The study circle using focus group discussion Essay Example for Free

The study circle using focus group discussion Essay This paper would combine the framework of Study Circle and focus group discussion in order to bring out a â€Å"natural† discussion between the participants. In this discussion, participants would be observed on how they tackle and react to the topic presented to them. The following would describe how the process would go: Participants The target population for this would be the East End Intermediate School in the Sheridan School District #37 in Arkansas. In accordance with the purpose of this paper and the framework of Study Circle and FGD, participants would be around 10-12 and will be divided into school representatives, community leaders and some family members of students who attend in the target school (Heiskanen, 2008). By doing this, everyone would have its turn to voice out their opinion regarding the role of community in school improvement. The school representatives could voice out what support they need from the community and from the parents as well regarding the improvements that their school lacks of. The same situation goes for community leaders and parents too. Community leaders could present the problems the school have at the present and at the same time suggest solutions for these. Family members could clamor for revised school curriculums and other educational programs that could bolster the student’s growth both physically and mentally. In this process, everyone is contributing evenly for the development of the framework and for their community. Sample Questions Questions are key factors in stimulating the discussion both for Study Circle and FGD. Questions could be considered as the lifespan of a discussion since it could determine the beginning and the end of a discussion. It also dictates the flow of the discussion by giving the participants something to ponder on for several minutes. Questions could determine the clarity of the data or its vagueness, thus implying that questions could determine the outcome of a study. The following questions below are sample questions for this study and they are still subject upon revision. They are the following: 1. What are the problems in your school that do you think impedes development? 2. What are the causes of these problems? 3. Physically or mentally, do these problems affect the students in those categories? 4. Do these problems affect the education of the students? 5. What are the temporary solutions you came up with to solve these problems? 6. What are the roles of community and families of the students in solving these problems? 7. Do these problems exist within the community where the school belongs to? If yes, what were the reaction pf community leaders? 8. On the other hand, if these problems exist within the family of the students, what are the responds of school officials and concern family members in order to address some of these problems? 9. So far, are there any collective actions (school officials, community leaders and concern family members) been done by the in order to solve these problems? 10. If the problems cease to exist, are there any suggestions in order to prevent such thing from occurring or happening again? These questions would serve as the main guidelines for the discussion and as it goes on, additional questions could be generated based from the answers of the participants. Furthermore, not all of these questions could be answer in one meeting thus series of discussion between these people would be held in order to address these questions. Series of Discussions. In order to address the issue carefully and to come up with an ardent foundation for the framework, a single discussion will not be adequate, especially if the participants want to come up with long term solution for the problem. This series of discussions is similar to the ones conducted for a Study Circle. Continuous dialogues are carried out in order to come up with a solution and while they are pondering on these issues, they share insights and ideas thus educating each other. School officials for an instance, could guide family members about the proper care of children entering teens or puberty age and vice versa. Family members could enumerate the improvement areas of the school that they think would be essential in their child’s holistic growth and development. Research and further observation could also be done in order to obtain necessary information for solving their problem. While thinking of solution for their problem, people that will be involved in the study would learn from each other thoughts and ideas, thus promoting growth and education between the participants. The combination of focus group discussion and Study Circle were necessary to provide the foundation for the school-community framework. Both of there characteristics comprehend each other. The focus group could capture multiple perspectives of the participants while Study Circle influences the participants to strive forward in order to achieve better results. Doing this together could produce better result than using only one. Furthermore, considering the funding, timeframe and research subject, incorporating Study Circle with focus group would be the best choice. References Andrews, C. (1997). Study Circles: Education of Our Times. Retrieved July 24, 2008 from: http://www. pathsoflearning. net/Paths11-Andrews.pdf. Bau-Madsen, J. (2000) Study Circle: the workshop of democracy. – Folkevirke, Kobenhavn Bjerkaker, S. (2003). The Study Circle: A method for learning, a tool for democracy. Paper for the FACE Annual Conference Oslo, 2003 Blid, H. (1990). Education by the people: Study Circles. – Arbetarnas bildningsforbund Stockholm, Sweden Blid, H. (2000) Learn and act with Study Circles. – Books-on-Demand, Stockholm Brattset, H. (1982) What are the characteristics of the Study Circle? (English Summary), Norwegian Institute of adult education, Trondheim Heiskanen, E. et al. (2008). Qualitative Research and Consumer Policy: Focus Group Discussions as a Form of Consumer Participation. The Qualitative Report 13 (2) Kindstrom, C. (2002). The Study Circle Method. Studieforbundet Vuxenskolen, Stockholm, Sweden Larsson, S. (2001) Study Circles as Democratic Utopia: a Swedish Perspective in Michael Agnieeszka Bron (Eds) Study Circlehemmann, Civil Society, Citizenship and Learning, London Loenstrup, B. (2002) Teaching Adults – with openness, Nordic Folk Academy, Gothenburg/Riga Myers, M. (2002). Qualitative research and the generalizability question: Standing firm with Proteus. The Qualitative Report, 4(3/4). Oliver, L. P. (1987) Study Circles: coming together for personal growth and social change, Washington D. C. Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed. ). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Persson, T. (2006). The Study Circle: an efficient method for learning and Social Change. Retrieved July 24, 2008 from http://www. folkbildning. net/~tore. persson/Shanghai_StudyCircle_En. pdf Putu, M. (2006). Starting a Study Circle in my community: What to do? Retrieved July 24, 2008 from: http://www. idasa. org. za/gbOutputFiles. asp? WriteContent=YRID=1690.