It was not that Jude Preissle set out to start one of the
best qualitative research methods programs in the world,
but that is what happened.
Thirty years ago this January, Preissle taught the first
qualitative research methods class at the University of Georgia.
She had four students. Today, UGA’s Qualitative Research
Program has five full-time faculty lines supported by more
than 51 affiliated faculty from around the university. It
is one of only two certificate programs in the world devoted
exclusively to qualitative research. Faculty members practice
and study the range of traditions associated with qualitative
research including interpretive study, historical research,
sociocultural research, emancipatory traditions, evaluation
research, and postmodern and poststructural traditions.
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Thirty
years ago, Jude Preissle (left) interviewed at UGA
to teach elementary social studies methods. In her
job interview, she mentioned that she could also
teach qualitative research methods, so the interviewing
committee asked her to go back to her hotel that
night and create a syllabus. She was hired, and today,
thanks in large part to her efforts, UGA has one
of the preeminent qualitative research programs in
the world. |
“Part of the reason for this program’s success
is that the program seeks exceptional teachers,” said
Ron Cervero, Lifelong Education, Administration and Policy
department head. “Just as a committed qualitative researcher
wants to understand the meanings held by participants in
the community he or she is studying, we have partnered with
faculty across campus who focus on understanding the needs
and views of their students.”
By 1984, the Qualitative Interest Group (QUIG) was formed
for faculty, and in the 1990s, the Student Qualitative Inquiry
Group (SQUIG) followed. Classes became so popular that by
the early 1990s there was a year and a half waiting list
to enroll in the introductory class. The department hired
some post-doctoral teaching assistants to help eliminate
the waiting list shortly thereafter and then added a senior
qualitative researcher, Kathleen deMarrais, in 1999. A series
of three classes was developed into the core of the Qualitative
Research Certificate Program, which was approved in 2001.
Although students across campus take can individual courses
to explore qualitative research disciplines, those who complete
the certificate develop a thorough knowledge of a variety
of approaches and are qualified to teach qualitative research
methods at the college level.
“This is not a ‘tools and techniques’ program,” said
Kathy Roulston, a professor in the program. “We are
grounded conceptually and philosophically, so that even the
core classes, which are somewhat linear, are still organized
around the disciplines in the field. One week we’re
talking about in ethnography and the next week we cover narrative
approaches, and we can talk about data analysis in both cases.” Roulston
joined the QUIG faculty in 2000 as a post-doc and has continued
in a tenure-track position.
Students pursuing the Qualitative Research Certificate Program
produce an annual mini-conference, which is this Friday in
Aderhold Hall. Since 1987, the QUIG group has also been hosting
an annual interdisciplinary conference at UGA attended by
qualitative researchers from around the world. This year’s
QUIG conference will be January 6-8, 2006, at the Georgia
Center for Continuing Education.
Building the New Learning Environment
The new learning environment is an academic and intellectual
community on the campus of the University of Georgia humming
with the vibrancy of the true college experience—bright
and talented students working with brilliant faculty formally
in the classroom and informally over a cup of coffee or lounging
in the greenspace which stretches from one end of campus to
the other. It is a place which recognizes that new information
technologies are transforming traditional academic disciplines
and embraces those opportunities. |
