Appendix V
The purpose of this journal article is an investigation of the relationship between good, qualitative research and its value to education. Duncan’s research problem suggests that under current practice there is a “minimal set of requirements for good practice in the writing up of qualitative research studies” (p. 460). This problem is significant if qualitative researchers want their studies to be considered valid and reliable by the educational research community as a whole.
Because Duncan feels that qualitative research is under attack, her intent is to establish some guiding principles and criteria to illustrate the value of qualitative research. Duncan uses a study on mature women student teachers as the template through which she evaluates the research itself. The criterion she establishes becomes the research questions she follows and uses to guide her through an ethnographic study of mature women student teachers.
The literature cited in this article is directly related to the stated research problem; that the contributions of qualitative research to the educational field are being challenged. Further, literature referred to in the Introduction establishes a solid background for determining the criteria of quality research in education. In her study, Duncan discusses the work of other researchers and how their studies complement her research as well as how her study adds new voices to the body of existing knowledge.
She contrasts Hodkinson’s “good practice” requirements for quality research with a list of current authors’ definitions. Duncan provides specific characteristics complied from “a rich source of writing” to compare quality research to mediocre research. Dr. Duncan uses her study to illustrate how the use of this criterion generates quality research. The citations confirm her assertion that qualitative research “has a serious contribution to make to educational and sociological knowledge.” In the Implications of the Findings, Duncan revisits the claims made in the Introduction. She re-affirms that her research study satisfies the criticisms aimed at qualitative research.
The study’s sample was drawn from twenty-five women between the ages of 24 and 45 who had indicated they intended to take part in the teacher-training program. The group was selected one year prior to matriculation which allowed Duncan to interview the women before they began coursework. The purpose of this study was to examine how this sample of students adapted to the various changes as they progressed through the first year of teacher-training. As the participants were all mothers and wives, Duncan identifies the direct affect that the process had on the women and the lives of their families.
Although the article clearly stated some of the field notes from interviews, the setting in which these interviews took place was very vague, “…in a well established institution of higher education” (p. 461). After stressing the importance of triangulation (p. 464) Duncan demonstrates its usefulness in her study by conducting four sets of interviews over time. The triangulation was maintained through the four interviews and by personal diary entries of the participants. The entries along with the interview questions helped develop themes.
The data in her study is analyzed and presented through the interview transcripts. However, for the sake of brevity, Duncan illustrates the different experiences and tactics of only two participants in the study. Further, explanations were given on the strategies used by the participants on their adaptation into the classroom and role of a trainee teacher. Duncan highlighted coping strategies as a major theme in her research. The analysis of these coping strategies showed how the women adapted to the change of their first year in the teacher-training program. The study showed that the socialization and adaptation was very challenging for the participants. However, the fact that the economic and social backgrounds were different for all participants affected the level of changes that each participant encountered. The study that Duncan used to illustrate how good, qualitative research can contribute to educational research was a sound choice to demonstrate the process of qualitative research, as well as its strengths and weaknesses.
The findings in Duncan’s study were the first of their kind and were unable to be compared to previous research. Some implications in the study indicated that mature women students could benefit from a more flexible, off-campus schedule and that a more equitable way of accessing course materials was necessary. The results of this study were published as a practitioner’s manual aimed at teacher and students in education and teacher preparation. Further, Duncan’s step-by-step validation of the qualitative research process through her study of mature women student teachers will likely prompt further research in developing protocols for ethnographic studies
The author effectively used her study on the teaching experiences of mature women students to illustrate the fact that good, qualitative research can contribute to educational research. Duncan discovered that her research was the first study of women student teachers. Some limitations in Duncan’s findings were due to the lack of previous studies and the fact that only two women were exemplified in detail in this study. Duncan admitted that a case for bias could be made in her study because the author selectively chose illustrations to be used in the study. She explained that the wealth of information collected in a five year study created an overwhelming amount of data and that her selections best exemplified the experiences of the women she studied. These implications reinforced the author’s primary research problem about proving the value of good qualitative research to education. The creation of a practical handbook further substantiates Duncan’s argument that good qualitative research is a solid contribution to educational research.
References
Duncan, D. (2000). The socialization of mature women student teachers: the importance
of ethnographic accounts to educational research. Teaching in Higher Education, 5(4),
459-71.