Tarjeta RMT (KX-TDA0196)

3.1.1 A constructivist paradigm

The overall aim of this study was to examine the practice of AfL in the Vietnamese tertiary sector and to identify the sociocultural factors that may influence these practices. The study involved an in-depth analysis of the Education University’s context, with the aim of discovering what AfL practices are occurring and how AfL is enacted in practice in this cultural and social context. For this reason, a constructivist paradigm was chosen as the theoretical orientation of this study.

Constructivist inquiry or naturalistic inquiry is based on the assumption that there are “multiple constructed realities that can be studied holistically” (Lincoln & Guba, 1985, p. 37). This approach is primarily concerned with the natural history and meaning of a phenomenon (Merriam, 1988). Meaning, as argued by Merriam (1988), “is embedded in people’s experiences and mediated through the investigator’s own perceptions” (p. 19). That is, a constructivist approach involves the researcher interpreting the events through a particular theoretical lens and through their own experiences. This embedded meaning needs to be acknowledged. In this study, interpretations of the practice of AfL involved viewing this practice through the lens of sociocultural theories of learning and through the researcher’s experience as a lecturer in higher education.

This study was based on an understanding of learning as situated, which highlights the social nature of human knowledge construction. That is, knowledge is jointly created by members in a community of practice when they participate in diverse

activities in a community (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Rogoff, 1990). The development of knowledge occurs within a specific cultural context and is situated within that culture (McCormick & Murphy, 2008). This is a sociocultural understanding of learning. From this lens, understandings about the social and cultural context of Vietnamese higher education are necessary to interpret assessment practices. For this reason, case study was an appropriate methodology to study assessment practices at EU. It enabled the researcher to probe the assessment practices of each participant lecturer in-depth and to identify how sociocultural factors shaped these practices.

3.1.2 Case study approach

Case study has been understood in many ways by different authors (Simons, 2009). In discussions of case study, Yin and Stake, two seminal authors, are usually considered. However, they have different approaches in terms of how a case study is designed and implemented.

Issues regarding the design and implementation of case study focus on defining the boundaries of the case and the role of the researcher in the study. On the one hand, Yin (2003) argues that case study is a suitable research strategy for research questions such as how and why, because it “investigates a phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between the phenomenon and context are not clearly evident” (p. 13). According to Yin (2003), the research findings of the case can be “generalisable to theoretical propositions and not to populations or universes” (p. 10). The researcher and the phenomenon are separate. On the other hand, Stake (1995, 2006) adopts an interpretivist approach in his definition of case study. He contends that case study is not a method, but is an event or a program itself. Although a researcher can conduct either single or collective case study design, the focus of a case study is to “understand its activity within important circumstances” (Stake, 1995, p. xi). Stake also believes that there is a boundary between the case and the context. The purpose of studying the case is to understand “what it is” within its context, and the researcher is an integral part of the phenomenon. As a result, there is no aim for generalisation.

Although interpretations of case study vary, many key authors agree on the purpose and focus of case study as an in-depth understanding of a certain issue within its context, with each case characterised by its particularity, complexity and uniqueness (Creswell, 2008; Merriam, 1988; Simons, 2009; Stake, 1995; Thomas,

2011). According to Simons (2009), case study is an approach which orients the selection of methods of collecting data.

Case study is an in-depth exploration from multiple perspectives of the complexity and uniqueness of a particular project, policy, institution, programme or system in a ‘real life’ context. It is research-based, inclusive of different methods and is evidence-led (p. 21).

The scientific values of case study have been a controversial issue in the literature. Positivists have usually criticised case study as a subjective approach in research because the interpretations of a case involve too much subjective experience (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). However, constructivists consider that the researcher’s involvement is a major characteristic of human knowledge. They believe that all human knowledge is constructed and subjective (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011). Researching is the process by which humans try to make sense of a phenomenon requiring the researcher to be involved to understand the phenomenon. Flyvbjerg (2004) indicates common misunderstandings of case study, which often stem from its characteristics, including issues of bias, generalisation, and its scientific values. For example, one misunderstanding relates to the value of findings. Some suggest that as a case study is usually conducted with a small population number, research findings of the case cannot be generalised. However, Flyvbjerg (2004) points out, a lack of generalisation does not mean that concrete knowledge obtained from each case is not valuable.

Many authors now acknowledge that case study is useful for exploring intensely complex issues or events within a real-life context (Simons, 2009; Stake, 2006). Case study allows the researcher to understand the culturally situated factors that may contribute to the development of the phenomenon from the past to present and into the future. For this reason, “the case study is a necessary and sufficient method for certain important research tasks in the social sciences” (Flyvbjerg, 2004, p. 432).

Assessment for learning, when considered from a sociocultural perspective, involves complex interactions of a number of interrelated elements (Berry, 2011b; Carless & Lam, 2014; Torrance, 2012; Wiliam, 2006; Wiliam et al., 2004). This qualitative study aims to explore in-depth the practice of AfL within the context of EU. As the sociocultural characteristics of the context are believed to influence the practice of AfL in this university, case study is considered an appropriate approach for

addressing the research question: What are the practices of assessment for learning in

higher education in Vietnam? Investigating detailed cases from EU provides an

analysis in context and portrays a rich and particular picture of the practice of AfL. This research explores how individual and sociocultural issues impact on the practices of AfL in a particular context. The case study research design is provided in the next section.

3.2 CASE STUDY DESIGN