Introduction
This section will focus on the data collection approach that the study will use in order to validate or falsify its assumptions on the leadership situation that have affected the political and the education situation in River Grove. A successful research design will be implemented through an understanding of the research problem, the development of research questions, which are relevant to the problem. The construction of the hypothesis that can be tested to validate or falsify assumptions and an assessment into the limitation of the research in question also forms part of the objective of this section. This study will use the qualitative approach in data collection.
Research problem
| The Topic | Leadership situation in River Grove |
| The research problem | River Grove is cosmopolitan in nature considering that it houses the Germans, Italians and the country clubbers, who are a group of relatively affluent newcomers who do not belong to a homogeneous ethnic group. The lower scores In MEAP among the students is attributable to the inability of the leadership of the schools to ensure that quality and unbiased leadership is provided for the benefit of the children and the education sector. Instead, leadership has often shifted focus to loyalty to ethnic origins. This has created some form of discrimination and ethnic rivalries when effective leaders effective and developing strategies for the community to realize its overall objectives. Furthermore, it is through the biases and ineffective system of leadership that every group in the community elects those who are considered loyal to the group. |
| Evidence from literature justifying the problem | Previous research on leadership studies has indicated that it is the responsibility of the leader to ensure that the subjects are dedicated towards a common goal (Wren, 2007). The question of the role of a leader is to provide some sense of direction based on an understanding of the prevailing circumstance and the best approach that can be used to enhance cohesion and integration between divergent members of the society (Riggio & Harvey, 2011). |
| Deficiencies in evidence | Minimal research attention has been directed towards qualitative investigations on the role of students in ensuring that the leadership is dedicated towards the realization of the objectives of the institutions (Creswell, 2014). Through in-depth qualitative inquiry it will be easier to collect data in their own words, complex analysis of numerous approaches and different school contexts that shape the experiences of students in terms of leadership. |
| Significance of the study | Through an examination of multiple aspects related to leadership using qualitative approaches on the best type of leadership to adopt and ensure that social order is maintained. It will be possible to develop a better understanding the misconceptions and conceptions considering the role of leadership in any society. Through this understanding it will be possible for researchers to isolate variables and change in the development models conceding the best leadership approaches in any social platform. It will be possible for different communities to plan interventions and prevent or change their attitudes towards leadership. |
A research problem is considered as a formulation of a problem statement, which can be thought as consisting of a research question and a research purpose (Chumney and Kit, 2006). When the research problem is understood in the context of the case study involving the political situation and its effects on the education system, it is possible to note that ethnic differences which are characterized by stereotypical connotations and ethnocentric have become the major challenges affecting the education and political landscape of River grove. The town is cosmopolitan in nature considering that it houses the Germans, Italians and the country clubbers, who are a group of relatively affluent newcomers who do not belong to a homogeneous ethnic group. The lower scores In MEAP among the students is attributable to the inability of the leadership of the schools to ensure that quality and unbiased leadership is provided for the benefit of the children and the education sector. Instead, leadership has often shifted focus to loyalty to ethnic origins. This has created some form of discrimination and ethnic rivalries when effective leaders effective and developing strategies for the community to realize its overall objectives. Furthermore, it is through the biases and ineffective system of leadership that every group in the community elects those who are considered loyal to the group. This is a way through which the ethnic groups ensure that their interests are served and protected to minimize the possibility of erosion of cultural practices and the promotion of supremacy battles between the Germans, country clubbers, and the Italians. The appointment of any new superintendent in River Grove often necessitates re-alliance between the main ethic groups and the country clubbers. The alliances are formed in situations where they are to ensure equal gain when appointing any leader into positions. However, differences emerge where a community is perceived to be benefiting over the other. There is need for streamlining the leadership of the education sector in River Grove, as this is relevant in ensuring the children acquire high quality educational and the propagation of peaceful coexistence among the members of the community.
Research questions
Research questions are the central questions, which a researcher intends to answer by undertaking a research project. This means that for effective formulation of research questions is the responsibility of the researcher to develop the reseat problem in a way that in a focused and definite manner (Chumney and Kit, 2006). In qualitative research, research question allows for the answering questions that focus on the nature of a social phenomenon rather than the prevalence of a phenomenon (Cleary, 2003). This makes it possible to argue that in qualitative research it is possible to develop bot exploratory and descriptive questions.
