implicationsThis paper elucidates both difficulties and opportunities associated with intercultural knowledge flows in today's global economy – difficulties and opportunities that will likely gain prominence as the world becomes increasingly global.Originality/valueThe refined acculturation model makes both theoretical and practical contributions.

Fearfully powerful: male teachers, social power and the primary school

This paper interrogates the relationship between the social distance men have from children, fear, and the social expectation that men will be capable of managing student (mis)behaviours. Briefly, the central argument is that the social distance men, as a group, have from children, and child protection concerns of men working with children can produce an unfamiliarity and wariness amongst children, of men. This wariness when translated as fear can produce respect and a social expectation that men are (or should be) better than women at managing student behaviour. The argument is developed from a (pro)feminist post‐structuralist perspective and draws upon data from a recent qualitative research project on male teachers. While set in Australia there is a global significance for this paper as it theorises how gender inequities are perpetuated in primary school settings in industrialised nations.

Reading Althaus-Reid: As a Bi Feminist Theo/Methodological Resource

This article examines the queer theology of Marcella Althaus-Reid in light of the author's recent qualitative research with bisexual women in the Greater Toronto Area. Althaus-Reid identifies herself as a “queer among queers,” and her work builds upon postcolonial and liberation theology. Five themes in her work offer a framework for constructing a bisexual feminist theology: (1) valuing queer culture, (2) sexualizing theology, (3) reframing authority, (4) taking metaphor seriously, and (5) reclaiming the sacred. The author notes the promise and problems in Althaus-Reid's work on these subjects and offers some directions for bisexual feminist theology.

Using Visual and Narrative Research Methods to Explore Sexual Context and Sexual Risk Taking

Purpose: Recent qualitative research suggests the utility of subject-focused visual and narrative methods to uncover the context in which sexual decision making is made. While past work using these methods has linked a specific sexual context to sexual risk taking in several populations (e.g., sex workers, MSM), similar research does not exist among young and emerging adults. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess feasibility of combining visual and narrative research methods to: (1) explore the within-individual construction and management of sexual context; (2) analyze how context influences perceptions of sexual safety and sexual risk.

Emerging technologies as change agent within and across organisational cultures

E-learning policy and project implementation can be said to act as a driver of change in educational institutions, but institutions can change in markedly different ways. This paper reports on recent qualitative research focused on the implementation of Web2.0 approaches within a UK university. It argues that the embedded use of Web2.0 relies on the changing of working practices and people's mindsets. We suggest that implementation may be problematic, resulting in change being more readily accepted by some groups and/or cultures than others. The way in which the Web2.0 concept is socially constructed in everyday discourses, events and learning communities is explored. The informal and participatory nature of these approaches, which may initiate the seeping of informal practices into otherwise more formal educational environments, can frame emerging technologies as 'disruptive'.

CSR: more than just gloss?

PurposeThis paper aims to review a report on recent qualitative research illustrating how equal opportunity ideals as part of corporate CSR identity project are practices on the local level.Design/methodology/approachThis briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments.FindingsThe role corporate social responsibility (CSR) can play in successful business models is by now not a new idea. Becoming more ethical, the business media has long told us, will improve the bottom line. The understanding is that shareholders now care more and more about social and environmental issues, so retaining their investment involves showing concern too. Customers too are savvy these days, and want to know where products are sourced, who is making them and what the impact on the planet is before they will buy. Many organizations across the world have responded to these demands by implementing some sort of CSR policy: brands are being realigned with ethics, hiring strategies are broadening, and end of year reports now often include notes on action in this area.Practical implicationsThere are implications for managers who work with CSR initiatives and corporate identity, who are advised to consider CSR as a participative process.Originality/valueProvides a case study on how CSR can fail to translate from ideal to practice, and offers advice on steps to overcome this.

‘Crafting the future’: pioneer lessons and concerns for today

A recent qualitative research study gathered the career reflections of the generation of distance education practitioners who developed more flexible higher education (via distance modes) in the second half of the twentieth century. Part of that study’s results focus on the lessons the practitioners learned about what constitutes effective distance education and the concerns they expressed about the future. These are reported here. The key lessons are grouped around patience, tolerance and listening, respectfulness, responsiveness, the qualities needed for innovation and institutional management, and use of technologies. Appropriate use, technical reliability, and critical mindsets emerged as key lessons for technology applications. Ten questions then help readers engage their own reflective thinking and investigate knowledge transfer possibilities.