Oral history: a viable methodology for the 21st Century Educational Administration Research: National Impact

Oral history: a viable methodology for the 21st Century

Research Management for Education: Impact national

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ABSTRACT

This article identifies three realities of the 21st century redefining research in educational administration: 1) the growing need for authenticity and relevance in the treatment and the school community problem solving contexts, 2) the need a research method that allows the type of in-depth knowledge with a minimum staff of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) oversight, and 3) a methodology that can be facilitated by emerging technologies. Oral history has been used in many disciplines, but has rarely been used in administration education. It offers some promise and the authors suggest possible uses and interpretations of the history of a project proposed by the oral and an oral history project is completed.

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Purpose of article

The aim of this paper is to examine oral history interviews and historical research as a viable research method within the great family of methodologies research in educational administration and leadership education. The evolution of research methodology in educational administration has been influenced by shifting paradigms, evolution needs, thereby increasing the Institutional Review Board (IRB) overseeing and technological change. Management Research Education differs from other disciplines in which it is the possibility of finding new and innovative uses of research findings to solve problems and making decisions in schools.

Research in Education Administration in processing

research administration for education has been the subject of the last century. business principles the industry dominated the first half administration of education in the twentieth century thought. During the 1950s and 1960s various social science methods and concepts are a new generation school of thought in management and research methodology (Campbell, Fleming, Newell, and Bennion, 1987, Murphy 2003, Fall). methodologies issues science in the late 1980s and social professionals completed but not replaced by qualitative methods from anthropology. The full action research a new niche for Research in Education Administration. It takes less emphasis on formal theoretical constructions while focusing on faith, the data collection on campus, and solve problems. This growth continues in the acceptance of research methods from other disciplines has been described by Campbell and AL:

Management education is an applied field rather than an academic discipline. He does not shoot a single body of literature, or use a single set of scientific tools … a scope must maintain a vital interest, not only knowledge but also improve practice … Also … an applied field should address problems in their entirety – Based on the methods of several disciplines. (1987, p. 3)

Not all factors affecting the administration of educational research have been the 21st century methodology. An increase in National Institutional Review Board (IRB) has been very influential in the administration of education research monitoring (Herrington & Kritsonis, 2006). There are still large differences between universities regarding the extent to which educational research is subject to supervision by the IRB. Some university science education and monitoring IRB exempt completely including studies aimed at improving quality study in educational institutions or action research used for classroom instruction. Some universities require a thorough investigation of all aspects of the investigation, regardless of the method or intended uses of the data. Navigating through the maze IRB restrictions in some institutions has led to the avoidance of certain research methodologies or populations, and in some cases led the research activity very small (Herrington & Kritsonis, 2006).

Technology has made most forms of research much more practical and feasible. By example, easier to use Windows or UNIX statistical software, such as Pac-Stat (Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), SAS and replaced by hand calculations, Readers of data punch cards, the central computer and statistical software versions. Qualitative researchers have access to encryption software as NVivo 7 HyperRESEARCH 2.6 Computer Aided Qualitative Data Analysis (QAQDAS 07) to help high-volume capacity of qualitative data coding. Audio and recording equipment video, imaging equipment and related software will continue to be developed to record the oral history, however, analog recordings are still preferred by practitioners of oral history more.

The challenge for researchers in education in the 21st century is to select a method that can provide a context appropriate to discuss education issues in specific contexts is maintained reliably and accurately. The methodology must also produce a study that can be achieved within a reasonable and affordable and that meets the ethical requirements or minimize the need for control of the IRB.

