The study’s methodological framework

This study is qualitative social science research, set within a critical realist paradigm. The study meets several defining characteristics of qualitative research. Firstly, it seeks to understand the process of becoming a science teacher from the point of view of PSTs, i.e. it is concerned with ‘understanding people from their own frames of reference’ (Taylor, Bogdan & DeVault, 2015:18). It is inductive, in that it seeks to generate theory from data. In this sense, I adopt some of the strategies of grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 2008). Additionally, the study looks at the experiences of the participants holistically in ‘the situations in which they find themselves’ on their PGCE course, revealing their human struggles (Taylor et al., 2015:19). Finally, the study seeks to understand ‘what student teachers are confronted by’, as suggested by Loughran (2007:1045). Clandinin (1992: 129), refers to PSTs having ‘been

traditionally silenced’. We might question whether this is still true today. However, writing more recently about a systematic review of research about challenges faced by new science teachers, Davis, Petish and Smithey (2006:607) state that:

Providing support focused on real challenges is critical in retaining highly qualified new science teachers, but the field lacks a systematic description of these teachers' needs.

Hence, I would argue that the study also meets the criterion of giving a forum to those who may traditionally have been ignored (Taylor et al., 2015).

As set out in more detail in Chapter 2 (2.2.2), critical realism attempts to offer a third way, distinct from positivism and interpretivism. Sayer (2000:19) suggests that:

that the particular choices should depend on the nature of the object of study and what one wants to learn about it.

My aim in this section is therefore to clarify what I am studying and what I want to learn about it, and to justify the approaches adopted. For a critical realist approach, the most important matter is to be able to find out what one wants to find out about the situation being studied, using the methods chosen.

The research design I adopt is case study. In the remainder of this section, I seek to explain why case study is a suitable research design; as well as identifying the nature of the case. I also identify the purposes, approaches and processes of the case study, as suggested by Thomas (2015).

Opie (2004:74) states that ‘crucially the focus of a case study is on a real situation, with real people in an environment familiar to the researcher’. Since I was

researching an aspect of my own professional practice, working with my own

students, at my place of work, this would tend to support the idea that a case study is an appropriate choice of research design. This context, would also meet one of Yin’s (2014) criteria for deciding whether or not to use a case study design, which is that case studies look at contemporary (rather than past) situations.

Case studies typically concern a bounded system, for example, one which is bounded personally, spatially and temporally (Ashley, 2012). In this study, the case is the group of research participants, in the context of becoming a science teacher on a university-schools partnership PGCE course in England. The group is bounded in terms of being the group of volunteers who wished to participate; by their location on a particular course of ITE; and by the fact that the time scale of the project was during a single academic year. The fact that this is an in-depth study of this group of participants is also an indicator that case study is a suitable design (Opie, 2004).

The study is a multiple case study because the participants could be considered to be a number of parallel cases (Thomas, 2015). In such a study, it is possible to compare and contrast the different cases, in this instance the experiences of the different PSTs who were participating, during their ITE course. The study is parallel in that the individual PSTs were engaged in the process at the same time, rather than one after another. Whilst the research is bounded by the fact that it was taking place during

one academic year, it is diachronic because data were collected at a number of different times during the year, showing ‘change over time’ (Thomas, 2015:149).

Case studies are suitable for considering multivariate problems (Ashley, 2012). PSTs’ experiences on an ITE programme are undoubtedly multivariate, and there are many variables that cannot be controlled. Arguably, the study looks at a very

complex situation, since the PSTs worked in different school placements (each with their own policies and practices), and with different mentors and pupils, teaching different science topics, in different rooms, with different resources available to them. Again, this suggests that case study is a suitable design.

A further factor given by Yin (2014:10) is to consider the RQs. Case studies tend to lend themselves to ‘What are…, what can…’ questions or ‘how much…’ questions. Explanatory case studies may also ask ‘why’. Hence, the study’s RQs and SQs (2.6) can be seen to be consistent with case study research design.

The inspiration for the study was the shortage of physics (or science) teachers, and a concern that they may do less well on ITE programmes than people of other subject backgrounds, coupled with a desire to do something about it. Hence the study is somewhat instrumental - with a practical purpose, e.g. ‘with a view to making things better’ (Thomas, 2015:98).

Not entirely divorced from the point above, there is a sense in which the case study is evaluative, where evaluative case studies ask ‘how well something is working or has worked’ (Thomas, 2015:99). PSTs took part in an intervention designed to support their development as teachers, using AL and the DTC. One of the purposes of the case study is to evaluate the success of this intervention.

Evaluative and instrumental purposes could be described as ‘contributing to normative theory’ (Schwandt & Gales, 2017:345). Through documenting what is, and analysing how it works, it may be possible to make recommendations about what should be.

Another purpose of the case study is explanatory. The literature review suggested that a potential barrier to science PSTs’ development is that they are not very

reflective (Malthouse & Roffey-Barentsen, 2014). An explanatory case study is capable of testing theory (Schwandt & Gales, 2018). The study seeks evidence of the extent to which participants are reflective, and considers the relationship between their reflectivity and the development of their teaching.

PSTs’ teaching practice in England is assessed against a set of competences

mandated by government – the TS (DfE, 2011). In the period in which the research was carried out, university tutors and school-based mentors commonly assessed PSTs’ teaching with reference to guidance agreed by UCET and NASBTT (2012). It was a requirement for providers to record a grade of ‘outstanding’, ‘good’, or

‘requiring improvement’ for each PST at the end of their course (DfE, 2012). In the explanatory element of this case study, I hypothesise that greater reflectivity will be associated with better end of course grades.

In an explanatory case study, internal validity is concerned with ‘the strength of a cause-effect link’ (Yin, 2014:239). Thus, internal validity depends on the extent to which outcomes can be considered to be in line with the hypothesis. To establish internal validity it is also necessary to demonstrate that there is not another explanation for the phenomenon that has been observed.

The study also has an exploratory element, where an exploratory case study has the potential to support hypothesis generation and theory development (Schwandt & Gales, 2018). The research data illustrate the teaching issues of a particular group of PSTs during their ITE course. During the analysis, emerging ideas are linked with prior research, and new ones are formulated using some of the techniques of grounded theory.

Overall, I suggest that elements of the research contribute to the development of normative theory, elements test pre-existing ideas, and elements formulate new ideas.