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Teachers Experience of AITSLsNational Professional Standards for Teachers
Chapter 3Design of the Research
Adam J. [email protected]
EDFD707Australian Catholic UniversitySupervisor: Dr. Roger Vallance
Due Date: May 2013
Running head: AITSL PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS 1
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ABSTRACT
The focus of this study is professional standards for teachers and in particular teachers
experience of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leaderships (AITSL) National
Professional Standards for Teachers. The term professional standards has two elements to it
professional and standards. Both professionalism and the standards movement were heavily
influenced by the rise of neoliberalism in the last quarter of the twentieth century. Under this
influence, professionalism has seen the emergence of two competing discourses.
The first discourse is one of quality assurance. It is focussed on accountability levers to improve
the quality of schooling. It is driven top-down by government and has a powerful impulse to
colonise the domain of teacher professionalism and professional standards, reducing standards to
competency checklists and teachers to compliant officers of the state. The second discourse is
one of quality improvement that is focussed on building teacher capacity through professional
learning that is oriented to collaborative inquiry.
The second part of professional standards is the standards element. Standards, like
professionalism, have been the subject of contesting discourses of quality assurance and quality
improvement.
Teacher professional learning forms an almost natural nexus with professional standards and this
nexus has been made explicit by AITSL in its recent publications. Accordingly, the area of
professional standards as a framework for professional learning is examined. Drawing on the
research bases in school improvement and teacher professional learning, the key themes of
capacity building and collaborative inquiry are explored: The moral purpose of teaching; the
critical importance of professional judgement in teachers work; the place of social capital and
the importance of risk and trust in building collaborative networks of practitioner inquiry emerge
as thematic elements of the practitioners response to the quality agenda. A case is made for
teachers to be subversive deeply and questioningly critiquing the status quo which has
seen decades of plateauing in student outcomes despite bids to improve the quality of teaching
and learning. This is a conception of engagement with professional standards where the teacher is
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an Activist Professional (After Sachs 2011). It is a conception which provides a framework for
examining teachers experience of AITSLs professional standards, for which no research has yet
been noted in the Literature.
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TABLEOF CONTENTS
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1. RATIONALEFORTHE CHOSEN METHODOLOGY
From ED707: State the purpose of the chapter and restate the purpose of the research itself.
You have already generated research questions from the previous chapter so the research
questions should be restated.
Rhetoric v reality in Zajda, 2002.
Critical theory necessary to give voice to the voiceless in a current neoliberal paradigm - the
teacher - to address the potential disempowerment that comes with the danger of standards
reducing the teacher to mere technical officer.
Neoliberalism as the unit of research (Beck & Sznaider, 2006, p. 15).
Chomskys rationale is good enough for me (Chomsky & Foucault, 2006, p. 15).
Why the international context is important: Methodological cosmopolitanism (Beck, 2006) and
methodological nationalism (Beck & Grande, 2010).
Later (1996), after the publication of the Theory of Communicative Action (Habermas 1984,
1987a), and recognising that agreement about these was only possible when people were in
communication with others, he drew attention (Habermas 1987b and especially 1996, Chap. 8) to
the role of communicative action in opening communicative space between peoplethe space of
intersubjectivity (which plays an important role in some of his more recent works, including
Habermas 1998,2002,20033, b, c). Opening communicative space, in turn, depends on our use of
language as a tool for reaching understanding (Kemmis, 2011, p. 16).
Discussions of Australian national or state politics are less relevant to my thesis than is the global
trend of #neoliberalism (Beck & Sznaider, 2006).
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2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
What is the philosophical stance informing the methodology? (Crotty, 1998, p. 2).
The notion of the research paradigm.
Note (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010) and the nature of policy research and the distinction between the
types - analysis for policy vis a vis analysis of policy, pp xi-xii; 45. Perhaps comment here on the
irrelevance of Jensens policy for work at the Gratten Institute (Jensen, 2012).
The importance of research purpose and positionality (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010, p. 51).
An ironic part of our positionality is that as neoliberal people, driven to innovate and succeed on
our own (or be dammed if we do not) is that it drives teacher-researchers like me as professionals
to attempt to seize the Standards Agenda to make national professional standards for teachers
their own (Ball, 2012, p. 144). The significance of neoliberalism (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010, p. xii).
Studying of public policy in a globalised world dominated by a neoliberal imaginary demands
new theoretical and methodological approaches (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010, p. xii).
A theoretical paradigm is thus the identification of the underlying basis that is used to construct
a scientific investigation; or, a loose collection of logically held together assumptions, concepts,
and propositions that orientates thinking and research (Bogdan & Biklan, 1982, p. 30). (Krauss,
2005, p. 75).
What is the Weltanschauung of this piece of work?
2.1. EPISTEMOLOGY
Describe and justify your chosen epistemology. Philosophical assumptions about what
constitutes knowledge claims (Creswell, 2003).
Search #positivism.
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Describe the missing ontology in the nation professional standards for teachers and why the
expression of the ontology of teaching has implications for the selection of research methods,
seeking expression to teacher voice.
Constructionism is an epistemology.