A Expected Methodology

Charlton (1985) defines oral history as "the registration and maintenance of planned interviews with individuals selected able to connect the memory collected and facilitate reconstruction of the past "(p.2). Baum (1978) defines oral history as:

1. a tape recorded interview or interviews, in the form of questions and answers

2. Led by an interview that has some, and preferably more, better, knowledge discussing the matter,

3. As facilities manager, someone who knows what he or she speaks of personal participation or observation (sometimes we afford to one count of second-hand)

4. [Subjects] historical or community …

5. Accessible, finally, banded and / or transcripts in a wide range of researchers. (Pp 389-390)

The value of oral history education researchers and practitioners is in the background may be provided by credible actors who are able to enrich the understanding solve the immediate problem context, or you can draw parallels with other contexts. Sometimes, tragic events or phenomena important need to give voice to the silent observers or groups who know the true nature of the problem of interest, but have never been consulted by historians and policy makers. For example, ethnographic changes in recent years have generated great cultural lines division in communities and schools that are challenging old beliefs of teachers and administrators about their students' customers.

An example is on the campus of the old rural and suburban school, now that in 1995-2004 revealed the following demographic comparison between students and teachers. In 1995, only 17 percent of students on this campus the center of the city were Hispanic, 15 percent were African American, 65 percent of students were Anglo. The teacher acts demographics were similar. Decade by 67 percent of students were Hispanic, 17 percent are African American, but only 16 Anglo students. Demographics teachers have remained relatively unchanged over the same 10 years.

Conversations with parents, teachers and administrators revealed unexpected differences in demographic that occurred during the previous decade led to increased racial tensions in which teachers / students and teachers / parents conflicts occur. Performance Hispanic students continued a downward spiral, absenteeism and dropout are increasing, and disciplinary alternative education placements were on the rise. These realities put the district in danger of losing its position based on the criteria and statewide standards of NCLB. Was a phenomenon that has been documented through interviews, the oral history and the results of the provision as a case of other districts. In this case, a series of interventions might be possible in the short term, but a wide and effective long-MTP planning oral history informed by carefully conducted, providing a useful context and history of the community in the community who can provide responses to working with all parties affected by the problem.

Another example is the fact that during the years 1960 and 1970, the cornerstones of education and the experience of the first generation of Mexican-American college and university presidents and chancellors in the state of Texas and the nation have launched into an environment education and culture of South Texas, which was hostile to the aspirations and future progress of Latinos (Herrington, 1993, August). What can be learned in education and counseling, the experiences of highly successful people is invaluable for educators and other minorities makes the business decisions and education.

These two scenarios are very real, but is not related to a secure server. There are lessons that teachers and administrators at the school for the dramatic demographic changes (Proposed study, but not yet implemented) can learn from the study of South Texas to the success of Hispanic students who grew up in 30 communities and 40 years before it looked its current demographic and cultural reality. Communities that are already struggling to cope with the realities of demographic change can be permanent landscape learn much from their predecessors in southern Texas, precisely because these experiments have already been recorded and transcribed for future reference (Herrington, 1993, August). Thoughts and feelings of people who are successful in their Hispanic experiences, parents, teachers and mentors (many of whom were Anglo and Hispanic) are eloquently recorded and transcribed for posterity. Their personal stories reveal the strategies and the important people, once extended a helping hand.

In both cases, the methodology This oral history may be the only way to preserve the information otherwise inaccessible. As oral history Hoffman (1974) wrote:

Its greatest advantage … is that it enables the preservation of the life experience of people who have no time … to write his memoirs … Interviews with people who were soldiers foot in the various important movements for social change, but until then unregistered can now be preserved and therefore their impact assessed. (P. 26)

The role of history in education reform

Researchers have identified several uses of history in educational research. History can contribute to the implementation of welfare reform, predicting future trends, or to influence the practice through training of teachers (Borg and Gall, 1983). When comparing the work of the historian to that of psychotherapist Borg et al noted that history has a role especially liberating for educators:

For Freud, neurosis is the inability to put the past, the burden of its history. What is deformed and retarded is eternally reenacted. Psychotherapist's task is to help the patient to reconstruct the past. In this regard, the aim of the historian looks at the therapist – to free us from burden of the past helps us understand. (P. 802)

It is our common understanding of history and ability to learn from our common past distinguishes man from all other creatures. Wector (1957, August) wrote:

Monkey with a pile of empty boxes and a banana hanging out of reach suddenly realizes his own experience. But the man only learns from the experience of others. The history makes it possible. In the broadest sense, all what we know is history. More precisely, the roadmap of the past. (P. 24)

History is our collective memory. The ability to use history and extract useful generalizations and theories of human is unique. Without a record of the past, we are left to navigate through the course of life without the help of those who preceded us.

