Corrupción empresarial - v íctoR R uiz l óPez *

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4. Corrupción empresarial

Educational Research and Development (ER&D)

This chapter discusses the research methodology underpinning this study. It has been established that the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach is based on educational evaluation by Borg and Gall (1979). In understanding the position of educational evaluation in educational research, the features of educational research and educational evaluation are compared and contrasted. The differences and similarities between educational evaluation and educational research are discussed before an overview of the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach is provided.

According to Gall et al. (2007), it is highly unlikely that a graduate student will be able to complete a major Educational Research and Development (ER&D) project because of the limitations in terms of finance, manpower and time. But despite the challenges, some studies based on the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach has been conducted by graduate students (Borg and Gall, 1983).

As advised by Gall et al. (2007), some of the steps of the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach are modified or omitted in the studies to address the challenges. This chapter provides an overview of the studies.

This chapter also includes a justification for applying the method. Another viable approach was considered - action research - which is similar to the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach with regard to the guided processes involved and the purpose. However, the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach is more appropriate for this study because it has a specific model which supports an educational product development.

A section describing the steps applied in this study based on the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach is also included. The steps are based on the ten-stage model proposed by Borg and Gall (1979) and the ten-stage model proposed by Dick and Carey (1978). Both models are considered and customised.

This chapter closes with a discussion of the research design based on the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach. These are research and information gathering, planning, developing the product in preliminary form, preliminary field testing or first formative evaluation, main product revision, main field testing or second formative evaluation, final product revision and, finally, the dissemination and distribution.

Overview

The research design of this study is based on the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach by Borg and Gall (1979). It is an approach that falls under the umbrella of educational evaluation. Educational evaluation is defined as the process of making judgements about the merit, value or worth of educational programs (Gall et al., 2007). The significance of educational evaluation in education is that it is particularly important to policy makers, program managers and curriculum developers (Gall et al., 2007).

Educational evaluation and educational research have several differences and similarities. These are based on the purpose, generalisation and findings.

Educational evaluation is termed as applied research while educational research is termed as pure research. The following table summarises the differences and similarities between educational evaluation and educational research (Gall et al., 2007). However, as described by Gall et al. (2007), educational research and educational evaluation are mostly intertwined. In practice, when conducting educational evaluation the researcher applies most of the same research designs, measurement tools, and data analysis methods which constitute the methodology underpinned in educational research. Thus, Gall et al. (2007) referred to educational evaluation as evaluation research.

Educational evaluation Educational research Purpose To collect data that will facilitate

the decision to be made

Generalisation Conducted for a very specific purpose such as examining

Table 8: Comparison of educational evaluation and educational research based on Gall et al. (2007)

Borg and Gall (1979) introduced the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach to develop and validate educational products, where formative and summative evaluation play major roles. Formative evaluation is conducted while the program or product is under development whereas summative evaluation is conducted to determine the worthiness of the final program or product (Gall et al., 2007). As posited by Gall et al. (2007), the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach is based on the industry development model and the findings of the research are utilised to develop new products and procedures. This approach consists of rigorous steps for product development. According to Borg and Gall:

The steps of this process are usually referred to as the R&D cycle, which consists of studying research findings pertinent to the product to be developed, developing the product based on these findings, field-testing it in the setting where it will be used eventually, and revising it to correct the deficiencies found in the field-testing stage (Borg and Gall, 1983, p. 772).

As defined by Borg and Gall (1983), the word “product” refers not only to material objects but also to procedure and processes. In this study, an implementation strategy to implement mobile learning is developed, evaluated and disseminated.

Implementation strategy is a “product” which supports mobile learning

implementation in Malaysian secondary schools. The approach enables the researcher to evaluate the implementation strategy through a series of field tests based on the perspectives from the educational experts in secondary schools in the United Kingdom followed by Malaysia. It is the outcome of this study that the implementation strategy is validated or modified as a result of consultation from these ranges of stakeholders and experts in education before disseminating it to the officers in the Ministry of Education, Malaysia. While evaluating and disseminating the implementation strategy, the field tests also provide the opportunity to explore the respondents’ perspectives about the issues associated with the implementation of mobile learning in Malaysian schools.

