A Qualitative Investigation of Sustaining Spotlight Schools

A Qualitative Investigation of Sustaining Spotlight Schools

A Qualitative Investigation of Sustaining Spotlight Schools

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to investigate what successful principals do to sustain the quality and success of their spotlight schools therefore the qualitative research method of the research is adopted for the data collection. Gleaning knowledge from these principals will hopefully benefit other principals as school leaders to follow suit to ensure success in respective schools.

Research Design

A qualitative method was appropriated for this research study because qualitative research allows an “interpretive naturalistic approach to the subject matter” (Denzin 1994, p. 2). The qualitative research arena is the natural setting with an attempt at interpreting and making sense of observable facts by the meaning people give to them. Qualitative research focuses on human behavior in a “social, cultural, and political contexts in which they occur” (Salkind, 2003, p. 13). The qualitative approach refutes the existence of an “external reality” (Joniak, 2002, p. 2). Searle defines external reality as that which exists “outside and independent” of one's interpretation (1995, p. 154). Qualitative research embraces internal veracity with an understanding and appreciation of the knowledge acquired. Qualitative research is much more subjective than quantitative research and uses very different methods of collecting information, mainly individual, in-depth interviews and focus groups. The nature of this type of research is exploratory and open-ended. Small numbers of people are interviewed in-depth and/or a relatively small number of focus groups are conducted.Participants are asked to respond to general questions and the interviewer or group moderator probes and explores their responses to identify and define peoples' perceptions, opinions and feelings about the topic or idea being discussed and to determine the degree of agreement that exists in the group. The quality of the findings from qualitative research is directly dependent upon the skill, experience and sensitivity of the interviewer or group moderator.This type of research is often less costly than surveys and is extremely effective in acquiring information about peoples' communications needs and their responses to and views about specific communications. It is often the method of choice in instances where quantitative measurement is not required.

Rational of the Research

Qualitative research is largely concerned with studying things in a natural setting rather than in manipulating a particular element and then looking at changes that occur as a result. Qualitative researchers will study phenomena as they appear, interpreting or making sense of what is happening in terms of the meanings people apply to them. Ward-Schofield (1990: 202) described the purpose of qualitative research thus:

The goal is not to produce a standardised set of results that any other careful researcher in the same situation or studying the same issues would have produced.

Rather it is to produce a coherent and illuminating description of and perspective on a situation that is based on and consistent with detailed study of the situation.

As we will see, there are different sets of empirical material that can be used in qualitative ...