Doing Comparative Case Studies: New Designs and Directions

Description

Comparative Case Studies: New Designs and Directions extends the comparative case study methodology established by Bartlett and Vavrus and employed in many areas of social research, especially in education. This volume unites a diverse, international group of education scholars whose work exemplifies the affordances and constraints of the comparative case study (CCS) approach and offers new theoretical and empirical directions for researchers. In 11 engaging chapters, experts in comparative education, early childhood education, peace education, refugee education, special education, and teacher education discuss their use of the CCS approach to produce new ways of knowing and to address challenges of multi-scalar and multi-sited research. The first section, Conceptualizing Cases and Case Selection, emphasizes the importance of carefully selecting cases during different phases of research while continuously reflecting on how these choices influence the findings. The second section, Balancing Specificity and Generalizability, addresses the challenge of balancing the need for rich, deep data while including multiple sites. The third section, Enabling Processual Analysis across Sites and Scales, demonstrates the fit between the CCS approach and qualitative research that unfolds over time and space. Addressing the Transversal Axis, the fourth section, showcases research with a strong temporal dimension. The final section, New Directions, suggests inspiring and innovative methods. Offering rich methodological examples and provocative discussion questions, this volume will appeal to undergraduate and graduate students in education and research design courses, and to scholars and policymakers in diverse fields seeking to design studies of complex phenomena at different sites and scales. Cover Endorsements Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of Figures List of Tables Acknowledgements Introduction: Case Studies with a Comparative Sensibility SECTION I: Conceptualizing Cases and Case Selection 1. Making Discipline Reform: A Comparative Case Study of School Policymaking 2. Meeting the Needs of Refugee Learners: A Comparative Case Study of Lebanese and Syrian Teachers’ Approaches to Educating Refugee Students in Lebanon SECTION II: Balancing Specificity and Generalizability 3. Language Policy and Early Grade Instruction in Nigeria: A Comparative Case Study of Policy Awareness and Implementation 4. The Promise of the Comparative Case Study Approach in Understanding Educational Program Design and Change: Peace Studies Programs in Kenyan Universities SECTION III: Enabling Processual Analysis across Sites and Scales 5. Comparison as Analysis, Interview Technique, and Relational Ethic: Findings and Reflections from a Study on the International Baccalaureate in Ecuador 6. Special Education Policy and Practice Across Scales: Providing a Free Appropriate Public Education During a Pandemic SECTION IV: Addressing the Transversal Axis 7. Beyond Permanence and Change: Tracing the Transversal Axis of Community Development 8. The Evolving Discourses of Suzhi and Suzhi Education: A CCS Approach to the Study of Rural and Migrant Children in China SECTION V: New Directions 9. Ensuring Quality in Pre-Primary Education: A Comparative Case Study of Tanzanian Stakeholder Perspectives 10. Visualizing Research: Reflections from a Comparative Case Study of English Language Teacher Professionalism in Rwanda 11. Negotiating the Purposes of Early Childhood Education and Care Notes on Contributors Index