The following research questions will be relevant in providing an understanding of the research problem in the context of the political and the educational situation in River Grove.
- How can we explain the extent by which the political situation in River Grove has contributed to the prevailing conditions in the education sector?
- Does the current leadership provide meaningful caring response to the declining performance in the education sector, and if so, how?
- What perceptions about the role of different communities in the development of River grove are held by those in leadership positions and how are they reacting to concerns that the diverse communities propose in relation to community development?
- What are the experiences of your ethnic group in the approaches used by the leadership in the allocation of resources and what are some of the alternative that can be used to improve the current situation if any?
- How can the leadership ensure that the MEAP scores of the students are improved?
Research design
The research design that this study will employ is the descriptive approach. This is a type of research design, which is applicable in obtaining information concerning the prevailing conditions in any social phenomenon (Single, 2010). Through this approach is easier for the researcher to describe that, which exists in relation to the variables or the conditions as defined by the hypothesis. The main focus of this study is to assess the leadership situation in River Grove and the effects of politics in the education sector. In addition, this study also aims at assessing the best leadership practices that can be employed to improve of the declining situation of the River Grove society in relation to cohesion among members of the community and the need to provide quality education to the children by harmonizing community and ethnic differences. The descriptive approach to research will be instrumental in the identification of variables and the hypothetical constricts that will be useful in testing the underlying leadership assumptions in the River Grove situation.
Methodology
In terms of the methodology that will be used in data collection, the study aims at using the qualitative approach to research. This will be through an in-depth analysis of case studies on leadership styles and the ability to ensure high level of social order. The most noticeable reason that account for the choice of this methodology include the fact that the qualitative approach is flexible and exploratory in nature (Cleary, 2003). Through the qualitative approach, it is easier to tailor the research questions and continually adjust data collection and analysis to the emerging findings (Cresweell, 2014).
The qualitative approach is also descriptive in nature. This is because it offers a chance for the respondents to describe the subject under study in their own words. This is an indication that it allows them to express their views, provide the best words in the description of their experiences, and provide details of an event according to their understanding (Cresweell, 2014). While using this approach it will be possible for the participants from River Grove to give a detailed description of the prevailing conditions in terms of the leadership styles in the community and their effects on progress.
An additional benefit of using qualitative approach is in its ability to lead to an interpretive rendering of the social phenomenon under study (Foss & Waters, 2007). Constant comparison of data with the merging ideas will provide the researcher with a better understanding of any emerging ideas and the development of a more abstract conceptual model, which will be formed in accordance with the data collected (Cleary, 2003). The qualitative methodology in this research will therefore be instrumental in the development of a broad understanding of different leadership styles and the underlying benefits and disadvantages of the said styles to the wellbeing of the subjects. It is therefore possible to develop the argument that a qualitative methodology has the ability of producing findings that realize the goals and objective of the research project (Yin, 2009).
Target population will be opinion leaders, professionals, and students of River Grove drawn from the German, Italian and the Country clubbers. Stratified sampling will be used to ensure that the appropriate percentages of target population are sampled to as a representation.
Hypothesis
An all-inclusive leadership in River Grove can help improve the politics and the education standards in the community.
From the above stated hypothesis, it is possible identifying the dependent and independent variable
Dependent variable: politics and education standards
Independent variable: All-inclusive leadership.
The ability of River Grove to ensure political stability and quality education in the community is highly dependent on its ability to ensure that every segment of the community is included in the important aspect of decisions making. This approach will ensure that the Germans, Italians and the Country clubbers are not only aware of the activities of the leadership but also that they can contribute and present their interest can be discussed by those appointed to provide leadership. in addition, the hypothesis also states that a society that is divided along ethnic lines can only be united through the introduction of approaches aimed at enhancing social cohesion and integration for the realization of a common good.
