Qualitative Data Analysis Exercise

On the following pages you will find responses from $125$ teachers who were asked the question, $$What major factors lead you into teaching?$$

Step $1.$ Your task is to read over the responses and determine the factors that dominate. What reasons are included in these responses? You may need to look at closely related wordings from several responses and generate a category name that is not mentioned explicitly. In the process you will be generating categories$/$codes$.$

Step $2.$ After you generate your set of codes, list the codes in a column down the left side of a sheet of paper. Then write the respondent number$($s$)$ so that you show how each response should be categorized. Sometimes respondents will mention more than one factor. You will need to decide how to handle that. If it$$s easier, you can highlight each code in a different color and offer a key at the end or mark codes by using comments in Microsoft Word.

Step $3.$ Generate a frequency count for your codes. How many did you have of each? What was the overall percentage for each code?

Step $4.$ Up until this point, this is an individual assignment. For the next part, you will compare your codes with a friend. When you turn it in$,$ make sure to specify who your $$plus one$$ is$.$

Questions to discuss include:

$1.$ Did you generate the same categories? Which categories did you both identify and which categories are unique?

$2.$ How much agreement is there about the percent of responses in each category? What are the top $5$ categories?

$3.$ How much agreement exists about which particular responses belong to which categories? Is

the amount of disagreement large?

$4.$ How did you each handle responses that stated more than one factor for entering teaching?

You will turn in the Word document with mark ups and edit page $1$ to include answers to the above questions.

Respondent No$.$ What major factors lead you into teaching?

$1$ I felt I could make a difference in childrens lives and teach them effectively.

$6$ Coaching, summer vacation, my love of working with kids

$12$ I decided to go into teaching for several reasons. I love children, I feel I have a natural gift to teach children, and it's a great job for moms with children at home because of the schedule.

$15$ My husband died when I was $35$ years old. I was content with staying at home and raising our son. I realized I needed to do something with my life. Going to school allowed me to be at home when my son was there. Also, I saw how he was judged by coming from

$20$ Helping kids, teaching science.

$36$ Love kids, always babysat

$40$ The fervor that my high school band director had for teaching motivated me most.

$46$ I enjoyed teaching swim lessons while in high school to preschoolers. I ended up teaching middle school when I discovered I didn't have the talent to teach the same students all day.

$49$ Actually the very good and the very bad teachers I had were factors that led me into teaching. Another major factor was that I truly enjoyed high school.

$50$ I enjoy the learning process. I also like working with kids and wasn't ready for the business world.

$51$ My lover of music and the desire to show others the joy music can bring. I also enjoyed working with children.

$54$ The need for employment. My original bachelor's is chemistry. With no job prospects available in the field, teaching seemed a good place to be $($funny how destiny works$).$

$57$ A teacher I had in school, the subject area, and I come from a long line of teachers.

$64$ I participated as a peer tutor in high school with students with disabilities and enjoyed it$.$ The teacher for the class was a positive role model. I have always liked working with children so it made sense.

$69$ My desire to help and guide children, along with my love for children led me into teaching.

$71$ Being able to explain mathematical concepts to others easily.

$73$ I like working with people, especially kids. I like having an impact on the future of our world. I am well rounded; I knew teaching involves many facets of other careers.

$74$ Love of reading, summer off, father is a high school administrator, enjoy being around kids.

$77$ Love of kids and content area, enjoy social dynamics of the classroom setting

$80$ A need$/$want to help others, love of learning and for children, helping create that lightbulb over someone's head when they finally get it$.$

$81$ I love the working with children. I love the language $($ASL$).$

$83$ Ability to impact lives, make a difference, improve lives, also fondness of subject.

$85$ Most of the teachers I had in school went out of their way to help me do good in school.

$88$ I wasn't happy interviewing for and planning to be in various kinds of sales. It didn't offer any intrinsic values. I hung out in Bloomington trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my BA in journalism and my business minor. I started training the s

$100$ Desire to work with kids, amount of business classes taken prior to choosing education, school calendar $-$ time with own children, same schedu