Toward Focus Group as Self-Study Method

• In Event: 42.078 - Innovations and Misunderstandings of Self-Study Methodology

Abstract

Self-study enables teacher educators to ask critical questions, develop reflective practice, participate in communities of practice to engage in continuous improvement (Samaras & Freese, 2009; Kitchen & Ciuffetelli-Parker, 2009), and contribute to the field’s knowledge base (LaBoskey, 2006). According to Zeichner (2007), there is a need for strengthening self-study research to promote simultaneous improvement of practice and greater theoretical understanding. To this end, researchers engage in various self-study methods, including narratives, dialogues, interviews, and document analyses in service of testing and validating their rigor and applicability. We seek to contribute to Zeichner’s call for strengthening the self-study research paradigm through contribution of focus group as self-study method.

Authors

• Cathy Yun, California State University - Fresno

• Lisa H. Bennett, California State University - Fresno

• Libbi Miller, Humboldt State University

• Frederick Peinado Nelson, California State University - Fresno

• Juliet Michelsen Wahleithner, California State University - Fresno