Understanding the Teaching Requirements of Beginning Teachers—Differentiation of Case-Focused Qualitative Content Analysis and Triangulation with Case-Focused Descriptive Results from Quantitative Data

Abstract

In this article I discuss which insight-generating possibilities case-oriented qualitative content analysis offers and how findings can be enhanced by triangulation with quantitative case-oriented data. Using case-oriented qualitative content analysis to unravel the understanding of teaching and the role of the teacher, I developed a typology. Types are distinguished by different meanings of the students, the teacher, the subject matter and the setting in which the teaching process occurs. The case-oriented quantitative data, which include perceptions of the relevance of teaching-related requirements, the experienced competence and the challenge of dealing with these requirements are presented as network graphics. The results were related to each other by triangulation. Triangulation yields converging as well as supplementary findings. Converging findings showed how the conception of teaching was reflected in the importance of perceived requirements. Supplementary findings were seen in the effect of perceived challenges when students co-create the teaching process. The findings illustrate how a case-oriented qualitative content analysis with inductive categories, combined with a targeted case selection, can be used to understand the case as a whole.