Making a difference by doing applied qualitative research in education: Three case studies

• Authors: Radomír Masaryk , Lenka Sokolová
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The paper explores the possibilities of using applied qualitative research to help to achieve changes in the context of education. It presents three case studies: an evaluation of an educational software package which may be implemented nationally; an assessment of the impact of a 1:1 Technology Rich Learning Environment experimental project conducted in two Slovak elementary schools; and international comparative research on the curricula of psychology courses in secondary schools. The authors ask three questions: 1. does qualitative research have the potential/resources/capacity to guide us in the process of making policy related decisions? 2. Does it have enough credibility in the eyes of the consumers-whether these are decision-makers themselves or a wider community that often plays a role in public decisions? 3. Could this type of work still count as academic inquiry? The discussion evolves around the reflection of the position of researchers in this type of research design, and the authors conclude that applied qualitative research could be the source of solid evidence for making decisions related to education-although this evidence is different to that provided by quantitative research.

Keywords

EN

applied qualitative research; education; technology adoption; planet of knowledge; 1:1 technology rich learning environment; teaching of psychology; reflection on researcher role

• Publisher: Sciendo
• Journal: Human Affairs
• Year: 2012
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 492-509

Dates

published

2012-10-01

online

2012-09-29

Contributors

author

Radomír Masaryk

• Comenius University in Bratislava

author

Lenka Sokolová

• Comenius University in Bratislava

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Identifiers

DOI

10.2478/s13374-012-0040-1