Striving against invalidity in qualitative research: Discussing a reflective framework

The aim of this paper is to discuss a reflective validation framework related with the study of teaching approaches, teaching styles or teaching orientations of university academics. In the recent years, and particularly since the eighties, there have been a growing number of investigations linking teaching conceptions with teaching practices. The majority of investigations dealing with university teachers’ conceptions and practices draw their conclusions based on indirect observation, since data gathering involves mainly semi-structured interviews or the application of questionnaires and inventories. Therefore ‘only-half-the-story’ has been reported. The presented validation framework has a five-part three-stage structure and was built upon earlier work (Selvaruby, O’Sullivan, & Watts, 2007). In this model validity is conceptualized as an ‘iterative-interactive-process’, therefore integrating a set of specific strategies envisaging the maximization of scientific quality. The application of the model is illustrated by using it for the discussion of a longitudinal study involving the investigation of the relationship between questioning practices and Trigwell and co-workers’ concept of preferential teaching approaches (Trigwell, Prosser & Taylor, 1994). Field work of this naturalistic-interpretative research was conducted during two academic years (2009/2010 and 2010/2011) and implied close collaboration with a group of four university teachers lecturing biology to undergraduates.This work was financed by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/44611/2008) and by Fundos FEDER através do Programa Operacional Fatores de Competitividade – COMPETE e por Fundos Nacionais através da FCT (PTDC/CPE-CED/117516/2010)

Pupils or prisoners? Institutional geographies and internal exclusion in UK secondary schools

This is the accepted version of the following article: Barker, J., Alldred, P., Watts, M. and Dodman, H. (2010), Pupils or prisoners? Institutional geographies and internal exclusion in UK secondary schools. Area, 42: 378–386, which has been published in final form at the link below. Copyright © 2010 The Authors.A growing interest in the geographies of schooling has led to an exploration of a variety of school spaces. An increasing number of secondary schools offer internal fixed-term exclusions so that temporary removal from school is not seen as ‘time off’ for students. This particular strategy has led to the creation of a new type of space in schools. Drawing upon research undertaken in a London secondary school, this paper explores the geography of these new secluded spaces. We highlight that the configuration of physical space in Seclusion Units and the regulation of spatial practices create highly controlled and segregated spaces of punishment. We explore the powerful transformative effects of these spaces to change students' behaviour, social interaction and attitudes to learning. However, rather than simply creating docile subjects, we recognise that domination is never complete and we explore the extent and the limit of student resistance to the discipline and control of the Seclusion Unit

Contexts for questioning: Two zones of teaching and learning in undergraduate science

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012.Higher education institutions are currently undertaking a challenging process in moving from teacher-orientated to student-focused approaches. Students’ ability to asking questions is fundamental to developing critical reasoning, and to the process of scientific enquiry itself. Our premise is that questioning competences should become a central focus of current reforms in higher education. This study, part of a broader naturalistic research project, aims at developing a theoretical framework for conceptualizing different contexts for questioning, illustrating the application of the proposed framework (contextual questioning zones) and reflecting about some of the dimensions of teaching and learning, for overcoming some of the challenges that higher education institutions are facing presently. The discussion of two ‘opposite’ contexts of enquiry is based on qualitative data, gathered through close collaboration with four teachers of undergraduate biology at a Portuguese university. These teachers were observed during their ‘daily activity’ during an academic year. Data was also gathered by interviewing these teachers and 8 selected students, at the end of the year, and used to sustain the argumentation. The paper concludes with some reflections and suggestions to promote authentic enquiry-based learning experiences.Portuguese Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologi

The old questions are the best: striving against invalidity in qualitative research

This chapter enters an old debate on the shape of validation processes in qualitative research. We discuss a reflective research validation framework related to teaching approaches and practices. The majority of investigations in this area draw mainly on indirect observation, semistructured interviews or the application of questionnaires and inventories. To this extent, only “half-the-story” has been reported. The validation framework here develops a five-part three stage structure, conceptualized as an “iterative-interactive-process,” integrating a set of strategies aimed at the “minimization of invalidity.” The application of the framework is illustrated through a longitudinal study investigating the relationship between classroom questioning practices and teachers’ preferential teaching approaches. Fieldwork in this naturalistic-interpretative research was conducted during four academic years and entailed close collaboration with a group of four university teachers lecturing biology to undergraduates.The authors acknowledge the financial support of Portuguese Fundac¸a˜o para a Cieˆncia e a Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/44611/2008; PTDC/CPE-CED/ 117516/2010).Portuguese Fundac ̧ a ̃ o para a Cieˆ ncia e a Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/44611/2008; PTDC/CPE-CED/ 117516/2010)

Institute and learner readiness for e-learning in the Maldives

One of the most pervasive ways of expanding higher education to masses is through e-learning. Maldives being an island nation scattered with over 1190 islands, e-learning would be an ideal form of delivery for students on remote islands. The purpose of this study is to explore Maldivian institutes and college students’ e-learning readiness. The research is a mixed-method research conducted employing questionnaires (quantitative) and semi-structured interviews (qualitative). About 120 students from two private higher education institutes filled questionnaires and 10 students selected for interviews. Similarly, about 50 lecturers/facilitators filled a separate questionnaire to obtain teacher/institute readiness for on-line learning/teaching

But is it science?

In October 2014, the International Safeguards for Children in Sport were launched. These Safeguards were developed, implemented, and evaluated based on a pilot process which took place over the preceding 2 years. Throughout this piloting phase, a range of qualitative techniques were employed to capture the experiences of people within 32 of the organizations that were working toward the International Safeguards. The participant organizations varied based on their geographical focus (e.g., local, national, and international) as well as their mission (e.g., participation, competition, and sport for development). Based on a thematic analysis, eight key pillars were identified on which systems which safeguard children can be built. These are known as the CHILDREN pillars: Cultural sensitivity, Holistic, Incentives, Leadership, Dynamic, Resources, Engagement, and Networks. Illustrative examples are provided and the future directions of this project will be discusse

Assessing Code Authorship: The Case of the Linux Kernel

Code authorship is a key information in large-scale open source systems. Among others, it allows maintainers to assess division of work and identify key collaborators. Interestingly, open-source communities lack guidelines on how to manage authorship. This could be mitigated by setting to build an empirical body of knowledge on how authorship-related measures evolve in successful open-source communities. Towards that direction, we perform a case study on the Linux kernel. Our results show that: (a) only a small portion of developers (26 %) makes significant contributions to the code base; (b) the distribution of the number of files per author is highly skewed --- a small group of top authors (3 %) is responsible for hundreds of files, while most authors (75 %) are responsible for at most 11 files; (c) most authors (62 %) have a specialist profile; (d) authors with a high number of co-authorship connections tend to collaborate with others with less connections.Comment: Accepted at 13th International Conference on Open Source Systems (OSS). 12 page