DE LAS CARACTERISTICAS Y ROLES DEL SERVIDOR PÚBLICO COMO DOCENTE 1 Profesar la filosofía Humanista.

As explained in the previous sections, the research design assisted to achieve the research objectives, however, the case study may suffer from inherent limitations

just like any other research method (Patton 1987; Miles & Huberman 1994; Yin 2003) such as:

• Case studies are conducted in an individual organisation or in a reduced set of organisations which are included in a larger population with difficulties in defining the study frontiers;

• The interpretation of social reality depends on the researcher which may prevent the researcher from being an independent observer;

• Confidentiality questions about the organisation under study may hamper the realisation of the study report;

• The case study can be time-consuming and this may result in the collection of a significant amount of information; and

• The case study does not allow results generalisation.

Therefore, this study utilises direct observation and a pilot study to support the in- depth interview to strenghten the findings.

4.17.1. Subjectivity

On the criticism for the lack of objectivity, accuracy of case study research and the eventual result of the researchers’ subjective perception, Scapens (2004) argues that case studies represent the interpretation of social reality which needs to be deduced by the researcher. The primary method of inquiry was an in-depth interview for this study. The outcome that emerged from the data collected was just for a moment in time and the findings may not necessarily reflect reality. Machan (2004:7) notes that knowledge versus opinion is an essential distinction for understanding the importance of objectivity and subjectivity is inherent in all human inquiries and interpretations. This study is subject to this subjectivity limitation during the conduct of the interview and analysis stage. Despite this limitation, the participants gave elaborate responses which provided a basis for the description of the how and why features of the phenomenon investigated. This has provided a richer and more contextual overview of the phenomenon than would have been obtained from the initial proposed survey method of data collection. In this study, the researcher has provided not only a carefully documented research and analytical

procedure, but has strived to ensure consistency in the conduct of the interview to reduce the level of subjectivity.

4.17.2. Generalisation

Generalisation or external validity is concerned with the extent to which findings can be applied to individuals or organisations beyond the sample (Smith 2002:69). In a case study research, generalisability is the most controversial issue since many opponents to case study generalisability claim that a case study provides a poor basis for the generalisation of the findings (Jaworska 2009:51). However, Yin (1994) argues that a case study is concerned with the exploration of particularity, unlike a hypothesis or theory testing enterprise that represents a sample with the objective of expanding and generalising theories. Yin (1994) furthermore contends that research findings obtained from a single case may not work in other cases as every case is distinctive and unique. He indicates that each case study may involve a number of commonalities. Furthermore, Yin (1981) argues that where cases are different to each, an alternative approach must be used which may be called a case-comparison method.

In his proposition of the concept of naturalistic generalisation, Stake (2000) indicates that a case study research increase the awareness of the reader on a particular phenomenon. However, Scapens (2004) reiterates that the purpose of interpretative research is to develop a theoretical framework to explain from a holistic point of view, the social systems and the observed practices. This is the reason for adopting the explanatory approach since it is considered as the most adequate when using an interpretative research perspective (Ryan et al. 2002). This study acknowledges that the interaction between organisational and institutional contexts are not necessarily simple nor linear (Nor-Aziah & Scapens 2007). In addition, Scapens (2004) explains that in the explanatory case study research, the existing theory is what enables the researcher to identify convincing explanations over the observed practices.

Scapens (2004) contends that if existing theories do not lead to satisfactory explanation, some modifications to the theory or the development of new theory will be required that will be used leater on in other case studies. This means that the objective of a case study research is to transfer knowledge obtained from a particular

situation to a new situation. This may imply that the generalisability of any case study findings ultimately depends on what the reader can learn from it. Due to this, the explanatory case study research expresses theoretical and analytical generalisations in contrast to the usual statistical generalisation of positivist research (Ryan et al. 2002; Yin 2003). Theoretical or analytical generalisation exists when a previously developed theory is used as a theoretical framework to compare the empirical results of the case study (Yin 2003), since a significant characteristic of the case study research is its contribution to the development of theory (Ryan et al. 2002; Berry & Otley 2004; Scapens 2004; Vaivio 2008). In this study, the existing theory or framework is MFCA. Hence, the study intends to make adjustments to the existing MFCA framework. The researcher furthermore, in order to provide external validity of the case study findings, has provided a thorough step-by-step description of the study’s context so that the reader can interpret the findings.