This section provides an overview of the educational evaluation which is the basis of the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach. The differences and similarities between educational evaluation and educational research are discussed. In addition, an overview of the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach is presented. Regardless of the systematic steps supporting product development in the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach, the rarity of this approach in graduate students’ projects is apparent. The reasons are discussed in the next section. In addition, examples of educational products development through this approach are also explored.

Previous research

Although the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach provides a systematic model for educational product development, it might be a challenge for graduate students to apply this approach. As implied by Borg and Gall (1983), it is almost impossible for a graduate student to obtain the considerable amount of finance, manpower and time required to complete a product developed through this approach. Borg and Gall (1983) only recommended this approach to graduate students determined to make a significant impact on improving educational practice. However, a feasible way to apply this approach for a master’s or doctoral degree is to limit the process by adopting just a few of the steps in the approach (Gall et al., 2007).

Despite the challenges, there are some projects conducted by graduate students based on this approach. The examples are presented in reverse chronological order. As advised by Borg and Gall (1983), the researchers limited the scopes of their projects by applying just a few steps from the total number of steps of this approach. An example of a product developed through this approach is a handbook entitled “Handbook for Museum Professionals and Educators” by Ann Elliott (Elliott, 2007). Instead of ten steps, Elliott limited her research to just eight steps, the project being conducted without operational field-testing and final product revision.

Another example of a product developed through this approach is a book entitled

“Administrative Solutions for Handheld Technology in Schools” by David William Pownell and Gerald D. Bailey (Pownell and Bailey, 2003). The book is based on a doctoral dissertation by David William Pownell entitled “Implementing Handheld Computers in Schools: The Research, Development, And Validation of a Technology Leader’s Resource Guide” (Pownell, 2002). To deal with time constraints, Pownell omitted the operational field-testing and final product revision.

A history textbook and a teachers’ guidebook were also produced by adopting this approach in a dissertation entitled “The development and validation of a high school textbook on the ancient Chamorros of Guam” by Lawrence Cunningham (Gall et al., 1996). Lawrence limited the scope of his dissertation to one chapter of the textbook and one section of the teachers’ guidebook.

Dan Isaacson also applied the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach to his doctoral dissertation entitled “Discovering the Microcomputer as an Instructional Media Tool in Teaching: A Laboratory for Elementary and Secondary Educators” (Borg and Gall, 1983). To make this approach feasible for his study, he limited the process to just eight steps. He carried out the dissemination of his product without conducting operational field-testing and final product revision.

This section has established a possible way to apply the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach regardless of the challenges in terms of finance, manpower and time. Some examples of graduate students’ projects which applied this approach are discussed. The examples range from a project in the 1980s to the

latest project in 2007. The next section continues with a justification for applying this approach to underpin the study.

Justification

In developing an implementation strategy for mobile learning implementation in Malaysia it is important to apply a research method that provides a systematic model for product development. The literature review established that the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach and action research have similarities. As defined by Isaac and Michael (1997), the purpose of action research is “to develop new skills or new approach to solve problems with direct application to the classroom or working world setting”. The words “skills” and

“approaches” are parallel to the word “product” which is defined in the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach. Both methods involve rigorous processes (Borg and Gall, 1983; Gall et al., 2007). The following diagrams depict the processes of action research and the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach.

Figure 13: Processes in action research

Figure 14: Processes in Educational Research and Development (ER&D)

Compared to the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach, researchers are not restricted to carrying out the steps in the same sequence in action research. The researchers might return to earlier stages when progressing and they might continue through the stages, then ending the research (Gall et al., 2007). Adam (2006) discussed the steps of action research:

……….. be prepared to find fuzzy edges between the stages as your inquiry proceeds. For a start, you will probably not start with planning; there may be much monitoring and observation of existing practice (reconnaissance) before you are ready to plan and implement a change (Adam, 2006).

