Tratamientos sobre la amnistía y el indulto en el Acuerdo Final para la Paz

In this study, the researcher seeks to understand the problem within its natural setting, thus lending itself to what Lincoln and Guba (1985) term as “the naturalistic inquiry”. As established in Chapter Two, since there is no standard definition of quality teaching and the notion of quality teaching is large and abstract, it is not the researcher’s intention to measure the standard of quality teaching. There is no hypothesis or a particular theory on quality teaching to test out and confirm (Creswell, 1994, 2005; R. B. Johnson & Christensen, 2008). Instead, the aim of this study is to gain an in-depth understanding of quality teaching by exploring teachers’ perceptions at an institution of interest. The nature of the research is that little is known about perceptions of quality teaching in the institution and this is what the research first sets out to explore. This is so that efforts in enhancing the quality of teaching can be improved.

Stake (2005) stresses that case study is a choice of what is to be studied rather than a choice of methodology. The attention is on one singular unit. He stated, “[case study] draws attention to the question of what can be learned in a single case” (Stake, 2005, p. 445). The study of a singular case comprises an investigation into the complexity of a functioning system that may range from an individual, a social unit, to a phenomenon. It involves intensive analysis that reveals insights, discoveries and interpretations making it necessary to have rich and thick

descriptions. The descriptions are “holistic”, “lifelike”, “grounded” and “exploratory”, taking in

as many elements as possible. For these reasons, case study is often placed alongside other qualitative research methods (Hancock & Algozzine, 2006; Merriam, 1998). As a result of this thorough and in-depth analysis of one single case, it may then be reported as “a case that has

merit in and of itself” (Creswell, 2008, p. 476).

The notion of “boundedness” places a ‘fence’ around the case, defining for one particular piece

of research what is and what is not to be studied (Hancock & Algozzine, 2006; Merriam, 1998).

There is “common sense obviousness” for the boundaries which includes the boundary of space

and/or time. In other words, the case is situated within a real-life context. There are features within the boundaries of the case where activities are patterned, coherent and in sequence. In- depth investigation into this bounded system uncovers the interaction of significant characteristics or elements such as activities and the people involved, making descriptions and explanations holistic (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005; Merriam, 1998). According to Yin (2003), the elements are so embedded in the situation that the researcher has no control over the phenomenon, but aims to find out how things work and why they work the way they do. Yin (2009) further states, “the case study method allows investigators to retain the holistic and meaningful characteristics of real-life events” (p. 4). Due to the fact that case study is grounded

in its context and supports in-depth investigation into a complex system, case study is suitable for and is often used in research in education (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005). In summary, “[it]

attends to constructs of society and socialisation in studying educational phenomena”

(Merriam, 1998, p. 37).

As described in Chapter One: Introduction to the Research and Contextual Background, this study began with a concern for the quality of teaching at one particular higher education institution in Malaysia – Universiti Gading Gemilang (UGG). Further, within the boundary of its contemporary setting, UGG was undergoing rigorous quality assurance efforts. Of particular

interest to the study are the teachers’ ability to teach at their best capacity while, at the same time trying to be actively involved in institutional quality activities. As a point of departure, the

teachers’ perceptions of quality teaching were explored. Further, contextual elements that support or impede the teachers’ efforts in teaching well were investigated. The researcher seeks to tease out the relationship between teachers and their teaching contexts. The intention is to tie in as many elements as possible in order to understand why and how the teachers think and teach the way they do, and to explore the nature of interaction between the teachers and the elements in their teaching contexts. Investigating the teachers’ perceptions of quality teaching

and the teachers’ teaching contexts would hopefully provide the basis for improving and enhancing quality teaching at the case study institution, which could further support the institutional overall quality goals.

Apart from being descriptive, other features of case study described by Merriam (1998) are that

it is particularistic and heuristic. Being particularistic, “the case itself is important for what it reveals about the phenomenon” (p. 29). Being heuristic, the case can bring about the discovery of new meaning that is previously unknown. Studying the case institution – Universiti Gading Gemilang (UGG) - reveals an insight into a Malaysian quality teaching situation within a quality assurance institutional context. As described in Chapter One, UGG may not be the only higher education institution in Malaysia that was undergoing quality efforts considering the

announcement of the National Higher Education Strategic Plan (NHESP) for international

benchmarking. Yin (2003) acknowledges that the boundaries between the case and its context are not always clear cut. Sometimes, there are features outside of the boundaries that have contextual significance. Impacted by significant factors in Malaysia’s national and global contexts, the quality-led changes and the concern for quality teaching at UGG may not be unique to the institution. Other higher education institutions may be experiencing similar

changes and may share similar concerns. New meanings of quality teaching in Malaysia’s

For this reason, this research study is both intrinsic and instrumental in nature (Stake, 2005).

This research is primarily intrinsic because “...in all particularity and ordinariness the case itself

is of interest” (Stake, 2005, p. 445). As the contextual investigation brings in national policies and some pertinent global issues, it is realised that other higher education institutions may be experiencing similar changes as UGG due to policies imposed at the national level. Due to

UGG’s relations with larger contexts, this investigation may incidentally serve instrumental purposes.

This study will thus serve two purposes : (i) to gain a better understanding of issues in quality teaching in a quality-led institution, and (ii) to transfer theoretical propositions to other local institutions that may be experiencing a similar phenomenon. Stake (2005) further supports the dual purpose of case study. He claims that intrinsic case study cannot avoid generalisation.

The methods for case work actually used are to learn enough about the case not to encapsulate complex meanings into a finite report but to describe the case in sufficient descriptive narrative so that readers can experience these happenings vicariously and draw their own conclusions (p. 450).

Although the purpose of a qualitative study is not to generalise, but to understand a particular case, generalising is inevitably the secondary purpose of intrinsic case study research.