RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: DEVELOPING THE TOOLS FOR INTERROGATING SCHOOL LANGUAGE CHANGE
3.3 The argument for adopting a qualitatively-oriented case study approach
approach suits this research study which endeavours to deepen understanding of the phenomenon of school language change through interrogating multiple perspectives of this phenomenon offered by the language change agents and others in their respective contexts based on their experiences of school language change.
Cohen et al. (2000: 23) define phenomenology broadly as a theoretical point of view that advocates the study of direct experience taken at face value; and one which sees behaviour as determined by the phenomena of experience rather than by external, objective and physically described reality. The concern with phenomena, that is, the things we directly apprehend through our senses together with a consequent emphasis on qualitative methodology (Cohen et al 2000) are what locates phenomenology within interpretivism. Phenomenology studies the structure of various types of experiences ranging from perception, thought, memory, imagination, emotion, desire, and volition to bodily awareness, embodied action, and social activity, including linguistic activity. The structure of these forms of experience typically involves what Husserl called
"intentionality", that is, the directedness of experience toward things in the world, the property of consciousness that it is a consciousness of or about something (Smith 2003:
2). The basic intentional structure of consciousness, we find in reflection or analysis, involves further forms of experience and, thus, phenomenology develops a complex account of the following qualities. Awareness of one's own experience (self- consciousness, in one sense), self-awareness (awareness-of-oneself), the self in different roles (as thinking, acting, etc.), awareness of other persons (in empathy, intersubjectivity, collectivity), linguistic activity (involving meaning, communication, understanding others), social interaction (including collective action), and everyday activity in our surrounding life-world in a particular culture (Smith 2003: 3). The qualitatively-oriented case study approach adopted for this study guided in part by phenomenological analysis of the experiences of the change agents and others with which they interact in their social contexts would deepen understanding of school language change.
In adopting the case study approach for this study, it is imperative that this research method is clearly defined. Yin (2002) defines case study as an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the
boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident. Creswell (1998) states that a case study is an exploration of a bounded system or a case over time through detailed, in-depth data collection involving multiple sources of information rich in context. Bromley (1990) defines a case study as a systematic inquiry into an event or a set of related events which aims to describe and explain the phenomenon of interest.
Stake (1978) states that a case need not be a person or enterprise; it can be whatever bounded system is of interest; an institution, a program, a responsibility, a collection, or a population. Stake (2003) adds that the case can be a general phenomenon or a population of cases, stating that we cannot understand an individual case without knowing about other cases and we may simultaneously carry on more than one case study, but each case study is concentrated enquiry into a single case. Stake (1978) states that it is important in the first place to give prominence to what is and what is not the case thereby keeping the boundaries in focus. He adds that what happens and is deemed important within those boundaries is considered vital and usually determines what the study is about. Stake (1995) also distinguishes between intrinsic and instrumental case studies, explaining that the former is undertaken because one wants better understanding of a particular case and that the latter is used to provide insight into an issue or refinement of theory.
In light of the foregoing definitions and descriptions of the case study approach, this study, in interrogating the experiences of four different language change agents each attempting to drive and sustain language change in his/her respective school, does not focus on a single case. However, in endeavouring to generate an authentic understanding of the process of initiating and sustaining school language change, the study provides an in-depth inquiry of each case and does not dilute the meaning and importance of each case through using more than one case (Feigin et al 1991). While not diluting the importance of each change agent‟s experiences of attempting to sustain language change in his/her school context, the analysis and discussion of findings involves merging of the individual experiences thereby allowing more cohesiveness to better understand the phenomenon of school language change. Where experiences are divergent, the analysis and discussion foregrounds these differing experiences and resultant divergent
perceptions of and competing positions on the process of school language change to deepen understanding of the phenomenon of school language change.
In contemplating the distinction that Stake (1995) makes between case studies that are intrinsic (heightens understanding of a particular case) and those that are instrumental (provides insight into an issue or refines a theory), it is argued that this study is both intrinsic and instrumental. In seeking to understand the individual experiences of language change agents while at the same time using the collective experiences of all four change agents to deepen understanding of the phenomenon of school language change and to generate a theoretical understanding of the phenomenon, the study is both intrinsic and instrumental in its orientation.