Applying Thematic Analysis to Education: A Hybrid Approach to Interpreting Data in Practitioner Research

Thematic analysis (TA), as a qualitative analytic method, is widely used in health care, psychology, and beyond. However, scant details are often given to demonstrate the process of data analysis, especially in the field of education. This article describes how a hybrid approach of TA was applied to interpret multiple data sources in a practitioner inquiry. Particular attention is given to the inductive and deductive coding and theme development process of TA. Underpinned by the constructivist epistemology, codes were driven by both data per se and theories, through a “bottom-up” and “top-down” approach to identify themes. A detailed example of six steps of data analysis is presented, which evidences the systematic analysis of raw data from observation and research journals, students’ focus groups, and a classroom teacher’s semistructured interviews. This example demonstrates how classroom practice was unpacked and how insiders’ insights were interpreted through the theoretical lens while also allowing the participants to express themselves. By providing step-by-step guidelines in data coding and identification of themes, this article contributes to informing qualitative researchers, especially teacher-researchers who undertake their research in the classroom setting.

Robert Konečný a jeho písemná pozůstalost v univerzitním archivu

In January 2018, Masaryk University archives obtained an extensive written estate of Robert Konečný (1906–1981), an associate professor of philosophy and professor of psychology at Masaryk University, the pioneer of health-care psychology in Czechoslovakia, a poet and author, and a major figure of resistance to Nazism. Robert Konečný’s personal files, which belong among the best preserved items in the university archives, were organized and made accessible during 2018. Extensive correspondence mainly includes collections of letters from key figures of Czech literature, philosophy and psychology. A remarkable part of the estate consists of texts of Konečný’s lectures and speeches as well as documents on his educational activity in radio and television broadcasting. The files also represent a valuable source for the study of resistance to Nazism in Moravia. An extensive set of manuscripts, typescripts and prints from the fields of psychology, philosophy and literature can serve as a basis for the preparation of Konečný’s bibliography.

Pervasive Health Games

Prevention and therapy of emerging lifestyle diseases are strongly linked to daily behavior, physical activity, and knowledge of healthy life. The potentials of serious game applications in a health context for user’s motivation, education, and therapy compliance is investigated and so far widely accepted. Pervasive Health Games (PHGs) combine pervasive computing technologies with serious game design strategies, in order to unfold user’s playground to the city and therefore to their everyday life. The following article presents the typology of PHG within Games for Health as an interdisciplinary working field consisting of health care, psychology, game design, sports science, and urban research. A brief introduction to the theme is illustrated with a conceptual “showcase,” a pervasive game concept for young diabetics.

Practice of the Statutory Disciplinary System for Health Care Psychologists in The Netherlands

A statutory disciplinary system for health care psychologists in the Netherlands was introduced in 1998. To provide an indication of the contribution of this system to monitoring the quality of health care psychology all complaints dealt with in the period 1999-2002 were studied. Questionnaires were sent to all 388 members of the disciplinary boards (response 89%) and 43 practicing lawyers (response 65%). The regional disciplinary boards dealt with 68 complaints about health care psychologists. A sanction was imposed 16 times (25%), mainly for sexual intimacies or a sexual relationship, violation of professional secrecy or incorrect statement or reporting. The statutory disciplinary system appears to be an important corrective instrument for serious forms of professional misconduct for health care psychologists.