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The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research

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Abstract

This handbook provides a broad introduction to qualitative research to those with little to no background in the subject while simultaneously providing substantive contributions to the field that will be of interest to even the most experienced researchers. The first two sections explore the history of qualitative research, ethical perspectives, and philosophical/theoretical approaches. The next three sections focus on the major methods of qualitative practice, as well as on newer approaches (such as arts-based research and internet research); area studies often excluded (such as museum studies and disaster studies); and mixed methods and participatory methods (such as community-based research). The next section covers key issues including data analysis, interpretation, writing, and assessment. The final section offers a commentary about politics and research and the move toward public scholarship. The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research is intended for students of all levels, faculty, and researchers across the social sciences.
The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research (2014)
Leavy, Patricia (editor)
New York: Oxford University Press. (pp. 254-276)
... By utilizing a pragmatic approach, the intentional and strategic combination of multiple methods and techniques was intended to uncover practical responses to the research question (Greenwood, 2007). This is a common approach when it comes to explorative qualitative research for problem-orientated investigations related to sustainability and education (Leavy, 2014). ...
... Using Stringer's process (Figure 1), different complementing methods appropriate for educational research were used at varying stages. A qualitative perspective was chosen due to the research's desire to build 'thick descriptions', describing the social phenomena of education it studied and because qualitative perspectives align with issue-or problem-based research that seeks to develop solutions within the events they examine (Leavy, 2014). Furthermore, the characteristics of the data utilized throughout this research advocate for qualitative examination, as it utilizes 'naturalistic' (from the direct source of students and teachers), 'descriptive' (in the form of words and not numbers), 'processual' (understanding the journey and not just the outcome), 'inductive' (developed from the bottom up) and 'meaningful' (making sense of experience) descriptions (Bogdan and Biklen, 1998). ...
... Qualitative research is a way of learning about social realities that intends to build a depth of understanding about some aspect of social life. The term qualitative offers an overarching description of a wide range of methodological practices that are continually evolving and offers a home to numerous research perspectives (Leavy, 2014). Ensuring the 'quality' of this research was an integral aspect of its planning and execution despite that fact that what determines 'quality' is still not fully settled in qualitative methodological discussions. ...
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Humanity is facing and driving numerous, multifaceted and interconnected crises that are fundamentally endangering the socio-ecological systems’ qualities that are essential for the meeting of human needs in the long term. This thesis considered the role of Education for Sustainable Development as a leverage point to address causes of these crises and support a global transition towards sustainability. The research centered on examining how development of sustainability-focused leadership education within higher education institutes can contribute to the cultivation of durable and effective sustainability leaders. A qualitative action research approach was used to study two educational programs; the Master’s in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability program at Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden and the Humanitarian Design Summit program operated by Engineers Without Borders Australia. The action research on these cases was supported and complemented by questionnaires, surveys, interviews, content analysis and thematic analysis, as well as literature reviews and mirroring with other similar studies internationally. The research investigated the experiences of participants within these programs, the pedagogies that influenced those experiences and the outcomes of the programs. Findings suggest that education can play a significant role in the development of sustainability leadership and the thesis offers guidance and strategies to support that as an outcome from conscious design and operation of sustainability leadership programs. The research highlights the difficult context facing sustainability leadership and the importance of development of ‘inner qualities’ (termed intrapersonal capacities) in response. These capacities may serve as a basis for leaders to endure enacting sustainability leadership by helping them cope with the challenging nature of the work and by providing a clearer language for leadership development. The research also suggests several pedagogical considerations and scaffolds that can be used by educators in their design and cultivation of learning environments for sustainability leadership development. This includes reflections on learning design for transformational learning, the outcomes of transformational learning in students, the use of reflective pedagogies and the development of sustainability-contextualized learning environments. The thesis contributes to the fields of sustainability leadership, education for sustainable development and complexity by providing an overview of the state-of the-art of the intersection of these fields and concrete advice and tools to enhance educators’ possibilities to design and implement higher education learning environments that can promote development of leaders capable to cope with and lead effectively in the burdensome and complex reality that sustainability transitions entail.
... But don't scold him and make him lonely if he is kind" 26 . In fact, students position teachers as people who are very influential in encouraging, shaping, and exemplifying prosocial behavior 27 . The quality of the relationship between teacher and students is significantly related to the teacher's emotional experience during teaching 28 . ...
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Al-Qabisi is an Islamic education figure who lived in the classical Islamic era. His thoughts are contained in the book al-Risālah al-Mufaṣṣilah li Ahwāl al-Muta'allimīn wa Aḥkām al-Mu'allimīn wa al-Muta’allimīn. This study analyzes al-Qabisi's thoughts about teacher ethics in educating children in the book. The type of research used is a non-interactive qualitative study with content analysis methods. The study results show that teachers in educating children own several ethics. Among them, (1) teachers are required to fulfill obligations before accepting rights to students; (2) caring and always being gentle with students; (3) may not be rude to students; (4) act fairly among them; (5) do not combine male and female students; (6) teachers must always supervise students; and (7) keep them away from bad deeds. It can be concluded that Al-Qabisi's thoughts were strongly influenced by the social conditions that developed at that time, namely the school of jurisprudence of Imam Malik, experts on hadith, and the practice of the people of Medina.
... Survey data is usually collected using a questionnaire as the main tool (Leavy, 2014(Leavy, , 2022Lodico et al., 2006). ...
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Popularity is of great developmental significance to early adolescents for its implications on behavioral and adjustment outcomes. Although extensive research on popularity has been conducted in Western cultures, little is known about Chinese adolescents’ indigenous understanding of popularity. The current study examined Chinese early adolescents’ understanding of popularity using focus group interviews to explore the characteristics of popularity and unpopularity, as well as popularity determinants for boys and girls. We conducted interviews on six focus groups comprising 37 Chinese fifth and sixth graders (18 boys, 19 girls). Transcriptions were coded and analyzed through developing coding schemes that included emerged codes and categories. The results showed both cross-cultural similarities and culturally specific findings in adolescents’ perceptions of popularity characteristics and determinants. Specifically, sociability, academic performance, and prosocial behaviors served as major characteristics of popularity, whereas aggressive and disruptive behaviors were regarded as typical attributes of unpopularity. More importantly, culturally unique aspects of popularity characteristics were reported by Chinese adolescents, such as a strong sense of collective honor. When responding what would make a peer popular, Chinese early adolescents reported various behavioral, social, and cultural factors. Findings of this study underscore the importance of examining perceptions of popularity in consideration of the cultural context.
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Native-speakerism, as defined by Holliday (2005), suggests that Native English Speaking Teachers (NESTs) are perceived as the best teachers and are attributed superior status in comparison to Non Native English Speaking Teachers (NNESTs). Native-speakerism has been studied in different contexts around the world. However, few studies have tackled Native-speakerism in the Latin-American context, and none within the context of Argentina. This study fills a gap in providing a comprehensive overview of students’ preferences for NESTs/NNESTs, their beliefs about effective teaching practices, and to what extent these preferences/perceptions affect hiring practices in the City of Buenos Aires. This study also provides a macro-perspective via the analysis of recruiting practices in the City of Buenos Aires ELT market. The author used a mixed methods research design to carry out this study. Surveys, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews generated both quantitative and qualitative data from English students at two schools in Buenos Aires. These data, supplemented by public domain data via document analysis of job advertisements, enabled both statistical and content analysis to be carried out, as well as a final convergent analysis phase. Results show that, even though students express a slight preference for NESTs and convey that NESTs have an advantage in areas like pronunciation, vocabulary or language fluency, students expressed great appreciation and respect towards NNESTs. Students avoided extreme opinions such as the ones found in previous studies, where NESTs’ strengths (i.e., pronunciation, vocabulary, language fluency) were equated to NNESTs’ weaknesses (Alviaderi, 2018; Benke & Medgyes, 2005). Students showed openness to being taught by NESTs or NNESTs, an openness potentially stemming from students’ positive experience with NNESTs (and NESTs) and students’ belief that teaching effectiveness entails knowing teaching methodology, being flexible and being able to motivate students. Students expressed that native status and native-like pronunciation are the least important characteristics of effective teaching. The analysis of job advertisements supports the students’ position in that being a NEST is not an important requirement to be hired as a teacher. A considerable number of ads required qualified and experienced teachers. A significant reason why Native-speakerism is not prevalent in the research context can be the strong English education eco-system in the City of Buenos Aires, equipped with proficient, highly skilled teachers from highly respected ELT colleges.
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