Case Study In Education Research

In this essay Prof. Evert Gummesson, Professor Emeritus at the Stockholm Business School (SBS) and pioneer in the studies in the fields of service, presented the use of case studies in academic research from a European perspective. The article was built through the perspective of service research that evolved to a strategic paradigm more recently. The essay stresses the importance and the proper use of case studies in academic research.

This paper introduces an application of project-based learning to learning game design in the framework of LIFE (Learning in an Interdisciplinary Focused Environment), an initiative at Tallinn University which provides an alternative to subject-based education by inviting students to collaborate on interdisciplinary projects. Using self-reflection and semi-structured interviews, we surveyed LIFE participants whose projects focused on educational games in order to identify what competencies they believed the project helped them develop and what skills were still underdeveloped. While LIFE proved effective at producing a tangible outcome (i.e. a game) and facilitating participants' technical skills, the evidence of improvement in interpersonal skills is not as clear: some students reported significant improvement, while others were less enthusiastic. LIFE seemed to have little impact on management skills, as participants with previous project work experience were satisfied with their performance and growth, whereas those without it felt less motivated to manage projects again. The results may be indicative of the organisational aspects of LIFE project itself, whose self-organising nature can lead to a mismatch in existing technical and interpersonal competencies, as well as levels of motivation in the teams. These factors need to be taken into consideration for a successful application of project-based learning to educational game design.

In this essay Prof. Evert Gummesson, Professor Emeritus at the Stockholm Business School (SBS) and pioneer in the studies in the fields of service, presented the use of case studies in academic research from a European perspective. The article was built through the perspective of service research that evolved to a strategic paradigm more recently. The essay stresses the importance and the proper use of case studies in academic research.

Purpose This paper aims to consider the ways that students are shaped by and shape community and critical literacy, along with the ways that community affords student empowerment in an English class during a US high school summer enrichment program. Design/methodology/approach The qualitative methodological approach is a narrative-based descriptive case study. To provide a detailed and narrative-based discussion, the authors incorporate ethnographic observation narratives and conversational interview excerpts, and analyze the data through inductive coding. Findings Organizing the findings into two sections, “These kids are rebelling”, and “We’re trusting him to teach and do better now”, we first examine the ways that student-led rebellion reshaped the classroom community and then the ways that the teacher's response redefined critical literacy approaches and his interactions with the students. Research limitations/implications As this is a qualitative case study that is set duri...

Integrating Critical and Contextual Studies in Art and Design examines the relationship between two aspects of art education that appear at times inseparable or even indistinguishable, and at others isolated and in conflict: Critical and Contextual Studies (CCS) and studio practice. Underpinned by international contexts, this book is rooted in British art and design education and draws upon contemporary case studies of teaching and learning in post-compulsory settings in order to analyse and illustrate identities and practices of CCS and its integration.

The chapters in this book are divided into three sections that build on one another: ‘Discourse and debate’; ‘Models, types and tensions’; and ‘Proposals and recommendations’. Key issues include:
• knowledge hierarchies and subject histories and identities;
• constructions of ‘theory’ and the symbiotic relationship between theory and practice;
• models and practices of CCS within current post-compulsory British art and design education;
• the reification of ubiquitous terms in the fields of art and design and of education: intuition and integration;
• approaches to curriculum integration, including design and management; and
• suggestions for integrating CCS in art and design courses, including implications for pedagogy and assessment.

Integrating Critical and Contextual Studies in Art and Design offers a comprehensive analysis of the current drive towards integration within art education, and elucidates what we understand by the theory and practice of integration. It explores the history, theory, teaching and student experience of CCS, and will be of interest to lecturers, teachers and pedagogues involved in art and design as well as researchers and students of art education.