Focus-Group Research for School Improvement: What Are They Thinking? Book

1 Schools as Organizations 5

2 A Brief History of Focus-Group Research 7

3 Silenced Voices 9

4 Causes for Silence 11

5 Efforts to Hear the Voices 16

6 The Focus-Group Process: An Ideal Method for Breaking the Silence 21

7 Focus-Group Design 24

8 Procedures for Conducting Focus Groups 29

9 Social Constructions and Context Underlying the Focus-Group Process 34

10 Data Presentation and Action-Plan Development 42

Focus-Group Case Study #1 44

Focus-Group Case Study #2 120

11 Application of the Process: The Focus-Group Process Tool 227

12 Other Tools of the Trade 231

Participation Request Letter 232

Statement of Participation 233

Sample Interview Guide 234

Sample Focus-Group Questions 235

13 Reflections 238

References 241

About the Author 242