Grace's Change Model - Free Essay

What type of qualitative research does this article represent? Why?

The type of qualitative research that the article represents is a case study (Vetter, 2012). This is because the author has used Grace’s change model as the basis of explaining the themes of leadership change and career development in education. Qualitative case studies tend to have a particular subject. The subject usually is either a person or a family, organization or business, town, or city (Vetter, 2012). It usually provides an in-depth at the test subject. In this case, the researcher tries to understand Grace's change process by focusing on her second year as the leader of staff development in the writing institution. The author clearly outlines the challenges Grace is facing in making decision on how she shall lead her staff. Graces friends have been used as characters who have helped the researcher to get insightful findings on the characteristics and personality traits that Grace has. In qualitative case of studies, data is normally collected from various sources to create a more significant conclusion (Shank et al, 2018). This is the same case for this study as the author tries to relate data from previous research and the surrounding conditions that grace is facing. The theories and research that the author has used have been used as assessment and study tools on the case of Grace.

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What patterns or themes did the researcher discover?

The researcher discovered the implications for teacher change and professional development. He discovered that the change that occurred on Grace was an interactive, dynamic, and complex experience. So, the central theme in this research is change of professional duty (Vetter, 2012). The researcher tries to show that the change process is not easy. In this case, he has discovered that Grace was responsible for her transformation. At the same time, the conversation that grace has with her friends show the challenges and the indecisive decisions that grace is encountered with in her professional development. The friends are seen offering solutions based on the vision that Grace had given out. The theme of change has been realized through a number of actions by Grace.

This is by first imagining and contemplating her new position as a teacher leader. She created a clear vision of what she wanted to become. Her vision is the developmental tool that she is going to use in her leadership. So, the study has conceptualized how teacher developmental changes and identity processes are complex dynamic and an interactive process. It has also been discovered that transformation is not an easy task. It is a shift in both practice and theory. The researcher suggests that collaborative groups should have discursive practices that can foster reflective positioning, which leads to a change in practices and beliefs. This has been well articulated by the fact that Grace is trying as much as possible to involve many stakeholders in her decision-making process. She is also trying to come up with a way of communication to all the staff in an effective way.

How was the study credible and trustworthy?

The study was credible and trustworthy through many different ways. First, the author used first-hand information in analyzing the theme of change or transformation in educational leadership. The conversations involving Grace and her friend concerning the vision of change and the implementation method is a real case study that is directly associated with the theme. Hence the author illustrated the theme of leadership development and its associated challenges while giving the readers a clear and thoughtful understanding. Second, the author introduced the article with a good literature review on how leadership transformation in education has been perceived. The review also contains the challenges that teachers face between teaching and other professional duties such as leadership. The theories of leadership transformational change in education were well articulated and evidenced indicating that the author had done extensive research towards the development of a concrete argument.

Hence, while the reader gets to read and understand Grace case study, they relate with the literature review and hence getting the theme of the author more clearly. Lastly the data collection and analysis were done for over a period of three years. The author collected data from TTR meetings. The data was composed of audio tape discussions of ten meetings, audio-taped groups interviews, PowerPoint conference presentation, manuscript of a second study and notes and observations of ten monthly meetings (Vetter, 2012). The method of collection of data was first-hand and this is one of the best data for a qualitative analysis (Shank et al, 2018). The observations also give a strong reason of validating the data as the author experienced the findings personally. Hence while reading and understanding through the article, one is able to identify that the reading is entirely based on evidenced facts hence making the information trustworthy. One is also able to establish a relationship with the topic of discussion, the available literature and the case study.

Reference

Vetter, A. (2012). Teachers as architects of transformation: The change process of an elementary-school teacher in a practitioner research group. Teacher Education Quarterly, 39(1), 27-49. doi: 10.1080/00220671.1993.9941151

Shank, G., Pringle, J., & Brown, L. (2018). Understanding education research: A guide to critical reading. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315631394