Data collection
Data will be collected through focus group discussions. This will involve the identification of the areas of inters and the selection of respondents who have information concerning the community. For effective data collection to be realized it will be important for the researcher to derive its sample from every segment of the community. This will include opinion leaders, activists, and political figures from the German community, Italian and the Country clubbers. Through this technique, it will be easier to ensure representation for every ethnic community and group.
Focus group discussions allow for the collection of data that focus on the leadership, politics, and the education system in River Grove. Furthermore, data collection through focus group discussions will encourage deep learning while at the same time ensuring that individual opinions are represented.
Focus group discussions will be conducted in an interview forum. The researcher and the research assistants will conduct the interviews. The interviews will be conducted for about 60 minutes while observations concerning non-verbal expressions will also be collected during the focus group discussions.
The tools that will be used in the collection of data will be collected through structured questionnaires that will contain both closed and open-ended questions.
Examples of interview questions
- Does the current leadership provide meaningful caring response to the declining performance in the education sector, and if so, how?
- What perceptions about the role of different communities in the development of River Grove are held by those in leadership positions and how are they reacting to concerns that the diverse communities propose in relation to community development?
- What are the experiences of your ethnic group in the approaches used by the leadership in the allocation of resources and what are some of the alternative that can be used to improve the current situation if any?
- How can the leadership ensure that the MEAP scores of the students are improved?
Observation plans
- Observation on cultural behavior of different ethnic groups and their contributions to the prevailing leadership problems in River Grove.
- Observation on the behavior of different members of the focused group discussion in the development of an all-inclusive platform to address community concerns.
Data collection protocols
Primary data will be the main source of data in this study. This will be data collected from the deliberations of the focus group discussion. Other sources of data will be derived from observation of different aspect related to the leadership situation in River Grove and the possible effects of the leadership styles employed on the overall development of the society. The use of secondary data such as existing literature on the prevailing leadership situation in River Grove will be important in the development of an effective understanding of the existing situation to enable the development of an effective research problem.
Data analysis
Qualitative data is considered to be more elaborate since the subject of focus is often the meaning rather than the quantification of the underlying concept. Effective analyisis of the data collected from the study will be conducted through conceptualization, coding and categorization of data to ensure that common features and themes are identified and grouped to make sense of the data collected (Cresweell, 2014). The process of identifying and refining concepts is essential in the analyisis of qualitative data. Conceptualization will begin by simple observation conceptualization will be aimed at providing detailed description of that which was observed and an explanation of its importance (Drew et al, 2008). For successful conceptualization to be realized it will be important for the researcher to ensure that there is testing of a more analytic insight whenever new observations are made (Hellens et al, 2004).
For effective coding and categorization of data to be realized, it will be important for the researcher to identify the meaning of a concept in question, such as leadership, politics, and the education standards in River Grove and then refine his understanding of these concepts by investigating their meanings. In qualitative research, this is considered a possibility through observation of the frequency of the concepts, their application (Drew et al, 2008). Upon understanding the meaning, it will be important for the researcher to incorporate the concept in a way that will explain the relationship between leadership, politics, and the standards of education in River grove. A well-designed chart in the form of a matrix can be used for successful categorization and the coding processes to ensure that the information collected on the variables answer the research questions (Kothari, 2010).
Limitations and delimitations of the research design
This research design uses a qualitative approach in understanding the political situation in River Grove and its effect on leadership and the education standards in the community. This means that the design is only focused in the identification of non-quantifiable matters of the study. The main limitation when this approach is used is that it denies the study an opportunity of finding out a population of people in terms of percentages that view the prevailing situation in different styles. This makes it difficult to develop an overall opinion that is quantifiable, concerning the views of diverse population of River Grove.
The use of focus group discussions in the collection of qualitative data also considered as a limitation to the study. This is because the data collected will be more subjective and individualistic in nature and this will make it relatively difficult for the researcher to develop effective and objective generalizations concerning different aspects of the study.
The research design focuses on leadership, politics and education standards in River Grove, according to the research questions, proper identification of the relationship between these variables will help in the development of lasting solution. However, the design ignores the possibility that other factors such as economy, culture, and religion may be equally influential to the leadership situation in River Grove.
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