Theorizing With Joint Displays: Salient Contributors to Improving Preservice Teachers’ Practice

Abstract

Theory-focused joint displays represent an innovative approach to data and results integration with potential to build understanding of complex constructs, including factors that influence change over time. However, the extant literature offers few examples for doing so, particularly in convergent research designs. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to provide a replicable framework for developing and refining an emergent theoretical model in a convergent research design. Through an illustrative example of a study on preservice teachers’ growth in practice, we detail a seven-step process in which a theoretical model served as the guide and culminating purpose of the research. In addition to this primary contribution, we also explore the role of visuals in joint display analyses to support meta-inference generation.

In This Issue: Inclusive Language to Foster Equity and Diversity, Joint Displays for Theory Development, Incorporating Participatory Aspects in Joint Displays, Expanding the Evaluation of Rigor, and Challenges in Transformative Mixed Methods Research

“…Regarding the articles published in this April 2024 issue, Firestone et al (2024), with affiliations in education in addition to teaching and leadership, examine theory development using joint displays, a visual method of integration. They illustrate the method through a convergent design to develop a theory of the process of change and growth of teachers’ classroom practices over time.…”