Introduction to the Case Studies

University of Exeter - School of Education	B.Phil / M.Ed Modular Degree Programme
Teaching Effectively with ICT - G162 Spring 1998	Professor Niki Davis
Date Due: May 15, 1998	Date Submitted: May 15, 1998
Reflection on two case studies of staff development with a small group
Submitted by: Alastair Reynolds and Megan Dick	No previous modules undertaken

Introduction to the Case Studies
The content of this page was discussed and agreed by both authors and the page was written by Alastair Reynolds. A transcript of the discussion can be found in Appendix H.

Brief description of cases

Alastair Reynolds is writing the account and analysis of Case Study X. The study is looking at the development of an integrated IT policy (for which he had responsibility) in the Mathematics department of School X.

Megan Dick is writing the account and analysis of Case Study Y. The study is looking at the development of IT capability of History staff at School Y since new computing facilities were introduced.

Methods of data collection

It was agreed that the primary source of data about each case would be a 'diary' narrative of events. This method of data collection was chosen because no other methods available offered sufficient data to carry out satisfactory analysis. It was recognised that data collected in this way can not be valid if not backed up by other sources, and as such triangulation will be used to confirm the key facts. This triangulation will be carried out from a variety of sources depending on the case. Possible sources include minutes of appropriate meetings, details of interviews and results of questionnaires. These will be included in the appendices. Permission to include individuals in the accounts will be obtained from those concerned (although anonymity will be maintained through the use of pseudonyms).

Methods of data analysis

The analysis will be primarily carried out in the context of three factors identified through the background research as having a significant effect on the success of staff-development. These were:

Appropriateness of the staff development to the participants.
The extent to which participants were motivated to use new innovations.
The level of support offered to participants.

Where appropriate, analysis will also be carried out in terms of critical events - events in the case study which had a significant impact on the final outcome. This is likely to be more pertinent in Case Study X because it is set over a longer term.

It was agreed that while there were many different models of staff development (a selection can be found in the sections on classifying and evaluating staff development in the literature review of on-line resources), it would be excessive to consider how the case study fitted with each of them. Instead, it was decided that we would consider only those models which lent some insight to the case being studied, or those where the theory in the model did not seem to fit with what was happening in practice.

At this point it is likely that you will want to move on to Case Study X or Case Study Y.
You may also return to the contents page.