Informe de medidas 2008-2009

146 This case study utilizes both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The case is CXC. The case context is the Jamaica education system. Jamaica was chosen, as it was the first to gain independence and is the largest English-speaking Caribbean island thus, “it often serves as a model and a leader in economic, political and

educational affairs” (Jervier 1976, p. 8). Robson (1993) advises that, “Case study is a strategy for doing research which involves an empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon… using multiple sources of evidence” (p. 52; 2011). Thus, this method was apt for the topic under consideration. The qualitative and quantitative approaches were considered because each complements the other; according to Leedy and Ormrod (2001), “we learn more about the world when we have both quantitative and qualitative methodologies at our disposal than when we are limited to only one approach or the other” (p. 101). Additionally, Brown and Dowling (1998) advise that “… the best option will always be for a dialogical use of a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods” (p. 83).

Each approach is ideal for different situations. Leedy and Ormrod (2001) note that qualitative research is “used to answer questions about the complex nature of phenomena, often with the purpose of describing and understanding the phenomena from the participants’ point of view” (p. 101). Qualitative researchers are concerned about not only “how things got to be the way they are, but also with gaining insights into how things got to be the way they are, how people feel about the way things are, what they believe, [and] what meanings they attach to various activities…” (Gay, 1996, p. 13). Thus, the appropriateness of this approach for this case study.

Qualitative researchers use a variety of methods and data gathering strategies in order to “achieve the objective of holistic, in-depth understanding” (ibid.). These are usually supplemented by “collecting of relevant documents and extensive, informal interviewing” (ibid., p. 14). Hence, in this regard, the methods that I have identified and utilized are in keeping with the qualitative tradition.

Quantitative research, unlike qualitative research, is generally used to answer questions about relationships among variables and is useful for predicting, explaining and controlling phenomena. It is concerned with numerical data which requires statistical procedures to analyze and draw conclusions. Studies which “investigate

147 relationships … describe numerically …[and] investigate the relationship between two or more quantifiable variables…” utilize quantitative approaches (Gay, 1996, p. 14). Some of the data which this researcher used was interrogated in this manner to enhance and elucidate the qualitative findings.

Case Study

Case studies can use a mix of qualitative and quantitative evidence and they do not have to be built on detailed observations as a source of data. Yin (2003) provides a useful definition for a case study which informed this researcher’s decision:

A case study is an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary

phenomenon … The case study enquirer relies on multiple sources of evidence, with data needing to converge in a triangulation fashion…. (p. 14)

This research adheres to the Embedded, Single-Case design. This is appropriate when the case is representative or typical. In this regard, “… the objective is to capture the circumstances and conditions of an everyday or commonplace situation … The lessons learned from these cases are assumed to be informative about the experiences of the average person or institution” (Yin, 2003, p. 41). It is believed that Jamaica is typical of other small states that have tried to establish their own examination system, so the main context is Jamaica’s secondary education system, with the chief focus on the terminal examinations that students do.

Notwithstanding this, the researcher is aware that case study research is often criticized on the grounds that the findings are not generalizable. Yet Gomm, Hammersley and Foster (2000), draw on the arguments of Stake and affirm that “case studies facilitate learning on the part of those who use them; and that this involves ‘naturalistic generalization’. Thus, as postulated by Lincoln and Guba (2002), and Gomm, Hammersley and Foster (2002, p. 98), the findings from case studies can be used to make comparisons with other cases that are similar: “their ‘transferability’ can only be assessed by comparing the ‘fit’ - the similarities -

between source and target cases. Other researchers maintain that we can look on a case as a microcosm of society so what is found in one case can be symptomatic of

148 what obtains in society in general. Thus, like the figure of speech synecdoche, which literary theorists use, qualitative researchers use “a part of something to stand for the whole” (Gomm, Hammersley & Foster 2000, p. 98).

Scholz and Tiefje (2002, p. 10) posit that these types of case studies involve various units or objects. “The multiplicity of evidence is investigated at least partly in sub-units which focus on different salient aspects of the case”. Yin (2003) suggests that, “The sub-units can often add significant opportunities for extensive analysis, enhancing the insights into the single case” (p. 46). The embedded case study design is usually not limited to qualitative analysis but incorporates “both qualitative and quantitative data and strategies of synthesis or knowledge integration” (Scholz & Tiefje, 2002, p. 14). This concept of synthesis was embraced in this research, thus the type of case study is ideal for the intended purposes.