Research Article
Hannah H. Kim, Deborah L. Vietze
AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp. 1-24
ABSTRACT
This research is a qualitative and narrative inquiry to investigate how Korean American youth’s bicultural identity develops and to determine whether that bicultural identity serves a protective function in facing prejudice and discrimination and contributes to developing resilience. Data was collected through in-person interviews with ten second-generation Korean youth in New York City. Their life story narratives were analyzed using over 20 coding categories. The findings showed that the Korean youth felt comfortable embracing both their Korean- and Americanness. Their bicultural identities evolved as they confronted racism, including American stereotypes and prejudices towards them, raising their awareness of their Korean and Asian identity. They believed that biculturalism could be an asset as it could contribute to cultural flexibility and adaptation to the multicultural U.S. society. This study has significance for public health in that (1) it takes a closer look at the issues of identity struggles and discrimination experienced by young people with a minority background as they grow up in the United States; and (2) it provides an opportunity to explore ways to help these youth by understanding their psychological and emotional difficulties and sufferings.
Keywords: biculturalism, identity, life story model, narrative inquiry, resilience.
Research Article
Terrell Strayhorn
AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp. 25-45
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to explore the law school experiences of underrepresented racial minorities (URMs) enrolled at predominantly white institutions (PWIs), paying close attention to the nature of their racialized academic and social lives on campus. Drawing upon one-on-one and group interviews with 29 ethnic minority law school students at three PWIs, I identify the myriad factors that law school students of color consider when choosing, enrolling, and/or persisting through law school. In consonance with the beliefs and standards of phenomenological research, I use information from these extensive interviews to describe the essence of their law school experiences, paying close attention to any racialized challenges, supports, or opportunities using critical race theory (CRT) as a lens. Verbatim quotes from participants are presented to illustrate the depth, meaning, and context of the findings in their own words. Results from the present study hold promise for informing the future decisions, programs, and practices of law school administrators, legal educators, diversity officers, policymakers and enrollment management staff more generally.
Keywords: critical race theory; qualitative; case study; interviews; legal education.
Research Article
Luiza Bontempo e Silva, Gustavo Beck, Miguel Jaschack
AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp. 46-57
ABSTRACT
This article presents original research on the dreams of adults during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Mexico. Subjects went through a series of in-depth clinical interviews where they were asked to share their most recent dream and then explored the dream imagery in conversation with the interviewer to find meaning through an analytic, dialogical process. After gathering the data through the interviews, the authors proceeded to use the narrative method and grounded theory to process the findings. The fundamental objective of the article is to explore the advantages that a qualitative exploration of dreams offers over other methodologies of dream analysis. The article proposes that a qualitative approach has the benefit of validating the dreamer’s experience without generalizing it. This shifts the focus of dream research from the description of categories to the co-creation of meanings with the participants. Additionally, it constitutes an initial attempt to explore and understand the affective and/or cognitive conflicts that underly dream imagery rather than simply mentioning repeating elements within the dream content.
Keywords: dreams, COVID-19, research on dreams, analytical psychology, subjectivity, qualitative research.
Research Article
Philippa Parks
AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp. 58-72
ABSTRACT
Narrative research collects and tells stories about people’s lives. It is a recognized methodology for exploring identity development in educational research. This article describes the Story Circle method, an innovation in narrative research data collection and analysis that was used in a project looking at identity construction in pre-service teachers. In the Story Circle method, the researcher uses a focus group type setting to gather large quantities of narrative data generated from several participants to explore commonalities in the data. The narrative data generated by the Story Circles method in this project was rich in both quantity and quality, with over two hundred anecdotes generated over six one-hour sessions. The paper describes the approaches and protocols of data collection and analysis of this method and discusses some of the benefits of using this approach, especially for researchers interested in incorporating narrative research in mixed methods.
Keywords: Focus groups, narrative inquiry, narrative research methods, teacher identity.
