Interactividad con el conocimiento

Documents usually fall into three broad categories: public records, personal documents and physical material (Merriam, 1998). In this case study, the main documents being analysed were teacher planning, teacher’s assessment records of students and teacher’s evaluations and reflections of learning for the rich learning unit. These can be considered personal documents as they are created by the teacher themselves and, essentially, only used by the teachers, however many of the evaluations and reflections were recorded during discussions at staff meeting and while meeting minutes are not public in the sense of being open to the community, they are public in the sense of the school teaching

community. The primary reason for analysing these was to provide triangulation of the other data collected and also to point to emerging themes or issues useful to look for in observations and the post-interviews of the teachers.

4.4

Data Analysis and Reporting in Case Study

Data analysis is always a complex task (Bassey, 1999; Gillham, 2000; Stake, 1995). Bogdan and Biklen (1998) describe data analysis as the process of searching and arranging

collected data. There are two aspects to this: the analysis of data while in the field; and the analysis of data once data collection has ended (Bogdan & Biklen, 1998; Merriam, 1998). This highlights the simultaneous nature of data collection and analysis (Merriam, 1998; Stake, 1995).

Four key techniques are used in data analysis: pattern-matching, explanation building, time-series analysis, and the use of program logic models (Kennedy & Luzar, 1999). Through this case study, pattern matching has been the primary technique used through the content analysis strategy. Pattern-matching looks at identifying patterns and finding relationships between theory and what is observed (Stake, 1995; Yin, 1993).

Merriam (1998) identifies several different data analysis strategies: ethnographic analysis, narrative analysis, phenomenological analysis, the constant comparative method, content analysis and analytic induction. Although Merriam (1998) notes the content analysis strategy as less commonly used, it has been essential for analysing the data collected through this descriptive case study. Content analysis allows data to be condense, coded and easily compared at the end of data collection and is highly recommended for use in qualitative research studies by Berg (2004) and Bogdan & Biklen (1998; 2003). While some of the data analysis in this study took place after initial teacher interviews and observations to identify emerging themes, most data analysis was conducted at the end of data collection, once post teacher interviews and student focus group interviews were carried out.

Once all data are analysed, the next step is reporting the findings. Gillham (2000) describes five key components of the report: chronology, describing the order in which things happened; logical coherence, ensuring it is written so that it makes sense and links are easily made; the aim of the research; the research questions and how these were developed; and the theorizing, giving the meaning or the understanding of the research findings.

4.5

The Role of the Researcher

The role of the researcher is also unique in the case study research design. Typically, the case study method sees the role of the researcher on a continuum of observation (Berg, 2004; Bogdan & Biklen, 2003; Merriam, 1998). This is in stark contrast to methods such as action research and teacher inquiry where the researcher is often also a participant in the study (Berg, 2004). The case study researcher role ranges from participant observer, where the researcher interacts with the group being observed, to complete observer, where the researcher remains separate or “on the outside” of the observation group (Berg, 2004; Bogdan & Biklen, 2003; Merriam, 1998). As a teacher in the school and therefore a full participant in the research, my role as a researcher has been an exception to the typical case study method. The co-researcher/teacher role is characteristically

reflective of action research methodology (Kyle & Hovda, 1987; McNiff & Whitehead, 2002; Tripp, 1990); however, several aspects determining the nature of the study made descriptive case study research design the most appropriate for this study, despite the discrepancy in the typical researcher role. These aspects, as discussed in section 4.2, were the bounded nature of the study: set within a single setting and a single case focused on one phenomenon; the research focus on the journey towards achieving an effective curriculum integration model that enhanced achievement – lending itself to the potential for rich description of this journey; and set timeframe of the case.

4.6

Planning for the Case Study Research Process

Planning for the case study research process was an integral component of this study. It provided the necessary outline of the journey or description for this case study (Berg, 2004; Yin, 2009) and allowed for detailed, focused and careful development of the research questions, and the data collection and analysis methods. Yin (1993) identifies that case study research design should have thorough preparation including the

reviewing of the literature of both the content and methodology, developing hypotheses, developing schemes for understanding the context, and, defining the key design

components.

Bassey (1999), Creswell (1994) and Yin (1993) highlight an overview for the stages within the case study process. These are:

1) identifying the research problem and hypothesis 2) asking questions and drawing up ethical guidelines 3) collecting and storing data

4) generating and testing statements 5) interpreting the analytical statements

6) deciding on the outcome and writing the case report 7) finishing and publishing