There's something about having a clean and clutter-free room to work in. I can't stand mess. I had a light-bulb moment yesterday, whilst indulging in a (small) packet of licorice allsorts (delish) from my favourite Deal shop The Sugar Boy. It was about this Grounded theory business that has been sitting - unaddressed - at the back of my mind for a year. I've been meaning to look up and 'officially' claim it. But it wasn't until yesterday, whilst reading the brilliant Antony Bryant when I really grasped the connections between what I'm doing and how I'm going to get there (if you know what I mean)....

I've also often (vaguely) thought how relevant Symbolic Interactionism is to my research - for instance the fact that the teachers are 'labelled' with the term 'Grade 3' after they are observed (sometimes by their managers who do actually know them as a person)! There's also lots of other (perhaps more ambiguous) symbolic parallels between my research and these theories as a whole - like the agentic factor i.e. that teachers feel they are 'in control' sometimes and therefore perhaps are more resilient to the stresses of being observed. Also the importance of studying comes through in these theories as central - and of course reflexivity in teaching practice is a crucial point of the observation process - hopefully both for the observed and the teacher and finally the importance of the act of observing itself. The 'Data' and the context are an integral part of the process....




I might be a bit slow, but I've only just read about the connection between these two approaches (i.e. that Strauss came from the same place in Chicago etc. and it kind of adds some weight to what I THOUGHT I already knew (maybe subconsciously)!

Anyway, time to dash and get reading for this meeting. Thought I better add something here as so neglected for a few months. More later....much more to share.