Preservice Teachers Perceptions of Their Middle Schooling Teacher Preparation by Suzanne Hudson - Research Proposal Example

Article appraisal Name Institution Course Module Instructor’s name Date of submission The following is a critical appraisal of the article Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions of their Middle Schooling Teacher Preparation” by Suzanne Hudson published in the international journal of learning volume 16 issue number 1. Title The article is titled “Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions of their Middle Schooling Teacher Preparation”, which is self-explanatory. The title describes the content of the article in a single sentence, one which is clear and contains some of the key words such as ‘Preservice Teacher’ and ‘Middle Schooling’. Titles should never contain abbreviations or word short forms (Urquhart & Mclver 2005) and this one achieves this perfectly. The title should reflect the content of the paper and should not be to general. While the research falls under educational research, this title narrows down the issue at hand to preservice teachers and middle schooling. Abstract The conventional AIMRaD (Abstract, Introduction, Materials and methods, Results analysis and Discussion and its variations) structure in writing scientific research papers holds that the abstract should follow the title (Cargill & O’Connor 2009). The article observes this as an abstract that summarizes the article follows the title immediately. Walters (2009) recommends that an abstract should be about 10% of the total word count of the body of the article. The abstract’s word count in this article is 216 while the body has over 4000 words. If Walters (2009) criteria is to hold then, this abstract is too short for the article. However, other researchers suggest an abstract of 200-250 words is sufficient (scientific research article 2011). The International Journal of Learning editorial panel requires that all articles must contain an abstract which highlights all the aspects of the paper such as methodology, results and aims of the study. The abstract in this case does this by mentioning one-on-one interviews as the data collection method, highlights the findings as the need to create more linkages between middle school theories and middle school teaching practices. The abstracts also indicate the motivation of the research which is contextual guided by recent developments in the education sector in Australia. Introduction The introduction introduces the research subject and gives a general background of the whole research and contains the problem statement towards the end. The article gives a detailed background of the problem at hand as indicated by past studies and government reports. This makes the introduction to double up as a literature review that would be necessary in other types of researches. The author goes deep into informing his audience the prevailing conditions in the Australian education system that has made teacher training institutions to review and evaluate curriculums especially for teachers of middle school years. The changes in curriculum are motivated by new knowledge on the development process during adolescence. As such, the audience is aware that the field has not been dormant and the research was conducted in the face of reforms through new government regulations and new policies by individual teacher training institutions. The introduction introduces the audience not to the research per se, but the topic in education (Urquhart & Mclver 2005). It writing one, the research assumed well that not all of her readers are aware of the developments in the education sector in Australia. The author has presented the aim of her research as a different subheading all together. Many authors agree that an introduction should clearly outline the problem/purpose statement and also develop a clear hypothesis or aim of the study towards the end (Scientific research article 2011; Cargill & O’Connor 2009; Johnson & Christensen 2010). Although this section immediately follows the introduction, it should be included the as part of the introduction. Nonetheless, it serves its purposes very well in that the author makes known her intent. The author writes that “the aim of the study was to investigate the final-year preservice teachers’ perceptions of their middle schooling preparation, examine the strengths and improvements required in the course, and investigate their perceptions of their confidence to teach in the middle schooling context.” The methodology thus chosen in collecting data is heavily influenced by the aim of the study and the variables under consideration (Johnson & Christensen 2010). Literature review This article has no literature review section. This is in line with the AIMRaD structure which the journal uses as the standard structure. Nonetheless, the author recognizes the importance of literature review and incorporated it in the introduction section. A conventional literature review connects the research with past research on the subject (Cargill & O’Connor 2009) and also indicates that the researcher is well versed and up to date in the field in which he or she is carrying out the research (Fraenkel & Wallen 2008). Findings from such past research and their shortcomings are used to justify the choice of research questions. The author has achieved this by citing government sources and other researchers who agree that the best way to improve student performance was to enhance the teaching process. The failure to include a literature review section does not auger well with this kind of research. Sources The author has used recent sources to give the paper a solid theoretical background. The sources range from journal articles, books, government reports and online articles. Majority of these sources were published in the 21st century. The oldest source used is a book, Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory published in 1986. The book has no later editions and has received very positive reviews on the many websites hence the author was right in using it despite its date of publication. The other sources are recent considering the