subject: The Focus of The Study Shifted When Analyzed The Data [print this page]
The focus of the study shifted as I analyzed the data. Originally, the primary objective was to better understand what forms of homework assignments might best encourage reading outside of school. However, the data presented significant patterns that were counterintuitive to me in several ways. Primary among those patterns was the apparent connection between social relationships and reading interest. New coding categories were then used based on the work of Noguera (2003), and the theoretical lens of Gee (1996) was used to form a hypothesis Breitling Replica Watches about these data. Additional interviews were conducted with the new focus in mind, and case studies were developed with an emphasis on the connection between social relationships and reading habits.
This research design provided several key advantages. First, deep knowledge of the participants and school setting allowed for easy communication with participants and the ability to understand and corroborate interview data with first-hand knowledge of the setting and people of the school. Second, interviews with students, parents, and teachers offered the ability to triangulate data, so many sides of the student participants could be brought into view, as well as to ensure that particular data could be corroborated with others. Third, interviewing 10 students and their teachers in the same small school allowed the social interaction of students to be compared with student reading interests and habits in school and at home.
Because 10 students participated in this research, these data are not meant to be generalized but are meant to provide deeper knowledge about these particular students as readers and social actors. Other potential limitations of the study may include the uniqueness of the relationship I have with the students, parents, and teachers. Because I am a former teacher of these students, it is possible students gave answers in the form they suspected I wanted to hear, despite assurances of anonymity and the fact that I was no longer their teacher. For this reason, I chose to interview students, parents, and teachers, because multiple perspectives may have provided a more revealing picture of student reading habits.
The following section offers an overview of the data, first focusing on the ways in which parents supported and encouraged their children to read. This is followed by the number of students that reported enjoying and Breitling Replica being in the habit of reading during silent reading times inside or outside of school (and whether this was corroborated by teachers and parents). Then, I offer the kinds of reading material students preferred and the location of where reading materials were generally found or the manner of obtaining them. The findings end with a note on the reading abilities of these participants.
The Focus of The Study Shifted When Analyzed The Data
