Research
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Grounded Theory
Rose’s classroom-based research focuses on the everyday reality of classroom teaching. Her work seeks to develop a deeper understanding of the factors that govern the spontaneous classroom decision-making of experienced language teachers.
Rose used grounded theory procedures to collect, analyse and interpret data from classroom observations and teacher interviews. These procedures involve developing hierarchies of categories with increasing levels of abstraction until frameworks of understanding – and ultimately an explanatory theory of classroom practice - could be formulated.
An advantage of research that has as its objective the development of theory from practice, rather than the application of theory to practice, is that there is a close match between theory and practice: the theory reflects the practice (and resonates with practitioners) because it has emerged from it.
Ongoing nature of the research
Rose Senior's research is ongoing. She is now investigating the degree to which this teacher-generated theory of classroom practice is applicable to a wide range of teaching contexts. With this goal in mind Rose Senior fielded an online discussion in December 2008 on the topic of class-centred teaching (the term that encapsulates the teacher-generated theory) for the Teacher Training and Education Special Interest Group of IATEFL (the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language). A summary of this discussion is reported in the ELT Journal ( 'Online forum report: class-centred teaching'. ELT Journal 63/4, 2009.)