Research Article
Seyfettin Arslan, Drorit Lengyel, Dolgun Aslan
AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp. 73-93
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this research is to determine the educational status, problems, goals, and expectations of an educated Turkish migrant group who had to migrate to Germany after 2016 due to some political pressure. The process of data collection was carried out between the months of January and September 2021. As a qualitative data collection tool, a semi-structured interview form was applied. After the literature review, open-ended questions were prepared in the interview form in order to determine the views of the participants. The target group of the study consists of 25 interviewees who migrated from Turkey to Germany after 2016. All the participants were selected among the ones who wanted to involve voluntarily in the research, and their identities were kept anonymous. For the timing of the interviews, a convenient time was agreed upon with the participants. Due to the pandemic, the participants were interviewed via e-mail, telephone, or digital media platforms, such as Zoom and Skype. In the research, it was found that participants primarily aimed to work on a job suitable for their education level. Thereupon, they have tried to fulfill the conditions such as language learning and diploma equivalency. While some have achieved their goals, it was seen that the majority of them are making an effort for those purposes. It is anticipated that such studies will contribute to the shaping of immigration policies of the hosting countries.
Keywords: Education, migration, Turkish, integration, career target.
Research Article
Lucas Enrique Espinoza, Luis Enrique Espinoza, Rosalva Resendiz, Georgina Villegas-Montenegro
AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp. 94-113
ABSTRACT
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a severe public health and criminal justice issue that disproportionately affects women more than men. This sought to explore Latina experiences of IPV in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV). Twelve Latina IPV survivors from the RGV, ages 24 to 40 years old, were interviewed using purposive and snowball sampling methods. Several primary themes were discovered: types of abuse; perceived reasons for the abuse; education and economic insecurity; why stay or leave an abusive relationship; the criminal justice system’s role; and self-blaming. All participants (n = 12) were college educated and endured IPV victimization at the hands of their male significant others. This study should be replicated on a larger scale to determine if the results are representative of all RGV IPV victims. These findings have implications for positively affecting IPV prevention, services, and interventions to reduce Latina IPV victimizations in the RGV.
Keywords: intimate partner violence, Latina, college-educated, partner abuse.
Research Article
Hoa H Nguyen, Nhi TY Nguyen, Huong TT Vu, Thu TM Le
AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp. 114-127
ABSTRACT
This paper explores the study environment, teaching-learning activity, and employment status of the Public Health discipline. Qualitative research was conducted from December 2021 to August 2022. We recruited graduates, lecturers, and employers using the snowball sampling method and purpose. This research was approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City (No. 550/HDDD-DHYD), and the oral consent form was obtained for each in-depth interview and focus group discussion. The number of participants in the focus group discussions was 20, equal to those in the in-depth interviews. There were 22 women (55%) and 47.5% of people over 35 years. University was the highest choice for working (47.5%), and over 50% of people had post-graduate degrees. The Faculty of Public Health is a romantic place with various green spaces and fresh air on Hung Phu Street and a modern building at 12A of Hong Bang Street. There are various teaching-learning activities, such as role-playing, case study, group discussion, writing report, presentations, and thesis defenses. Employers satisfy the Public Health graduate student knowledge and skills; however, they must improve their soft skills for job adaptation. This study's results may help to supply evidence for our university to improve the educational training program of Public Health. Furthermore, it may contribute to the expected learning outcomes to train human resources, which satisfies employers' needs and requirements of social changes relating to Public Health professionals.
Keywords: Study environment, teaching and learning activity, employment status, stakeholder, qualitative research.
