The Hidden Advantages of Focus Group Interviews in Educational Research

Abstract

In the field of education, success of a school system has traditionally been determined through quantitative methods, such as through scores on achievement tests and survey results. In short, the quantitative method can determine if a school is failing or not. However, it does not answer the question of why a school is failing, a particularly important question for school administrators who hope to make positive changes in their districts. Focus group research, or qualitative analysis, is an underutilized method for gathering data in schools. Focus group methodology offers a more in-depth understanding of participants’ perceptions than do quantitative measures such as test scores and surveys, thereby providing potential answers to why a school is failing. The purpose of this article is threefold. First, it attempts to define focus group research in the field of education. Second, it presents the disadvantages and advantages of focus group research, and finally, it provides methodological guidance to administrators who are interested in using focus group research as a way to gather information about the performance of a school system.

Becoming an International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program: Perspectives of Teachers, Students, and Administrators

“…Both researchers jointly interviewed groups of 4 to 5 students for approximately 30 to 45 min. We chose to utilize focus groups with the students given the advantages of that particular methodology (Shoaf & Shoaf, 2006). We believed that providing the opportunity for student interaction had the potential for enhancing student participation and building on the responses of other group members.…”

Adaptation of Industrial Revolution 4.0 in a Seaport System

“…FGD is particularly useful to confirm the findings with a diverse range of port operator profiles. Within this paper, without a doubt, FGD is considered an effective method for facilitating the exchange of opinions and discussion of agreement and disagreement among maritime players [28]. A face-to-face interview is sometimes unable to capture the dynamics of this situation, which involves many parties at same session [29].…”

Response to intervention : a qualitative case study at an urban elementary school in New Mexico

“…A focus group interview guide (Appendix E and Appendix K) is constructed based on effective research practices (Creswell, 2013;Shoaf & Shoaf, 2006). Focus group questions should start general to specific and lead with questions of the most significance and importance to the research (Shoaf & Shoaf, 2006). For this study, the focus group questions correlate to the research questions for this study, particularly around leadership, school culture, and teaching practices.…”

“…I monitored the group participants' interactions (Creswell, 2013;Flores & Alonso, 1995;Morgan, 1996). Interactions among participants in a focus group contributed to responses by expanding and developing each other's ideas and influences (Shoaf & Shoaf, 2006). The participants' interactions were a useful piece of data for this study.…”

“…This study had two participants in the focus group. The hidden advantage to focus groups was that the group dynamics often empower group members to share and discuss important topics by giving a voice and room to shape their ideas and share perspectives (Creswell, 2013;Shoaf & Shoaf, 2006). The focus group met for fifty minutes before school in the elementary school's conference room.…”