Interview and Discourse Analysis in Literature
The Reviewed Article
Masuda, A.M. (2010). The teacher study group as a space for agency in an era of accountability and compliance. Teacher Development, 14(4) , 467 - 481.
For this assignment we looked at the article, 'The teacher study group as a space for agency in an era of accountability and compliance', by Avis M. Masuda. This article uses discourse analysis and interviews to determine how two teachers who had been teaching for more than 15 years used their own personal professional development to form agency within the constraints of the No Child Left Behind policy in the United States. This article was found in the journal Teacher Development, which publishes articles on all aspects of teacher professional development throughout their career. The articles are in a variety of styles to represent the diversity of activity in professional development. The journal carries accounts of personal experience, evaluations of teacher development policies and practices, research reports and theoretical discussions.
This article is based on a single case study using qualitative research methods. Data were collected through study group meetings and teacher interviews, which were recorded and later transcribed. The focus of data collection was on texts generated during the study group meetings. Data sources included transcripts of conversations, transcripts of the interview talk, field notes, a researcher reflective journal and teacher-written reflections (Masuda, 2010, p. 470).
Within teachers’ professional work context, views about or perspectives of who they are expected to be or what they are expected to teach are often derived from what counts and who says what counts (Masuda, 2010, p. 467). One of the discourses analyzed for this article was the No Child Left Behind policy. This policy is seen by the teachers involved in the article as a discourse of accountability and compliance (Masuda, 2010, p. 468). They felt that within this policy, teachers were being told what to teach, how to teach it and when to teach it. They felt they were delivering a packaged model of teaching. According to Masuda (2010), “contexts of mandates, accountability and compliance position teachers as deficit or inadequate even if they have years of hard-earned knowledge behind them” (p. 468). These teachers felt as though their voice had been taken away and that no one was really considering what they thought was important in their own teaching.
In this article, the discourse of two teachers is analyzed to show how the teachers’ identities as professionals grew during a teacher study group. The teacher study group was formed by the two teachers in response to their self-identified need to learn about literacy as they felt this need was being ignored by administration because other mandates had been prescribed through the NCLB policy. The author of the article was part of the study group and her role was “to encourage and acknowledge each participant’s contribution, keep the discussion flowing, being careful not to dominate the conversation and mediate their understanding without imposing [her] views” (Masuda, 2010, p. 470). The author would also provide a copy of the transcript from the last session to the participants in order to get their agreement, clarification or correction on the transcript.
Through analysis of the teachers’ discourse, the author found there were six areas of concern or issue: “issues with time, having a safe space for intellectual inquiry, overcoming difficult days, becoming co-learners, growing as thinkers, and developing a sense of ownership” (Masuda, 2010, p. 471). In summary, the author found that the teachers considered the study group as an important space wherein they could rediscover their professionalism. Despite the boundaries placed on them by the NCLB, the study group allowed them to have discussions and develop an agency that led them to feel more like professionals. According to Masuda (2010), “these teachers identified strongly with the discourse of teachers as a community of learners” (p. 477).
Through interviews and discourse analysis, Masuda shows how teachers can become their own agents of change even when the prevailing discourse limits their ability for professional development and learning.
Masuda, A.M. (2010). The teacher study group as a space for agency in an era of accountability and compliance. Teacher Development, 14(4) , 467 - 481.
For this assignment we looked at the article, 'The teacher study group as a space for agency in an era of accountability and compliance', by Avis M. Masuda. This article uses discourse analysis and interviews to determine how two teachers who had been teaching for more than 15 years used their own personal professional development to form agency within the constraints of the No Child Left Behind policy in the United States. This article was found in the journal Teacher Development, which publishes articles on all aspects of teacher professional development throughout their career. The articles are in a variety of styles to represent the diversity of activity in professional development. The journal carries accounts of personal experience, evaluations of teacher development policies and practices, research reports and theoretical discussions.
This article is based on a single case study using qualitative research methods. Data were collected through study group meetings and teacher interviews, which were recorded and later transcribed. The focus of data collection was on texts generated during the study group meetings. Data sources included transcripts of conversations, transcripts of the interview talk, field notes, a researcher reflective journal and teacher-written reflections (Masuda, 2010, p. 470).
Within teachers’ professional work context, views about or perspectives of who they are expected to be or what they are expected to teach are often derived from what counts and who says what counts (Masuda, 2010, p. 467). One of the discourses analyzed for this article was the No Child Left Behind policy. This policy is seen by the teachers involved in the article as a discourse of accountability and compliance (Masuda, 2010, p. 468). They felt that within this policy, teachers were being told what to teach, how to teach it and when to teach it. They felt they were delivering a packaged model of teaching. According to Masuda (2010), “contexts of mandates, accountability and compliance position teachers as deficit or inadequate even if they have years of hard-earned knowledge behind them” (p. 468). These teachers felt as though their voice had been taken away and that no one was really considering what they thought was important in their own teaching.
In this article, the discourse of two teachers is analyzed to show how the teachers’ identities as professionals grew during a teacher study group. The teacher study group was formed by the two teachers in response to their self-identified need to learn about literacy as they felt this need was being ignored by administration because other mandates had been prescribed through the NCLB policy. The author of the article was part of the study group and her role was “to encourage and acknowledge each participant’s contribution, keep the discussion flowing, being careful not to dominate the conversation and mediate their understanding without imposing [her] views” (Masuda, 2010, p. 470). The author would also provide a copy of the transcript from the last session to the participants in order to get their agreement, clarification or correction on the transcript.
Through analysis of the teachers’ discourse, the author found there were six areas of concern or issue: “issues with time, having a safe space for intellectual inquiry, overcoming difficult days, becoming co-learners, growing as thinkers, and developing a sense of ownership” (Masuda, 2010, p. 471). In summary, the author found that the teachers considered the study group as an important space wherein they could rediscover their professionalism. Despite the boundaries placed on them by the NCLB, the study group allowed them to have discussions and develop an agency that led them to feel more like professionals. According to Masuda (2010), “these teachers identified strongly with the discourse of teachers as a community of learners” (p. 477).
Through interviews and discourse analysis, Masuda shows how teachers can become their own agents of change even when the prevailing discourse limits their ability for professional development and learning.
Glossary
Agency
The capacity of the individual ‘agents’ to construct and reconstruct their worlds, and to act independently from, or in opposition to, social forces and social structures (such as family, religious or institutional norms). Discourse analysis can involve looking for the way in which texts portray agency (Seale, 2012, p. 555).
Discourse
This has come to refer, under the influence of Foucault, to systems of knowledge and their associated practices. More narrowly, it is used by discourse analysts to refer to particular systems of language, with a characteristic terminology and underlying knowledge base, such as medical talk, psychological language, or the language of democratic politics (Seale, 2012, p. 565).
The capacity of the individual ‘agents’ to construct and reconstruct their worlds, and to act independently from, or in opposition to, social forces and social structures (such as family, religious or institutional norms). Discourse analysis can involve looking for the way in which texts portray agency (Seale, 2012, p. 555).
Discourse
This has come to refer, under the influence of Foucault, to systems of knowledge and their associated practices. More narrowly, it is used by discourse analysts to refer to particular systems of language, with a characteristic terminology and underlying knowledge base, such as medical talk, psychological language, or the language of democratic politics (Seale, 2012, p. 565).