ON METHODOLOGY AND METHODS FOR ANALYSING CLASSROOM DISCURSIVE INTERACTION: A DISCUSSION BETWEEN QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE APPROACHES

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This article presents a theoretical work aiming to discuss methodologies and methods in educational research, particularly those that analyse classroom discursive interactions. The first part examines the two main research paradigms and their ontological and epistemological bases: positivism and interpretivism. Next, two methods for analysing discursive interactions are presented and discussed, one for each paradigm. Systematic coding - within the quantitative context - is indicated to treat data from large samples, to describe general patterns, and to statistical comparisons or temporal analyses by transforming the discourse into variables. The method is applied in a set of 42 episodes of group dialogue. The results are discussed in light of the nature of the research questions, showing what types of statistical tests can be performed. Within the interpretivist paradigm, sociocultural discourse analysis is presented as an example of a qualitative method applied to excerpts from classroom dialogues. The main finding is the identification of typologies that describe how teachers and students construct scientific explanations. The final part discusses some possibilities and limits of each method. The conclusion defends that both are complementary for advancing knowledge in the educational field.