Methodological Tips and Challenges in Multinational Research: Lessons Learned from a 3 Year Multinational Research Programme

This paper describes methodological lessons in multinational research. Content is primarily drawn from the Innovative Teaching and Learning (ITL) Research project, a 3-year study that examined innovative teaching practices that support the development of students’ 21st century skills in 7 countries. We discuss what it takes to engage effectively in research that is both comparative and international, when ‘comparative’ is defined as methodological congruence across settings. ITL Research was unique in its wide assortment of quantitative and qualitative methods, including surveys, interviews, observations, and the analysis of classroom lessons and student work products, and the diversity of its participating countries, including Australia, Indonesia, Russia, Finland, Senegal, England, and Mexico. This paper describes theoretical and methodological issues associated with the goal of consistent application of the same research methods in different countries and locally-sensitive interpretation of results. The experience of the project illustrates the importance of local pilots of instruments and methods, reciprocal partnerships with local research teams, carefully-chosen communication methods, and rich qualitative data collection to inform interpretation (and guard against mis-interpretation) of quantitative results, among other essential design principles. The discussion will highlight the challenges of identifying comparable ways of viewing educational innovation and developing a shared vocabulary for discussing it among an international community of researchers and educators, and offers recommendations to guide future multinational research designs. This session will also introduce the Center for Technology in Learning at SRI International in California, USA, whose work has a great deal in common with CITE and may offer opportunities for collaboration.