WK3 8310 DIS2

1

Respond to one of your colleagues’ posts in 125 words and:

- Reflect and provide feedback on what they found in their research article.

- Reflect and explain how this experience has informed you of what you should consider if you were to develop your research topic into a project for your dissertation or doctoral study.

Alfred Lewis Post

Ravitch and Carl (2021) identified key components of the research design process; topic, goals, rationale, research questions, theoretical framework, determining and sequencing methods, site and participant selection, piloting and refining research design and methods, and validity. Rubin and Rubin (2012) outlined identical components arranged in a more sequential series or stages. Using these two sources as a guide, I analyzed the work of Cohen et al. (2008) who concluded that budget reductions significantly lowered teacher wellbeing and led to decreased morale, psychological wellness, and instructional time.

Due to a sudden budget crisis at the state level, Oregon schools saw several major shifts in school funding stability that ultimately coalesced into a deficit of nearly 20% from required budget amounts. In response, many school districts cancelled school days in the spring of 2003, in a state where school calendar length was among the lowest in the Nation.

The Research Design

The research was conducted to study teacher perceptions of the funding crisis in Oregon public schools. Cohen et al. (2008) stated, “the purpose of this study was to find out about teachers’ attitudes, personal and financial issues, working conditions, and changes in the classroom practice that resulted from the funding crisis in 2003” (p. 36). A literature review was conducted to contextualize the study’s design, identifying a lack of recent studies, with no current studies being found in the 15 years prior connected to the same topics of the current study. The literature review therefore focused more on the components as they were studied separately. Organizational theory was cited in exploring the relationship between the individual and their employer. Studies that applied person-organization-fit and attraction-selection-attrition models were also reviewed.  

The researchers and a team of masters students quickly designed an interview questionnaire, piloted it, gathered data, and performed preliminary data analysis in response to the researchers’ perceived magnitude of the crisis. The researchers stated that within 11 weeks, the study and its tools were designed, tested, IRB approved, implemented, data was collected, and analysis was begun (Cohen et al., 2008).

A convenience sample was used due to time constraints and given the exploratory nature of the research. The sample demographics were compared to the Oregon Department of Education teacher demographics and found to be fairly representative. Respondents answered the questionnaire in person with permission from their principal or administrator, and some teachers mailed or emailed their questionnaires for submission for analysis.  

Researcher’s Presentation of Positionality, Reflexivity, and Bias

The researchers do not specifically mention their positionality, although their inherent position as educators at a university would appear to create some issues in that the success of public school students impacts their experiences as university professors. Likewise, the use of masters students who implemented the questionnaires in buildings where they had attended or student-taught could also introduce some biases in both the researcher and the respondents’ answers. There is no specific mention of reflexivity

Sources

Cohen, L., Dixon, J., Sampson-Gruener, G., and Shaw, D. (2008). Teacher Perceptions of the Funding Crisis in Oregon Public Schools: Policy Issues. Northwest Journal of Teacher Education, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.15760/nwjte.2008.6.1.5

Ravitch, S. M., & Carl, N. M. (2021). Qualitative research: Bridging the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological (2nd ed.) Sage Publications.

Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2012). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications