William A. Firestone

Alternative Arguments for Generalizing From Data as Applied to Qualitative Research

One criticism about qualitative research is that it is difficult to generalize findings to settings not studied. To explore this issue, I examine three broad arguments for generalizing from data: sample-to-population extrapolation, analytic generalization, and case-to-case transfer. Qualitative research often uses the last argument, but some efforts have been made to use the first two. I suggest that analytic generalization can be very helpful for qualitative researchers but that sample-to-population extrapolation is not likely to be.

Meaning in Method: The Rhetoric of Quantitative and Qualitative Research

The current debate about quantitative and qualitative methods focuses on whether there is a necessary connection between method-type and research paradigm that makes the different approaches incompatible. This paper argues that part of the connection is rhetorical. Quantitative methods express the assumptions of a positvisit paradigm which holds that behavior can be explained through objective facts. Design and instrumentation persuade by showing how bias and error are eliminated. Qualitative methods express the assumptions of a phenomenological paradigm that there are multiple realities that are socially defined. Rich description persuades by showing that the researcher was immersed in the setting and giving the reader enough detail to “make sense” of the situation. While rhetorically different, the results of the two methodologies can be complementary. Examples are drawn from two studies using different methodologies to study the same problem.

Multisite Qualitative Policy Research: Optimizing Description and Generalizability:

The classical qualitative educational research design is the case study. Studies of school life (Cusick, 1973; Wolcott, 1973), of the larger social forces affecting schooling (Ogbu, 1974), and of efforts to promote planned educational change (Smith & Keith, 1971) have used qualitative data in describing a single social setting. Typically, such studies emphasize in-depth description but provide a weak basis for generalization to other settings. The last decade, however, has seen the emergence of a new form of qualitative research, one intended to strengthen its ability to generalize while preserving indepth description. These multisite qualitative studies address the same research question in a number of settings using similar data collection and analysis procedures in each setting. They consciously seek to permit cross-site comparison without necessarily sacrificing within-site understanding. Although having some roots in academic social sciences (e.g., see Clark, 1970; Whiting, 1963; Whiting & Whiting, 1975), multisite qualitative research arose primarily in response to pressures from the federal government in the 1970s for studies that could overcome some of the weaknesses of large quantitative evaluations without being limited by the particularism of the single-site case study. Like many hybrids, it is today quite robust. However, these multisite qualitative studies were typically expensive endeavors and were done for specific policy purposes, which the current federal administration seems neither to value nor to feel it can afford. There are two important reasons for reflecting on the historical development and potential utility of multisite qualitative policy research at this time. Although it is unwelcomed by most social scientists, the current hiatus in commissioning policy research at the federal level provides researchers and policymakers with an opportunity to consider these issues in some detail. Further, the field of policy research has matured to the point where such considerations can be very fruitful. In recent years qualitative researchers have moved beyond the need to defend the legitimacy of their craft in the policy arena (Rist, 1977; Smith, 1978; Stake, 1978). Moreover, quantitative researchers are beginning to acknowledge a role for qualitative research in policy and evaluation studies (Cronbach, 1982; Hoaglin, Light, McPeek, Mosteller, & Stoto, 1982) and to consider the proper balance of qualitative and quantitative techniques (Cook & Reichardt, 1979; Smith & Louis, 1982). In addition, practitioners of multisite qualitative policy research now exhibit sufficient confidence in their craftsmanship to begin a process of public self-criticism with an eye to improving their methods (Firestone & Herriott, 1982; Miles, 1979; Smith & Louis, 1982; Yin, 1981). Efforts to examine multisite

Teacher Commitment, Working Conditions, and Differential Incentive Policies

The push for more complex, intellectually demanding approaches to teaching suggests that teacher commitment will continue to be important for effective education. This article develops a framework for assessing how differential incentive policies affect teacher commitment. It identifies seven key workplace conditions that contribute to teacher commitment: job design characteristics, feedback, autonomy, participation, collaboration, learning opportunities, and resources. This framework is used to assess the effects of such differential incentive policies as merit pay and career ladders. The selection mechanisms in these two programs are found to reduce autonomy and collaboration, but the job enrichment aspects of career ladders are found to increase participation, collaboration, and resources. We recommend combining policies that increase participation, collaboration, and feedback rather than continuing to experiment with differential incentives.

Performance-Based Assessment and Instructional Change: The Effects of Testing in Maine and Maryland

To examine how performance-based assessment changed mathematics teaching under conditions of moderate and low stakes, we studied middle school teachers in five districts in Maine and Maryland. Our observations suggest that the effects of state testing on teaching may be overrated by both advocates and opponents of such policies. When combined with moderately high stakes and other conditions, such assessments generate considerable activity focused on the test itself. This activity can promote certain changes, like aligning subjects taught with the test. It appears to be less successful, however, in changing basic instructional strategies.

Using Bureaucratic and Cultural Linkages to Improve Instruction: The Principal's Contribution

Principals can influence instruction by working through the linkages that govern teacher behavior. What these linkages are, how they affect instruction, and the impact of the principal on them are the focus of this article. Two kinds of linkages are distinguished: bureaucratic and cultural. Past research has attended extensively to bureaucratic linkages without analyzing cultural linkages. It is argued that the principals have access to weak linkages of both kinds. The task for the principal is to consistently employ the full range of linkages through a multitude of major and minoractions to generate a common purpose and effect in the school.

Building Commitment in Urban High Schools

A conceptual framework for understanding student and teacher commitment is presented and illustrated with data from a field study of 10 urban high schools. Three points are made. First, alienation and commitment are multidimensional; teachers and students make a variety of commitments that affect the nature of their work. Second, teacher and student commitments are mutually reinforcing. If one is low, it will depress the other. Finally, five school factors are identified that can increase commitments: relevance, respect, support, expectations, and influence. Policy implications of changing these factors in schools are discussed.

Using Reform: Conceptualizing District Initiative

This paper explores the phenomenon of district use of state reform. Past research suggests that local districts will comply minimally with mandates and respond to inducements with varying degrees of opportunism. Active use entails anticipating state responses or doing more than the state requires. Evidence is presented to illustrate that active use does exist. Existing research suggests that active users have the will and the capacity to respond positively. Will comes from a dominant coalition that believes it can set its own agenda and sees the reforms as ways to meet its own ends. Capacity comes through the formation of a temporary system that effectively manages key change functions and linkages with local schools.

Educational Policy as an Ecology of Games

Educational policy can be considered as a set of overlapping games. Each has its own winners and losers, but each feeds and is fed by others. This metaphor identifies some of the functions and dysfunctions of the policy process. The time perspective of all players is shorter than the whole process, so no one sees the whole picture. Policies interact, so decisions do not reflect what is good for just one issue. Viewing the policy process as multiple games makes uniformity of response to policy less important so that implementation mechanisms that take advantage of local variation can be built. The ecology-of-games metaphor clarifies research use. Research can also be conceived as a game that provides inputs to and gets output from various policy games. The difficulties of putting research to use stem from the discontinuities among games.

Districts, Teacher Leaders, and Distributed Leadership: Changing Instructional Practice

Using case studies of four schools in three districts, this article explores how leadership is distributed in districts and asks about the role of teacher leaders. It proposes that teacher leaders and districts can share three leadership tasks: procuring and distributing materials, monitoring improvement, and developing people. The district and teacher leaders play complementary roles. How effective teacher leaders are at people development will depend on the time they have, the knowledge they have, and their monitoring responsibility. These conditions depend partly on administrative support, indicating districts may have more opportunity to influence teaching practice than past research had indicated.