In an essay published posthumously convincing Kennedy (1964, February) due to several reasons for the review of historical records. He noted:

There is little that is more important … no history [...] [A] is uncertain and defenseless before the world does not know where it comes from or where it goes. With this knowledge, no longer alone, but draws a much larger force than his own experience in the past and vision of the future cumulative. (P.3)

Ethics oral history tracking

And Technological considerations

history background investigation, oral interview in particular provides the context and clear precedents that can be explored and considered for educational policy and practice. Education researchers and members of the IRB Council may wince at the idea of preserving recorded interviews. This practice seems at odds with ethical provisions to preserve the anonymity of research subjects. This is where the difference between oral history interviews and other methods is important. Unlike in any discipline or methodology, oral history interviews requires the words of a particular individual called connected in time and place through the data register audio cassettes, video, images, documents and transcripts to be kept accessible for historical verification (Dunaway, DK & Baum, 1984).

To cope with this ethical concern, the Organization of American Historians (OAH) and Oral History Society (OHS) in October 2003 successfully applied the Office of the United States for protection (OHRP), part of the Department of Health and Human Services for a special investigation of the oral history interview. They are especially interested in oral history projects that do not involve the type of research defined by HHS regulations. It was determined that some projects history Oral can not fall under the "common rule" (45 CFR Part 46) defines research as "a systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. According to the Organization of oral history (2003, November):

This type of research involves standard questionnaires with large samples of people who remain anonymous and not identifiable, interviews with people who give his interviews with "informed consent" that characterizes oral history. Only oral history projects that meet the regulatory definition research must now submit their research protocols for IRB review. (P. 17)

One advantage of oral history interview, so if the study has been carefully designed, is that monitoring the IRB has become much less restrictive than other methods.

Concluding remarks

In conclusion, the oral history methodology is technology intensive. New technologies and technology of the 21st century still stand to simplify and expand the capacity of oral history, both for collecting and reporting information in a variety of formats. The digitization of voice, images, video, text and materials have greatly reduced the processing time and production to develop and present the results oral history.

Finally, oral history interviews, more than ever, has a huge potential for people to listen to silly, but important field of social change – including the community and school. To make changes in our school systems, education authorities and researchers have learned to find how to listen to these voices are not published. Well-designed studies looking for these voices of people who have given their informed consent can provide historical and contextual information on specific time and place rich with minimal supervision of the IRB. Finally, technology is expanding the repertoire of file formats and presentation very useful and usable knowledge to promote school improvement.

References

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Review. OAH Newsletter, 31 (3), 17.

Wector, Dixon (1957, August). History and how to write. Heritage of America, 8 (5), 24-27 87.

About the Author

Dr. Kritsonis Recognized as Distinguished Alumnus

In 2004, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis was recognized as the Central Washington University Alumni Association Distinguished Alumnus for the College of Education and Professional Studies. Dr. Kritsonis was nominated by alumni, former students, friends, faculty, and staff. Final selection was made by the Alumni Association Board of Directors. Recipients are CWU graduates of 20 years or more and are recognized for achievement in their professional field and have made a positive contribution to society. For the second consecutive year, U.S. News and World Report placed Central Washington University among the top elite public institutions in the west. CWU was 12th on the list in the 2006 On-Line Education of “America’s Best Colleges.”

ADR Session for NBC Great American Road Trip at Audio Productions Nashville TN