{"title":"Paraprofessionals in a Special Education Setting: A Qualitative Exploration of Their Perceptions","authors":"Chana Max, Keisha McCoy-Dailey","doi":"10.46743/2160-3715/2024.6532","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.6532","url":null,"abstract":"Paraprofessionals support teachers and students in the classroom. Their roles and responsibilities vary; however, their goal is always to improve student achievement. The purpose of the study was to fill a gap in the literature related to special education paraprofessionals’ perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs on the support and trainings they receive prior to and during their job as a paraprofessional for students in a special education setting. Generic qualitative methodology was used to capture the thoughts, experience, and perceptions of 42 paraprofessionals across the United States. Data collection included an eight-question online questionnaire. Results of the study revealed five patterns including (a) paraprofessionals are coming in with some training, (b) their ongoing training is not always consistent, (c) the biggest areas of struggle are addressing challenging behavior, (d) their education does not always prepare them for the responsibilities in the classroom, and (e) further support is needed for them to fulfil their responsibilities. After further analysis and synthesis, the five patterns were then condensed into two overarching themes which included paraprofessional training deficits and need for behavior support training. These findings are significant to school leaders and educators in order to properly support paraprofessionals in their roles of ensuring student learning and success.","PeriodicalId":256338,"journal":{"name":"The Qualitative Report","volume":"63 35","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139534771","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Methodological Challenges in Conducting Cross-Cultural/Language Research with Spanish Speakers: The Role of the Researcher/Translator","authors":"Catherine Flores","doi":"10.46743/2160-3715/2024.6216","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.6216","url":null,"abstract":"With the increase in global research, it is common for researchers to investigate topics in intercultural settings, both in their own home countries and abroad. Although findings from this research are prolific, rarely are detailed examples given or practical suggestions offered, particularly in relation to the role of the translator/researcher. The significant and often undervalued role of the translator/researcher in cross cultural/language qualitative research warrants methodological considerations at the onset and throughout the research. Nonetheless, few qualitative studies transparently report the process of how the translation findings were developed. This paper addresses this gap by examining a Latinx postgraduate student’s role in the qualitative research on teacher induction in Chile. I used reflexivity to assess my positionality of insiderness and outsiderness and its influence in the process of recruitment, conducting interviews, transcription, and translation. Interviews were conducted, transcribed and analysed in Spanish. Examples of data translation that can help to identify the main issues associated with reporting the findings in English are provided. These applied examples are used to illustrate the gaps and misinterpretations possible in intercultural research. The importance of researcher’s culture competence, contextual skills and knowledge of the field of the study are highlighted.","PeriodicalId":256338,"journal":{"name":"The Qualitative Report","volume":" 28","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139627590","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"“Everything Seems to Be the Right Eye in Our Family”: Intergenerational Family Living with Facial Eye Disfigurement: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis","authors":"Zali O’Dea, Jane Southcott","doi":"10.46743/2160-3715/2024.5993","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.5993","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents the lived experience of an intergenerational family, spanning three generations living with Facial Eye Disfigurement (FED). Living with vision loss and FED is estimated to affect nearly 8 billion people worldwide. Inadequate attention is paid to the impact of Living with FED (LwFED) on the lives of individuals. This research offers a deep dive into the lived experiences of one family LwFED. This family comprises a grandfather (deceased), son, wife, and child, all of whom have lived or live with FED. In this Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) study three interviewees are deemed the experts. Data were collected using in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted by Zali who lives with FED. Our findings speak of childhood and subsequent issues living with FED (LwFED), family experiences of living with family members with FED while simultaneously LwFED themselves, shared stories and role modelling. We discuss LwFED healthily through the creation of a safe family space through acceptance, belonging, and support. We introduce and discuss the role of the eyelid, functioning versus non-functioning. We offer insights and understandings of an intergenerational family living with LwFED to advance research and inform practice within diverse fields.","PeriodicalId":256338,"journal":{"name":"The Qualitative Report","volume":" 25","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139627523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An Autoethnographic Dialogue with Motherhood Literature","authors":"Autret, Brad van Eeden-Moorefield","doi":"10.46743/2160-3715/2024.6290","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.6290","url":null,"abstract":"This autoethnography represents the first author’s journey as a mother and doctoral student researching mothers’ experiences in contending with the demands of work and family. Reading across different pockets of empirical motherhood literature (work-family conflict, contemporary motherhood, maternal gatekeeping, and intensive motherhood) I became troubled by how women’s realities were reflected. Pushing back against traditional methods that endorse separating my researcher identity from my maternal self, I draw on autoethnographic method to dialogue with this literature. This approach empowers me to speak out as a novice scholar uncomfortable with aspects of literature, while also navigating training in the use of traditional methods that often provide a directive to separate academic and personal identities. Importantly, doing so enables me to identify powerful insights about limitations in the literature, and how specific pockets of research can adversely affect the broader motherhood literature.","PeriodicalId":256338,"journal":{"name":"The Qualitative Report","volume":" 27","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139627889","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Emma R. Sarcol, Ines Coutinho, Elle Maguire, Helen C. Collins, Tricia Jolliffe
{"title":"Exploring Women’s Education and Employment Opportunities in India, Syria, and the Philippines","authors":"Emma R. Sarcol, Ines Coutinho, Elle Maguire, Helen C. Collins, Tricia Jolliffe","doi":"10.46743/2160-3715/2024.5728","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.5728","url":null,"abstract":"The implementation of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 marked a new chapter in global development and laid the foundations for addressing inequalities that hinder holistic progress. However, gender gaps pose a significant threat to achieving these goals. Project DREAM (Developing Resilience, Education, Aspiration, and Motivation) sought to explore women’s sense of aspiration, achievement, and lived experience in India, Syria, and the Philippines, as well as develop pilot interventions to address gender disparities. Semi-structured interviews with 69 young women from India, Syria, and the Philippines informed the development of three interventions, namely an aspiration and job skills workshop series in the Philippines, Motivational Interviewing training in Syria and the Philippines, and a social media presence and launch event worldwide. This paper presents the findings of this international project, identifying four key parallels underpinning women’s lived experience: poverty, incomplete education, tradition, and patriarchy. Pre-existing gender inequalities, aggravated by the widespread health, economic, and social disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, must be urgently addressed to ensure that no one is left behind on the road to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.","PeriodicalId":256338,"journal":{"name":"The Qualitative Report","volume":"68 38","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139534596","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"EFL Learners’ Participation in Primary Schools of Coastal Areas in Bangladesh","authors":"Md. Abu Sufian, Sayeedur Rahman","doi":"10.46743/2160-3715/2024.4551","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.4551","url":null,"abstract":"Despite numerous initiatives by both governmental and non-governmental organizations, primary level students’ skills in English language are still below the expected level in Bangladesh (Hamid & Honan, 2012; Sultana, 2010). Our study examined reasons behind the limited participation of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners in primary level classrooms in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. To conduct the research, we followed an explanatory sequential mixed methods design (Creswell, 2014; Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Ivankova & Stick, 2007). We collected data from 37 male and 23 female students in grades four and five through questionnaire surveys and three focus group discussions (FGDs). We also collected data from five teachers through interviews and three class observations. We found that teachers had less motivation to create an interactive learning environment for the students due to heavy teaching loads and administrative assignments. Many of the students had low academic expectations and motivation, lived in poor socio-economic conditions that required them to work, and were impacted by frequent natural disasters that interrupted their regular classes. The results of our research provide insights for educationists and policymakers related to primary education in disaster-prone coastal areas as well as other rural parts of the country.","PeriodicalId":256338,"journal":{"name":"The Qualitative Report","volume":" 37","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139627585","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Exploring TEFL Research Methods Courses in Iran: A Path to Research Synthesis Pedagogy","authors":"Mohammad Amini Farsani, Mojtaba Asaie","doi":"10.46743/2160-3715/2024.5858","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.5858","url":null,"abstract":"There has been inadequate investigation of research pedagogy in applied linguistics, despite the significance of research reform in the field. As such, we examined the status of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) research pedagogy in postgraduate classes in Iran. We described and evaluated 28 research methods (RM) courses in terms of objectives, content, and assessment in Iranian universities. We employed a qualitative content analysis of RM syllabi, utilizing a mixture of inductive and deductive coding. Our results revealed that among the Iranian research instructors whose syllabi we examined, there is a common approach to delivering research methods courses. Nonetheless, there is a noticeable misalignment between the objectives they report and how these objectives are put into practice, as reflected in the course content