It has also been established that the sequence of the steps in the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach is linear, while in action research the sequence of the steps involves a spiral or cyclical approach. The cyclical approach

or spiral in action research provides the flexibility to the researchers but the unpredictable flow of the research process. On the other hand, the linear approach in Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach guide the researcher with a series of rigorous steps but the predictable flow of the research process.

Despite this difference, the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach is similar to action research because both methods are underpinned by guided processes and are based on similar purposes.

The Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach is based on the ten-stage model in educational product development by Dick and Carey (1978) and Borg and Gall (1979). The application of the ten-stage model provides the opportunity to translate the research findings into educational products to be used in the field. Compared to the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach, the steps in action research do not involve a specific model which would support an educational product development. Therefore, based on the above justification, the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach is more appropriate to develop an implementation strategy for mobile learning utilisation in Malaysian schools. Moreover, the strength of this method for product development is that it has rigorous and systematic steps for product development and evaluation.

This approach has two or more repeated steps in field tests which would serve as an assurance to determine the quality of products developed (Borg, 1981). The systematic steps in Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach underpin the development, evaluation and dissemination of the implementation strategy. Besides, issues associated with mobile learning implementation can also be explored through the series of field tests in Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach.

This section has discussed the justification for applying the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach. The action research method has been examined for comparison purposes and it has been established that it is similar to the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach with regard to the guided processes involved and the purpose. However, the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach is more appropriate for this study because it offers a specific model which supports an educational product development. As

discussed, the ten-stage model proposed by Dick and Carey (1978) and Borg and Gall (1979) underpins the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach. The next section explores both models to be customised in this study.

Research design

Borg and Gall (1979) described the ten steps in Educational Research and Development (ER&D) through the development of The Minicourse: A Microteaching Approach to Teacher Education. The steps are depicted in the following table (Borg and Gall, 1979). preparation of report of state of the art.

(2) Planning Includes defining skills, stating objectives, determining course sequence, and small scale feasibility testing.

(3) Develop preliminary form of product

Includes preparation of instructional materials, handbooks, and evaluation devices.

(4) Preliminary field testing Conducted in 1 to 3 schools, using 6 to 12 subjects. Interview, observational and questionnaire data collected and analysed.

(5) Main product revision Revision of product as suggested by the preliminary field-tests results.

(6) Main field testing Conducted in 5 to 15 schools with 30 to 100 subjects.

Quantitative data on subjects’ pre course and post course performances are collected. Results are evaluated with respect to course objectives and are compared with control group data, when appropriate.

(7) Operational product revision Revision of the product as suggested by main field-tests results.

(8) Operational field testing Conducted in 10 to 30 schools involving 40 to 200 subjects.

Interview, observational and questionnaire data collected and analysed.

(9) Final product revision Revision of product as suggested by operational field-test results.

(10) Dissemination and distribution

Report on the product at professional meetings and in journals. Work with publisher who assumes commercial distribution. Monitor distribution to provide quality control.

Table 9: Steps in Educational Research and Development (ER&D) based on Borg and Gall (1979)

Dick et al. (2005) also proposed ten steps to support product development. The steps include the following: identify instructional goals; conduct instructional analysis; analyse learners and contexts; write performance objectives; develop assessment instruments; develop instructional strategy; develop and select instructional materials; design and conduct formative evaluation of instruction;

revise instruction and design; and conduct summative evaluation.

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There are similarities between the two models. Both models are based on similar stages in educational product development which are planning, developing, evaluating and re-evaluating. Borg et al. (1993) took a similar view and stressed that the ten steps, which are proposed in the Educational Research and Development (ER&D) approach, were based on the ten-stage model proposed by Dick and Carey (1978). However, in the model proposed by Dick and Carey (1978), the dissemination and distribution stage is not included. The similarities between the two models are summarised in the following table.

