For Creswell (2007, p. 3), “Research approaches are plans and the procedures for research that span the steps from broad assumptions to detailed methods of data collection, analysis, and interpretation.” The two main seemingly contesting approaches are quantitative and qualitative, not discrete entities which are antagonistic but rather representative of different ends on a research continuum. The researcher’s philosophical assumptions, personal experiences and the nature of the research problem determine the choice of a suitable approach for a research study.
Table 3.3: Key characteristics of qualitative and quantitative approaches
Aspect Qualitative Quantitative
Aspiration In-depth, holistic, contextually sensitive understandings of phenomena
Empirical generalisations across time and space Philosophical
roots
Social constructivism,
phenomenology, hermeneutics
Positivism and logical
positivism, scientific
empiricism and realism Inquiry
approach
Entering real-world settings to
observe, interact, and
understand what emerges; naturalistic inquiry
Specifying independent and dependent variables to test
casual hypotheses:
hypothetical-deductive inquiry
Data collection Qualitative data through
fieldwork observations,
participant observation, and in-depth interviewing
Quantitative data through valid and reliable surveys,
tests, and statistical
indicators Researcher
stance
Engaged, subjectivity
acknowledged, value laden reflexive
Objective, independent,
detached, and value free Sampling
strategy
Strategic case selection and purposeful sampling of rich information for in-depth study
Random, probabilistic
samples to achieve
representativeness and
high internal validity
Data analysis Looks for themes and
patterns across case studies, theory emerges from cases
Uses standardised
instruments to measure
central tendencies and
variation statistically, test hypothesis
Modified from Patton (2015, p. 91)
The qualitative approach was chosen for this study because it is an effective method of investigating human experiences. It focuses on understanding the whole, which is quite consistent with the dynamic, unique and holistic nature of human beings and their actions (Burns & Grove, 2003). Further details about the qualitative approach are examined below.
3.3.1. The qualitative approach
The research study was based on a constructivist paradigm which is a theoretical framework for most qualitative research (Tuli, 2010). On the basis of this paradigm, the research has employed a qualitative approach, which “involves the
study of subjects in their natural settings whereby the researcher conducts a systematic enquiry into meanings, attempting to interpret and make sense of phenomena and the meanings that people attribute to them”, (Shank, 2002, in Parker, 2003. P. 16). According to Burns and Grove (2003, p. 19), a qualitative approach is “a systematic subjective approach used to describe life experiences and situations to give them meaning,” while for Holloway and Wheeler (2002, p. 30) asserts that it is “a form of social enquiry that focuses on the way people interpret and make sense of their experience and the world in which they live.” This research sought to study trainee teachers in the school settings in order to explore their experiences in applying theory related to gifted learners. The qualitative approach in this context was viewed as the most appropriate approach to observe them in the classroom, on the basis of the following characteristics of qualitative research, adapted from Creswell (2013, p. 40):
Is conducted in a natural setting, a source of data for close interaction
relies on the researcher as key instrument in data collection
involves using multiple methods
involves complex reasoning going between inductive and deductive
focuses on participants’ perspectives, their meanings, their multiple subjective views
is situated within the context or setting of participants/sites
involves an emergent and evolving design rather than tightly prefigured design
is reflective and interpretive (i.e., sensitive to researcher’s biographies and social identities)
presents a holistic, complex picture
In the context of this study, the above insights helped the researcher to gain an in- depth understanding of the various factors that are at play in preparing Zimbabwean trainee teachers for handling gifted learners. Unlike the quantitate research approach, which is conscience, narrow and reductionist, qualitative studies are complex and broad, so that it is possible to give meaning to the whole phenomenon that is being studied (Krauss, 2005).
According to Creswell (2007, p. 40), qualitative research is carried out “because we want to understand the context or settings in which participants in a study address a problem or issue.” Thus, the aim was to establish how the teacher colleges are preparing trainee teachers in handling gifted learners during their teaching practice in real classroom contexts. Vasilachis de Gialdino (2009) argues that qualitative methods entail and manifest the assumptions of interpretive paradigm, the grounds of which lie in the need to grasp meaning of social action in the context of the life world and from the participants’ perspectives. From this point of view, the researcher was compelled to use data collection techniques that would capture participants’ perspectives about how the training at the college prepared them in handling of gifted learners.
The qualitative approach makes use of flexible analysis and explanation methods, sensitive to both the studied people’s special features and social context in which data is produced, (Mason, 1996). Based on this theoretical assertion the researcher used qualitative data collection techniques that included observation of classroom teaching, interviews with college lecturers, qualified primary school teachers and trainee teachers, and focus group discussions with trainee teachers. These techniques allowed the researcher to enter into an active interaction process with the participants on an equal footing and so created a rapport that enabled the participants and researcher to work collaboratively.
Bryman (2004) in Devetak, Glazar & Vogrinc (2010, p. 78) writes,
Qualitative research is an exploratory approach emphasizing words rather than quantification in gathering and analysing the data. It is a matter of the inductive, constructivist and interpretative exploratory approach with the following main stresses: to view the world with the eyes of the examinees, to describe and take into account the context, to emphasize the process and not only the final results, to be flexible and develop the concepts and theories as outcomes of the research process.
In line with this, the researcher relied greatly on the views of the trainee teachers and qualified teachers in the school contexts, with the certainty that what they conveyed during interviews and focus group discussion as their truths added credibility to the research findings. Meeting the participants at their workplace
opened up communication, thus, both were engaged in dialogical discussions that broadened and deepened their knowledge of the theory and practice of handling gifted learners. Accordingly all the participants that took part in this study were not treated as objects but as human beings who could think and speak for themselves and define things from their points of view. Thus the knowledge generated in this shared capacity is trustworthy, authentic and has a high degree of transferability. The different features of the qualitative research approach that were discussed in this section went a long way in assisting the researcher in selecting an appropriate research design that was to be used in this study.