In our voices: A collaborative reflection on teaching and being taught

Abstract

Much of the literature on teaching qualitative research consists of instructional philosophies or descriptions of classroom activities. Little has been written about the actual experience of a qualitative research course, especially from the students’ perspective. Writing about a course without the voices of those being taught would be like critiquing a meal only by speaking with those who cooked it: we might know what was intended but not what was experienced. Thus, this collaborative paper, written from the perspectives of both instructor and students, offers a unique multilensed view of a course on qualitative social work research. Doctoral students from diverse backgrounds describe their struggles, frustrations, and moments of illumination as they engaged with this new paradigm of knowledge. Because no teaching module will affect all students in the same way, their reflections also explore the role of culture and individual history in shaping response to qualitative methods. Theories of adult learning are suggested as a way to assist the process of adjustment to what are, for many, unsettling new concepts. Students’ experiences are then compared with the existing literature. The paper concludes with applications of qualitative research for social justice and human rights.

Keywords

Learning pedagogy social work education students teaching

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Belcher

Hirvela

(2005) Writing the qualitative dissertation: What motivates and sustains commitment to a fuzzy genre? Journal of English for Academic Purposes 4: 187–205.

Benton

Androff

Barr

(2011) Of quant jocks and qual outsiders: Doctoral student narratives on the quest for training in qualitative research. Qualitative Social Work 11(3): 232–248.

Bloom

(2009) Global perspectives on poverty research for social justice. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 22(3): 253–261.

Breuer

Schreier

(2007) Issues in learning about and teaching qualitative research methods and methodology in the social sciences. Forum: Qualitative Social Research 8(1)): Article 30 (unpaginated).

Bruner

(1986) Actual Minds, Possible Worlds, Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Charmaz

(2005) Grounded theory in the 21st century: Applications for advancing social justice studies. In: Denzin

Lincoln

(eds) Handbook of Qualitative Research, 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp. 507–535.

Clute

(2005) Milestones on my research journey: Panic attacks, epiphanies, and parental death. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping 11(4): 10–15.

Delyser

(2008) Teaching qualitative research. Journal of Geography in Higher Education 32(2): 233–244.

Franklin

(1996) Learning to teach qualitative research: Reflections of a quantitative researcher. Marriage and Family Review 24(3–4): 241–274.

10.

Hein

(2004) “I don’t like ambiguity:” An exploration of students’ experiences during a qualitative methods course. Alberta Journal of Educational Research 50(1): 22–38.

11.

Hood

(2006) Teaching against the text: The case of qualitative methods. Teaching Sociology 34: 207–223.

12.

Humphreys

(2006) Teaching qualitative research methods: I’m beginning to see the light. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management 1(3): 177–188.

13.

Keen

(1996) Teaching qualitative methods: A face-to-face encounter. Teaching Sociology 24: 166–176.

14.

Kleinman

Copp

Henderson

(1997) Qualitatively different: Teaching fieldwork to graduate students. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 25(4): 469–499.

15.

Knowles

(1984) Andragogy in Action, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

16.

McAllister

Rowe

(2003) Blackbirds singing in the dead of night? Advancing the craft of teaching qualitative research. Journal of Nursing Education 42(7): 296–303.

17.

Maschi

Probst

Bradley

(2009) Mapping social work students’ perceptions of the research process. Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work 14(2): 63–78.

18.

Molloy

(2007) Photovoice as a tool for social justice workers. Journal of Progressive Human Services 18(2): 39–55.

19.

O’Connor

(2001) Journeying the quagmire: Exploring the discourses that shape the qualitative research process. Affilia 16(2): 138–158.

20.

Pérez Huber

(2009) Disrupting apartheid of knowledge: Testimonio as methodology in Latina/o critical race research in education. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 22(6): 639–654.

21.

Poulin

(2007) Teaching qualitative research: Lessons from practice. Counseling Psychologist 35(3): 431–458.

22.

Probst

(2015) The eye regards itself: Benefits and challenges of reflexivity in qualitative research. Social Work Research 39(1): 37–48.

23.

Staller

(2013) Epistemological boot camp: The politics of science and what every qualitative researcher needs to know to survive in the academy. Qualitative Social Work 12(4): 395–413.

24.

Taley

Timmer

(1992) A qualitative methods exercise: Student and faculty interpretations of classroom teaching. Teaching Sociology 20(1): 75–79.

25.

Trigwell

Prosser

Waterhouse

(1999) Relations between teachers’ approaches to teaching and students’ approaches to learning. Higher Education 37: 57–70.

26.

Vygotsky

(1977) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes, 14th ed. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.