article was first published in 2009.The author has used the author date in intext referencing. The sources are then again listed in alphabetical order in the references section at the end of the paper. The intext referencing is important in averting plagiarism. Research method The article uses a qualitative paradigm which is clearly stated in the abstract of the paper. This is the best choice because the data being collected is not quantifiable and also depends on contextual verities and social perceptions of the variable. In this case, the methodology used borders between phenomenology and grounded theory. This is because the researcher uses no preconceived theories to develop a hypothesis but rather empirical data. Furthermore, the perception of the participants and their views on preschool training through one-on-one interviews makes it more of a phenomenological methodology. The organization of the methodology section is on point. In fact, the author titles the section “Context and Data Collection Methods” whereby she contextualizes the scenario to support her choice of methodology. As a qualitative study, the data is intangible which is collected through in-depth interviews lasting 45 minutes with each of the seven participants. Such data cannot be collected in numbers. Again, the one-one-one interviews are recommended for phenomenological studies in order to allow close interaction between the researcher and the participants who have experienced the phenomenon firsthand (Johnson & Christensen 2010). This way the researcher will be able to collect nonverbal data from the view and assess the degree of certainty or doubt in the participants’ responses which cannot be achieved using another methodology and also obtain “additional information to fit the respondent’s replies” (Hittleman & Simon, 2006, p. 27 cited in Hudson 2009). Therefore the article uses the right methodology based on the paradigm used and the nature of the data to be collected. The research used a very small sample of seven participants only. However, considering the population size of 22 preservice teachers in the final year, then the sample was enough as it represented 32% of the cohort. Cohen et al (2008) indicate that the method of data collection, the purpose of the research, resource allocation, population size, legal limits are some of the determinants of the sample size. Furthermore, the same elements determine the sampling procedure to be used. The researcher in this case used volunteer sampling. It can be argued that the data collection method, one-on-one interviews limited the sample size assuming that that not many potential respondents could afford the 45 minutes for the interview. Experts in the field of research agree that the larger the population, the smaller the sample needed and vice versa (Johnson & Christensen 2010; Cohen et al 2008). In fact, for a population size of 100 or less, the sample size should be 80-100% of the population for balanced results. However, considering that the researcher relied on the participants’ willingness and freewill to participate in this research, there was no alternative but to do with the 32% only. Unfortunately this erodes on the credibility of the findings. Variables The article recognizes the complexity that lays in collecting qualitative data, specifically the experience of preservice teachers, in that the content and personal bias play a very critical role. As such, the researcher pooled together responses with “emerging themes by noting similarities in responses” (Hudosn p. 5). The interview questions were derived from the middle years’ literature and the Queensland College of Teachers: Standards for Teachers (2006) which enabled the researcher to guess on the possible themes. Such imagined themes would be used as variables and also create some stability in the data collected. The researcher chooses to go blindly without first indicating the expected responses which would also serve as variables. The only variable indicated in the methodology section is only the age of the respondents which would also have an impact on their perceptions and experience with middle years’ students. Ordinarily, it is at this section that the researcher should mention the variables. This makes it hard to operationalize the study. Walters (2009) indicates that the success of a research lies in the ability of the research to be replicated by clearly explaining to the audience all the steps involved. In this case, the researcher failed in indicating the variables in the methodology section. Nonetheless, in the results section, the researcher states that there are three variable namely: the field studies experiences, the middle years’ electives and the units that had school-based experiences. Data analysis The setup of the interviews and time allotted for each respondent allowed for comprehensive data collection pathway. The researcher conducted the interviews at the beginning of the final semester at the campus. Walters (2009) says that where interviews are to be used in collecting data, it is fair to conduct them at premises which are familiar to the respondent which would make him or her comfortable. In analyzing the data collected from the filed, the author quotes some of the responses from the participants. This further cements the validity of the research and the findings. Ethical issues The author does not mention any ethical requirements or limitations in conducting the study. The assumption that there are no ethical issues at hand while conducting research involving people is wrong. Marshall (2007) says that in educational research, more often than not, researchers are required to seek permission from the respective institutions such as the school administration. The article in this case gives no recognition of such requirement. A comparison with a number of other research articles shows a clear statement on the authorization of the research and the challenges encountered. In this particular case, the researchers should have expressed the difficulty in obtaining a larger sample that would have strengthened the credibility and confidence levels of the findings. Cultural sensitivity is an