Postmodern perspectives from Usher & Edwards, 2000.
From Joseph Zajdas presentation on mixed methodologies: The epistemology of qualitative
research (Zajda, 2002; 2005).
Epistemology is a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, methods and limits of
human knowledge The epistemology of qualitative research: provides the underpinnings for how
research is conducted, underlying assumptions, how data are collected and analysed and how
conclusions are reached.
2.2. THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE
Describe and justify your theoretical perspective.
Not sure if this belongs here or the section above...The program notes read: Research paradigms
mean the varying approaches to assumptions about reality and knowledge that contribute to
different ways of understanding research problems. Commonly these approaches are gathered
into categories that include the experimental/empirical, sometimes labelled as:
positivist or post-positivist,
interpretative and
critical. cf here Creswell, 2003.
Heed the cynicism of (Stronach, 2010, p. 5).
Read here (Candy, 1989; Cherryholmes, 1993; Crotty, 1998; Pring, 2000; Gibbons & Sanderson,
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2002; Gough, 2002; Neuman, 2006; Schnelker, 2006; ODonoghue, 2007; Feast & Melles, 2010;
Lincoln, Lynham & Guba, 2011).
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3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGYAND METHODS
For example, if you are doing a case study, describe and justify its use and its relationship to the
research purpose.
Firstly, what are the strategies of inquiry (Creswell, 2003, p. 3) and then the means of data
collection?
Critical discourse analysis is helpful in providing an account of how political ideologies are
authorized through policies by locating them in the dominant popular imaginaries so that they are
interpreted as emerging from a commonly agreed set of values. (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010, p. 63).
We don not have well developed research methods for determining the extent of power and
influence of networked public policy (Ball, 2012, p. 7).
Interviews. Ethical issues (Plummer, 2001; Briggs, 2003; Krauss, 2005).
Why distinguishing between the perspective of social actors and that of social scientific
observers (Beck, 2006, p. 81) is important. Cf Becks distinction between actor and observer
from the cosmopolitan theoretical perspective (Beck & Sznaider, 2006, p. 4).
From Silverman, 2005: How did you go about your research?
2 What overall strategy did you adopt and why?
3 What design and techniques did you use?
4 Why these and not others?
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4. RESEARCH DESIGN
Mixed methods? Probably not, although there may be a place for a short survey.
4.1. PARTICIPANTS
Who, Why and How.
4.2. DATA GATHERING STRATEGIES
4.3. ANALYSISOF DATA
What methods of analysis have you chosen? How do they work? Carefully use diagrams and
tables.
4.4. VERIFICATIONS
What have you done to ensure the integrity of your work, your writing and your findings?
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4.5. ETHICAL ISSUES
What ethical issues arose and how did you cope with these? How did you plan and conduct the
study so as to avoid major ethical dilemmas?
4.6. OVERVIEWOF RESEARCH DESIGN
What happened and when? Use a diagram
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5. PROPOSED RESEARCH TIMETABLE
5.1.
5.2.
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6. BIBLIOGRAPHY
7. ANNOTATED REFERENCE LISTS
Ball, S. (2012). Global Education Inc. New policy networks and the neo-liberal imaginary(Kindle ed.). London: Routledge.. Makes connections between profit seekingorganisations and individuals and the neoliberal agenda for education in the last twentyyears. XRef to Fairclough2003/187.
Beck, U., & Grande, E. (2010). Varieties of second modernity: The cosmopolitan turn in socialand political theory and research. The British journal of sociology, 61(3), 409443. WileyOnline Library.
Beck, U., & Sznaider, N. (2006). Unpacking cosmopolitanism for the social sciences: A researchagenda. The British Journal of Sociology, 57(1), 123. Wiley Online Library.. Such aseminal paper that it was republished in 2010: The British Journal of Sociology TheBJS: Shaping Sociology Over 60 Years: 381403.
Beck, U. (2006). The cosmopolitan vision. (C. Cronin, Trans.). Cambridge: Polity Press..Review: In the best 20 pages of the book, Beck summarizes advancements made since
the early 1990s in meeting the epistemological challenges of studying globalizationempirically
Briggs, C. L. (2003). Postmodern interviewingJ. F. Gubrium & J. A. Holstein (Eds.), (pp. 242255). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. doi: 10.4135/9781412985437
Candy, P. (1989). Alternative paradigms in educational research. The Australian EducationalResearcher, 16(3), 111. doi: 10.1007/BF03219446
Cherryholmes, C. H. (1993). Reading research.Journal of Curriculum Studies, 25(1), 132. doi:10.1080/0022027930250101
Chomsky, N., & Foucault, M. (2006). The Chomsky-Foucault debate: On human nature. NewYork: New Press.. if it is correct, as I believe it is, that a fundamental element of humannature is the need for creative work, for creative inquiry, for free creation without thearbitrary limiting effect of coercive institutions, p.3738
Creswell, J. W. (2003).Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methodsapproaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
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Crotty, M. (1998). The foundations of social research: Meaning and perspective in the researchprocess. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.. Read Chp 7 pp106ff
Outline of my approach is on p.5
Foundational statement of critical theory, p.99
Freire and human creativity, p.115
Feast, L., & Melles, G. (2010, 28 June - 1 July). Epistemological positions in design research: Abrief review of the literature. Unpublished paper. Connected 2010 - 2nd InternationalConference on Design Education, University of NSW.