Research Article
Forster Kudjo Agama, Marcela Hebbard, Bernadette M. López-Fitzsimmons
AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp. 128-148
ABSTRACT
This qualitative phenomenological study explores how multilingual writing instructors define linguistic justice and how they incorporate linguistic justice in their online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. The global health crisis officially declared in March 2020, pushed educators around the world to become online instructors overnight. This rapid move to an online environment magnified technology, language, race, and socioeconomic inequalities. In higher education, online environments are prone to linguistic inequalities and linguistic racism. For decades, scholars in the field of composition have argued that in order to dismantle elitist monolingual ideologies, writing instructors, multilingual and monolingual alike, should investigate their own positions and pedagogical practices regarding language (teaching) practices. Thus, through the use of reflexivity, the authors served as researcher-participants and collected four different sources of data. The findings demonstrate that while the authors implement linguistic justice in their courses, their translinguistic histories impact their pedagogies differently. Furthermore, the data suggest that reflexivity prompts them to monitor their own attitudes, ideas, and actions by putting them on pause and allowing them to become uncomfortable – even frightened at times – about their experiences at the intersection of teaching and practicing linguistic justice. An implication of this study is that through reflexive interactions, practitioners can begin to make sense of their nuanced positionalities and become more transparent about their teaching roles and responsibilities as well as their identities in other areas of life in relation to linguistic justice.
Keywords: linguistic justice, online writing instruction, multilingual instructors, COVID-19 pandemic, qualitative research.
Research Article
Patrick G. Corr, Leslie F. Davidson
AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp. 149-167
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the ways by which qualitative research is designed, participants are recruited and engaged, and results are shared regardless of research disciplines or epistemological perspectives. As a result of on-going requirements for social distancing and remote working or learning, researchers have had to redefine effective research methods by reimaging recruitment and data collection, investing in VoIP technology, and developing innovative ways to build trust across digital platforms. This manuscript explores how one Grounded Theory research study evolved in response to the emergence of COVID-19 and presents recommendations for innovative approaches to study design, data collection, and continuous participant interaction. We also briefly discuss ethical considerations that have emerged over the past two years.
Keywords: qualitative research, grounded theory, pandemic, online data collection
Research Article
Wanda Man Wai Chau, Penny Jayne Furness
AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp. 168-190
ABSTRACT
Literature reports the challenges of parenting a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and its impacts on emotional and psychosocial wellbeing, both generally and specifically in the Hong Kong context. Positive parenting experiences are less well defined; however, research and theory in the positive psychology field suggests that people living with adversity can find and create meaning, positivity and happiness. This study aimed to investigate Hong Kong parents’ experiences and perceptions of happiness and well-being in raising their children with ASD. Eight parents (2 fathers; 6 mothers) were interviewed in-depth about their parenting-related perceptions and experiences of happiness and well-being. A thematic analysis generated four themes: A Growth Mindset, Connectedness, Self-Care, and A Better Me, each comprising several related sub-themes. Findings indicated that happiness was crucial for these parents, despite the challenges of raising a child with ASD in Hong Kong, and that they actively sought out activities to enhance their happiness, satisfaction and meaning. Results are in keeping with positive psychology theory, add specific detail relating to this group and could be extended with further research. Findings could also inform policy makers and support services in the development of welfare plans, educational resources and social support for this group of vulnerable families in future.
Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder, happiness, parenting, qualitative, thematic analysis
Research Article
Ahmad Zulfadhli Khairuddin, Faizah Idrus, Afareez Abd Razak, Nik Ahmad Hisham Ismail
AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp. 191-203
ABSTRACT
Children should not be left behind in discussing about peace. In this qualitative study, it discovers the potential use of visual aids for teaching peace values among young children. It aims to explore the use of visual representations, such as pictures and video clips in a study of peace education to develop their understanding of the principles and values of peace. This study employed a qualitative multiple case study approach to investigate twenty children’s artworks (between the age of 5 to 6 years old). They have been selected using purposive sampling method. In-depth semi-structured interviews and field notes were also used to triangulate data extracted from the drawing and successfully portrayed peace elements in their artworks. Later the codes were extracted and organized to find the emerging themes. The focus was to analyze the KEMAS preschoolers’ drawings and their reactions to the drawings and selected video clippings provided in the research framework. Using Feldman’s model of art criticism, each drawing was analyzed using the thematic analysis and interpreted using a network of coding. Some of the themes extracted from their artworks are unity and safety symbols, love and happiness, togetherness and survival, peace, conflict, and tranquility. The findings suggested that pictures and video clippings could be a suitable method for conveying powerful messages, including abstract concepts, such as peace and war to young children. Young children have a dissimilar capability to make sense of their surrounding world and putting it into words unlike adults. The use of pictures and clippings would give a practical advantage in helping researchers gather valuable information about how peace education can be taught to children of young age. The need for further research is deemed essential to extend the link between how children learn about peace values and the use of multiple means to teach peace education effectively to students of various ages.
