Approach to methodology

Selected aspects of the theories of Constructivism and Grounded Theory are provided below because they have influenced the development of a mixed methods approach taken by this study. Collectively, these provide a basis for the qualitative research design of this project (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005; Strauss & Corbin, 1998; Denzin & Lincoln, 1994).

6.2.1 Constructivism

People learn by constructing their own personal and social knowledge using their current and past knowledge and experience. Marsh‟s understanding about constructivism is that people have a:

direct and live awareness of ongoing constructions through executive self-regulation, which occurs actively when the system consciously and intentionally regulates the activity of its own components, as in problem-solving, and through non- executive self-regulation, which occurs dynamically when components of the system regulate their activity

spontaneously according to biological principles of

organization. Dynamic activity is much more extensive than conscious, intentional activity (1996, p. 4).

On this basis, constructivism represents a dynamic intelligence where “the parts organize in a coordinated system which work together to solve a problem when the individual is interested, challenged, or goal directed, but not necessarily aware of the details of the ongoing processes” (ibid, p. 4). The design of this study has been formulated to determine how practitioners are acting „constructively‟, and what those activities (parts) are that assist practitioners (systems) with solving the problems they perceive. The research design allows practitioners to be reflective about their knowledge and experience in relation to their activities in the moment of first encounter, and to recall how and why they make constant adjustments to account for emerging interests and experiences.

Kerka explains that “a constructivist teacher is more interested in uncovering meanings than covering prescribed material” (1997, p. 1). Therefore the research design will focus on practitioners constructing their own

understandings of their classroom practices “rather than relying on external authorities such as textbook publishers or curriculum developers to direct their work” (Chandler-Olcott, 2002, p. 2). In so doing, the design of the study sets out to collect information with which to determine how practitioners‟ construct meaning from their initial activity, and to understand the rationale for the phenomena of their moment of first encounter with a new group of adult learners.

According to Moustakas, experiences are defined by “an openness of approach, allowing for new perceptions to develop from the descriptions about the phenomena under study” (1994, p. 13). The design of this study accommodates the collection of extensive and detailed information, paving the way for comprehensive descriptions. This approach sets the scene for collecting data direct from practitioners, and understanding that the data so collected covers “various types of experience ranging from perception, thought, memory, imagination, emotion, desire, and volition to bodily awareness, embodied action, and social activity” (Woodruff Smith, 2003, p. 2).

6.2.2 Grounded Theory

Theory becomes „grounded‟ when it emerges from and generates

explanations of relationships and events that reflect the life experiences of those individuals and processes that are the subject of study. It looks for

“plausible relationships” (Strauss & Corbin, 1994, p. 3). When little is known about a topic, as is the case with this study, Hutchinson (1988) suggests Grounded Theory (GT) is appropriate. This is because the ongoing process of data collection is controlled only by theories as they emerge from the data (Dick, 2002; Glaser, 2002; Glaser & Strauss, 1967), thereby allowing an open approach to understanding the new topic. The research project has been designed with sufficient flexibility so that phases of data collection and subsequent data analysis are followed by decision making about the next appropriate research method, before new opportunities for data collection are scheduled. The intention is to collect only sufficient information to describe the performance experience of the study participants.

The qualitative methodology requires an “interpersonal interaction” (Kerlin 1997, p. 7) on the part of the researcher with both the data and the

participants in the study. The “lived-experience descriptions [provided by study participants] are the material with which to work” (Van Manen, 1997, p. 55). It is recognised that participants will reconstruct their experiences

(Glaser, 2002), with the possible consequence of a relative lack of accuracy in the data contributed. This situation can be accommodated by a GT approach with its practice of continuing to acquire information until a saturation point is reached, and its focus on developing concepts not recording accurate descriptions.

This study‟s research design was influenced by GT to the extent that a pre- analytic step of data recording was followed by the mainstay of the analytical phase, the coding process. As per GT, initially data was broken down, analysed, compared, and categorized. Then, incidents or events were labelled and grouped together via constant comparison to form categories.

GT offers something substantial; a rigorous although flexible process that can bring clarity as it sifts and lifts meaning from an accumulation of data. Ultimately, themes were developed into one or more core notions and these become the basis for a new model (Babchuk, 1996), which assisted with making visible how practitioners structure their experience.

GT allows for incremental developments and for ideas, facts, and processes to emerge and be analysed and absorbed over time. “In a dynamic and constantly changing environment, it is possible to pattern unorder but not to assume order (Kurtz & Snowden, 2003, p. 466). This study‟s modified

version of GT has elements in common with Barone‟s view of how qualitative researchers abandon “an obsessive quest for certain and total knowledge that transcends a fallible, human perspective” by opting “for an epistemology of ambiguity that seeks out and celebrates meanings that are partial,

tentative, incomplete, sometimes even contradictory, and originating from multiple vantage points” (2001, pp. 152-3). The research design uses aspects of GT to assist with discerning patterns, devising explanations and building a plausible theory.

This study is designed as a retrospective enquiry: it searches for meaning and structure from a sample of practitioners‟ moment of first encounter with a new group of adult learners. In the process, the research design also

examines “what makes a pedagogic existence different from other pursuits” (Van Manen, 1997, p. 45), in order to more clearly understand the nature of practitioners‟ activities in the teaching context.