Stages in product

Evaluating (4) Preliminary field testing (5) Main product revision

Table 10: The similarities of steps in Borg and Gall (1979) and Dick and Carey (1979)

In this study, the steps are adapted from both models. The steps applied in this study are research and information-gathering, planning, developing the product in preliminary form, preliminary field-testing or formative evaluation, main product revision, main field-testing or summative evaluation, final product revision, and dissemination and distribution. To deal with the time constraints, the operational product revision and operational field-testing are omitted. The steps applied in this study are depicted in the next figure.

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Figure 15: Steps in Educational Research and Development (ER&D) adopted in the study

This section has discussed the steps which are customised based on the ten-stage model proposed by Dick and Carey (1978) and Borg and Gall (1979). These are research and information-gathering, planning, developing the product in preliminary form, preliminary field-testing or formative evaluation, main product revision, main field-testing or summative evaluation, final product revision, and dissemination and distribution. The next section continues with a discussion of the study based on the steps involved.

102 Implementation

This section discusses the steps applied in this research. The steps are as follows Step 1: Research and information-gathering; Step 2: Planning; Step 3: Developing the product in preliminary form; Step 4: Preliminary field-testing/ formative evaluation; Step 5: Main product revision; Step 6: Main field-testing/summative evaluation; Step 7: Final product revision; and Step 8: Dissemination and distribution.

Step 1: Research and information-gathering

The significance of developing an implementation strategy to utilise mobile learning in Malaysian secondary schools was established during the literature review. The literature review has established the growing interest in mobile learning in Malaysia.

A popular research area is the development of mobile applications for Malaysian students (Salam et al., 2008; Mahamad et al., 2008; Shiratuddin and Zaibon, 2009).

In addition, there are studies in developing a mobile learning curriculum for Malaysian secondary schools (Siraj and Saleh, 2003; Siraj, 2004; Shuib, 2009).

However, no literature has yet highlighted the strategy to implement mobile learning in Malaysian secondary schools. Thus, an implementation strategy was developed specifically for the use in the Malaysian Educational System.

In seeking to implement mobile learning in Malaysian secondary schools, it is also important to establish the potential of implementing mobile learning to complement the existing practices in Malaysian schools. Therefore, this study was also conducted to establish the following key points: the potential of mobile phones to add value to English Language learning; the potential of mobile phones to complement the government vision’s to utilise ICT and mobile technologies; and the potential of mobile phones to become an alternative teaching and learning device. It has also been established that there are emerging themes in regard to implementing mobile learning in mainstream schooling in general (Hartnell-Young and Heym, 2008). Nevertheless, no study has yet explored the emerging themes in regard to implementing mobile learning in Malaysian secondary schools. Therefore, this study was also aimed at shedding light on the situation regarding the utilisation of mobile phones in Malaysian schools.

103 Step 2: Planning

In light of the research gap established through the literature review, an implementation strategy for implementing mobile learning in Malaysian secondary schools was aimed to be developed. The implementation strategy was formulated by taking into consideration the following matters: (i) Existing policy of the Ministry of Education, Malaysia, to deploy ICT in teaching and learning; (ii) Vision of Malaysian Smart School implementation to deploy ICT, which also includes mobile technologies; (iii) Justification from the literature relating to handheld technologies’

and mobile technologies’ integration in schools worldwide; (iv) Opinion from experts in education in the United Kingdom including English subject leaders, ICT subject leaders and stakeholders from school management such as head teachers and deputy head teachers; and (v) Opinion from experts in education in Malaysia including English subject leaders, ICT subject leaders, stakeholders from school management such as head teachers and deputy head teachers, and officers from the Ministry of Education, Malaysia. Besides providing opinions regarding the

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