Keywords: Qualitative research, Early childhood education, Art analysis, Peace education, Malaysia, Pre-schoolers.
Research Article
Michelle Lee D’Abundo, Paul Franco, Deborah Deluca
AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp. 204-221
ABSTRACT
Social distancing requirements resulted in many people working from home in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. The topic of working from home was often discussed in the media and online during the pandemic, but little was known about how quality of life (QOL) and remote working interfaced. The purpose of this study was to describe QOL while working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The novel topic, unique methodological approach of the General Online Qualitative Study (D’Abundo & Franco, 2022a), and the strategic Social Distancing Sampling (D’Abundo & Franco, 2022c) resulted in significant participation throughout the world (n = 709). The United States subset of participants (n = 169) is the focus of this article. This big qual (Brower et al., 2019), large qualitative study (n >100) included the principal investigator-developed open-ended, online questionnaire entitled the “Quality of Life Home Workplace Questionnaire (QOLHWQ),” and demographic questions. Data were collected from July to September 2020 (during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic). Data analysis included open coding and categorical analysis resulting in the categories of positive, negative, both positive and negative, and neutral experiences with QOL while working from home. More participants cited increased QOL due to having more free time, less stress, and less commuting to work. The most cited issue associated with negative QOL was social isolation. As the post-peak era of the COVID-19 pandemic continues and the potential for future public health emergencies requiring social distancing exists, the findings from this study provide an important baseline understanding of remote working in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. As working from home either full-time or part-time becomes more common, implications of this research are likely applicable beyond the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. To promote QOL and work-life balance for employees working remotely in the United States, stakeholders may want to develop social support networks and create effective planning initiatives to prevent social isolation and maximize the benefits of remote working experiences for both employees and organizations.
Keywords: Quality of life, general online qualitative study, working from home, quality of life home workplace questionnaire (QOLHWQ), social distancing sampling, qualitative research.
Book Review
Adepeju Prince
AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp. 222-225
ABSTRACT
Multicultural education is beginning to gain inroads into teaching practices, educational research, and teacher training programs. There is a growing list of resources to support educators in creating welcoming spaces in the classroom for marginalized students from underrepresented groups. Educational researchers and practitioners have provided frameworks for the proper integration of multicultural content and strategies into the teaching and learning process. However, a vital part of the learning process is assessment, which is majorly framed after the content of the dominant culture. Research has shown that intelligence and state-approved tests are characterized by content that is relatable to students from the dominant culture. Taylor and Nolen (2022) have combined years of experience in teaching and research to suggest ways of creating an inclusive and just assessment that showcases the diversity of the modern American classroom. This article is a review of their book, whose aim is to situate culturally and socially responsible assessment in educational theory, research, and practice.
Keywords: Assessment, multiculturalism, K-12, educational research, practice
Book Review
Yanqiong Liu
AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp. 226-230
ABSTRACT
Dervin and Yuan’s (2022) book Revitalizing interculturality in education: Chinese Minzu as a companion challenged the lack of diversity in the disciplinary field of Intercultural Communication Education (ICE) with a detailed exploration and discussion on Chinese Minzu and Minzu education from a “non-Western” approach. By utilizing a case study research design, the authors gave voices to the participants that provided detailed narratives of concepts and practices of Chinese Minzu education at Minzu University of China (MUC). The book explored how the notion of Minzu was deconstructed and prompted readers to reckon Minzu education as a “companion, complement, and alternative” to the knowledge of interculturality in education. It added value to the international scholarship on multicultural/intercultural education by offering insights to the views, theories, and practices of Minzu education.
Keywords: Chinese Minzu, Chinese Minzu education, intercultural education, interculturality, multicultural education, superdiversity.