Gibbons, T., & Sanderson, G. (2002). Contemporary Themes in the Research Enterprise.International Education Journal, 3(4), 122.
Gough, N. (2002). Blank spots, blind spots, and methodological questions in educational inquiry.Unpublished paper. Higher Degrees Summer School, Faculty of Education, DeakinUniversity.
Jensen, B. (2012). Catching up: Learning from the best school systems in East Asia. Carlton,Victoria: Grattan Institute. Retrieved from http://www.grattan.edu.au/
Kemmis, S. (2011). A self-reflective practitioner and a new definition of critical participatoryaction research. In N. Mockler & J. Sachs (eds),Rethinking educational practice throughreflexive inquiry: Essays in honour of Susan Groundwater-Smith (pp. 1129). Dordrecht:Springer.. Radical critique of the System, p.14. Definition of action research, p.13ff.Essentially, the act of continual self-and critical reflection and action is the path of schoolself improvement (from my leadership perspective. Always asking, what (more) needs to
be done? (see Kemmis2010) or how can we do it better?
Action research can emancipate the teacher from the chains of compliance and accountabilities,p.19; 24
Krauss, S. (2005). Research paradigms and meaning making: A primer. The QualitativeReport, 10(4), 758770.. Positivism is objectivist, p.761
Lincoln, Y. S., Lynham, S. A., & Guba, E. G. (2011). Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions,and emerging confluences, revisited. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (eds), The SAGEhandbook of qualitative research (4th ed., pp. 97128). Los Angeles: SAGEPublications.. #farewell to criteriology p.121.
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Neuman, W. (2006). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Boston:Pearson.
ODonoghue, T. (2007). Planning your qualitative research project: An introduction tointerpretivist research in education. Abingdon: Routledge.
Plummer, K. (2001).Documents of life 2: An invitation to a critical humanism. Thousand Oaks,CA: SAGE Publications. doi: 10.4135/9781849208888. Chapter excerpt: The Moral andHuman Face of Life Stories: Reflexivity, Power and Ethics.
The disparity between what seems to be the intention of an interview as it is taking place andwhat it actually turns out to have been in aid of always comes as a shock.
Pring, R. (2000). The false dualism of educational research.Journal of Philosophy of
Education, 34(2), 247260. doi: 10.1111/14679752.00171
Rizvi, F., & Lingard, B. (2010). Globalizing education policy. Milton Park: Routledge.. Critiqueof the source of the concept of education as in the service of the knowledge economy,
p.8081. In a comment (p.201), I discuss a #dilemma that might be considered in my#conclusion.
through public policies the state laid out a framework which guided educational practices butdid not wholly determine them. ix
Through public policies, the state expressed its value preferences, either as an expression ofdemocratic choices of a community or in steering that communitys expectations. But weinsisted that just as policies embody particular values, so does their analysis. ix
Critical discourse analysis is helpful in providing an account of how political ideologies areauthorized through policies by locating them in the dominant popular imaginaries so thatthey are interpreted as emerging from a commonly agreed set of values. 63
public policy in the grip of #positivism - precisely the reason that post-positivist perspectivesstand to cast new light on to the subject. cf p.57
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Sachs, J. (2011). Skilling or emancipating? Metaphors for continuing teacher professionaldevelopment. In N. Mockler & J. Sachs (eds),Rethinking educational practice throughreflexive inquiry: Essays in honour of Susan Groundwater-Smith (pp. 153167).Dordrecht: Springer.
Schnelker, D. L. (2006). The student-as-bricoleur: Making sense of research paradigms.Teaching and Teacher Education, 22(1), 4257. doi: 10.1016/j.tate.2005.07.001
Silverman, D. (2005).Doing qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 302309). London: SAGEPublications.
Stronach, I. (2010). Globalizing education, educating the local: How method made us mad.London: Routledge.. Argues that the PISA and TIMSS narratives are pseudoscience anddistorting nonsense.
Chapter 3: The conflicted professional, caught between global and external economies ofperformance and more local ecologies of practice, in terms of internal commitments,p.5
Usher, R., & Edwards, R. (2000). Virtual research in performative times. In J. Garrick & C.Rhodes (Eds.),Research and knowledge at work: Perspectives, case-studies andinnovative strategies (pp. 250268). London: Routledge.
Zajda, J. (2002). Education and policy: Changing paradigms and issues.International review of
education, 48(1), 6791.. The recurring theme of #rhetoric v #reality.
This analysis brings into question the efficacy of the grand narratives of education that policyseeks to respond to and begs the analysis that #critical discourse analysis can bring.
Zajda, J. (2005). Globalization, education and policy: Changing paradigms. In J. Zajda (Ed.),International handbook on globalization, education and policy research: Globalperspectives and policies (pp. 121). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer. doi:
10.1007/1402029608_1
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