overlooked ethical issue in this research. The researcher does not take time to explain the relationship between the respondents and the researcher and any cultural issues that may come up. First and foremost, the issue of information sharing is prone to cultural influences. This could imply that cultural issues other than the availability of time to give interviews were to blame for the small number of volunteer respondents in the research. Weis (cited in Halasa) says that some cultures have varying views on trusting strangers with information, in this case the researcher. The author cautions researchers “you will be what people in the field choose to define you as and you have little control over this since you are entering their cultural totality - they are not entering yours” (Halasa 2005 ¶) hence the need to be cautious when approaching the research. Cultural understanding between the researchers and respondents influences responses. Halasa (2005) writes that in one-on-one interviews, the amount of information diverged by the respondents is to some degree influenced by cultural understanding between the interviewer and interviewee. She says this has to do wit trust issues and the perceived level of integrity of the interviewer in the eyes of the respondent. The researcher in this study did not make or at least did not record any attempts to break any possible cultural barriers between her and the respondents. Such a blanket assumption in research ignores the ethical sensitivity in research more so those that use one-on-one interviews in collecting data. Coherence and flow The validity of any primary research report lies in its ability of being replicated elsewhere. The steps of the research must flow with all issues being put into consideration. The research must stay focused on the issue at hand guided by the aims of the study (Cohen et al 2008). In this case the clearly states the aim of the research as “to investigate the final-year preservice teachers’ perceptions of their middle schooling preparation, examine the strengths and improvements required in the course, and investigate their perceptions of their confidence to teach in the middle schooling context.” The article then follows with the subheading on methodology and context of the research. The author quotes past research and government policies on education in the country. This way, the researcher puts the study to context and makes it relevant to the education sector. The use of language is very important in qualitative research more than in quantitative research. A researcher has to use language more carefully in collecting and presenting qualitative data than in other forms of researcher (Marshall 2007). This is because descriptive information replaces figures. As such, the words used add weight to the credibility of the data. The author does not utilize data analysis techniques such as graphs or charts. Graphs and charts are easy to analyze and break the monotony of reading. Findings The article does not connect well the research aims and findings. The study sought to find out the impact of the new middle schooling preparation on preservice teachers and the impact it has on their confidence in teaching middle years students (Fraenkel & Wallen 2008). The findings on the other hand dwell on the themes that came up. The research sought to find out the impact of the new teaching method on the confidence levels of preservice teachers. It would have been more appropriate for the researcher to evaluate the level of confidence on the teachers themselves and use a control group of preservice teachers that had not attended the same type of learning. It is difficult to clearly attribute the perceived increase in confidence levels to the field experience units, the middle years units and units other that included school visits or a practical component without a control group. Implications The article does not have any implications. While the research investigates an ongoing policy in equipping preservice middle years teachers with some skills to help them cope better with their students, the researchers does not spell out the implications of the findings. It would be expected that the research should support or disapprove the new policy. By doing so, the research would play a great role in shaping the policy. Walters (2009) states that stating the implications for a research, especially in education connects well with the motivations for carrying out such research and shows hat the research as not carried out in vain. The author does spell out some of the questions asked in this study. Lichtman (2009) says that to increase the credibility of research studies, it is imperative that al the questions or several of the questions that the participants responded to are listed. This also helps other researchers who might be interested in carrying out such a study elsewhere. The questions can either be included in the body of the report or attached as an appendix. References Cargill, M. & O'Connor, P. (2009). Writing scientific research articles: strategy and steps. London: Wiley & Sons Cohen, L., Manion, L., Morrison, K. & Morrison, B. (2008). Research methods in education. London: Wiley & Sons Fraenkel, J. and Wallen, N. (2008). How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education. Halasa, K. (2005). Ethics in Educational Research. Accessed online on 4/03/11 from, < http://www.aare.edu.au/ethics/aareethc.htm> JECH, Accessed online on 4/03/11 from Johnson, B. and Christensen, L. (2010). Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Approaches. 4th ed. New York: Sage Lichtman, M. (2009). Qualitative Research in Education: A User's Guide. Sydney: Sage Marshall, G. (2007). How to Critique a scientific article: a beginner’s guide. Accessed online on 4/03/11 from, Scientific research article 2011. Acceded online on 4/03/11 from Urquhart, V. & Mclver, M. (2005). Teaching writing in the content areas. Sydney: ASCD   Using a scientific journal article to write a critical review. Acceded online on 4/03/11 from Walters, P. (2009). Education research on trial: policy reform and the call for scientific rigor. London: Taylor & Francis Read More