and assessment methods. Among the analyzed syllabi, one instructor approached the course through the lens of research synthesis pedagogy. While acknowledging the benefits of the prevailing instructional approach, we argue in favor of implementing research synthesis pedagogy as an evidence-based and complementary alternative to conventional research training approaches within TEFL. This synthesis-informed research pedagogy has the potential to nurture a research mindset among postgraduate students, subsequently enhancing the quality assurance of different methodological orientations, including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research.","PeriodicalId":256338,"journal":{"name":"The Qualitative Report","volume":"58 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139535013","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Associating Academic Identity with Language Socialization in Virtual Community: A Case Study of a Chinese Graduate Student’s Learning Experiences in Religion Studies","authors":"Xiaolong Lu","doi":"10.46743/2160-3715/2024.5649","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.5649","url":null,"abstract":"This longitudinal case study explored the academic identity and language socialization of a Chinese graduate student enrolled in an online religion course at a U.S. university during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected via online classroom observations, oral interviews, and artifacts. The theoretical framework was taken from language socialization and identity, together with positioning theory. The study differs from previous research, arguing that instead of language competence, the constructed academic identity is occasionally crucial for the successful academic discourse socialization of international students in bilingual and virtual settings. Moreover, the inclination toward interactive positioning between students and instructors can arise and advance in virtual academic communities and, while students’ academic identities might be resistant to change, they can be negatively impacted by disorganized course design. The conclusion sheds light on first and second language socialization through which international graduate students can navigate and maintain their academic identities within digitally mediated and multilingual learning environments.","PeriodicalId":256338,"journal":{"name":"The Qualitative Report","volume":" 50","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139628170","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
C. Watfern, Gaynor Macdonald, Michele Elliot, Lynne Stone, Imelda Gilmore, Sarah Wallace, Manuel Tecson, Najla Turk, Penny Bingham, Jane Mears, Ann Dadich, Barbara Doran, Katherine Boydell
{"title":"Craftivism as Inquiry: Holding Life’s Threads","authors":"C. Watfern, Gaynor Macdonald, Michele Elliot, Lynne Stone, Imelda Gilmore, Sarah Wallace, Manuel Tecson, Najla Turk, Penny Bingham, Jane Mears, Ann Dadich, Barbara Doran, Katherine Boydell","doi":"10.46743/2160-3715/2024.6007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.6007","url":null,"abstract":"In this article, we share insights regarding an arts-based research project where carers of people with dementia conveyed their experiences in cloth. Carers face high rates of mental ill health and burnout, while forming a largely undervalued and unrecognised workforce. Through this project, carers’ knowledge was valued and amplified using an innovative methodology – craftivism. During a series of five workshops in 2021, a small group of carers, researchers and artists gathered online to develop an exhibition of craftivist textile works. They evoked the complexity of their makers’ journeys supporting loved ones at the end of life, finding joy and meaning despite grief and isolation. Making and crafting, together, we built community and highlighted the importance of the relationships at the heart of care: holding life’s threads. This article contributes to a growing literature surrounding arts-based methods in qualitative research, advocacy, and community life, while providing another platform to share and celebrate the stories of all those involved in the project.","PeriodicalId":256338,"journal":{"name":"The Qualitative Report","volume":" 29","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139627573","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Favouring of Gifted Pupils by Elementary Teachers: A Labelling Theory Perspective","authors":"Eva Klimecká","doi":"10.46743/2160-3715/2024.5292","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.5292","url":null,"abstract":"Improving the quality of care for gifted pupils also brings problems related to their favouring. Favouring, as a part of the labeling theory, leads to the selection of gifted and stagnation in their development, making it one of the risk factors. This study identifies and analyses pedagogical situations leading to favouring of gifted pupils. The qualitative research is conducted in the elementary schools in the Czech Republic (Central Europe). Data are obtained through observation of school lessons and from interviews with teachers and were subsequently analysed by the situational analysis. The study has found five typical situations, such as teachers’ increased expectations of gifted pupils, privileges only for gifted pupils, gifted pupil as the teacher’s assistant, additional tasks only for gifted pupils, and gifted pupil as the captain of group work. We also detect typical features leading to favouring as a privilege, representation, performance, segregation, lack of purpose, and rigidity. The study draws attention to the existence of high-quality formalized care for the gifted (anchoring care in school legislation), for which school practice is not sufficiently prepared.","PeriodicalId":256338,"journal":{"name":"The Qualitative Report","volume":" 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139626889","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}