GROUNDED THEORY AND SOCIAL-PEDAGOGICAL RESEARCH

Abstract

Debates on the application of the quantitative, qualitative or mixed methodological ap­proaches in social sciences are mainly driven by the need to justify meaning and scope of qualitative research in the context of modern science. In this sense, the aim of this paper is to discuss the possibilities of application of one of the qualitative methodological approaches to researching the problems of social pedagogy – the grounded theory research design. In the first part of the paper, the authors examine the development, constitutive properties and methodological assumptions of grounded theory by the authors Glaser and Strauss. The methodology and very design of the grounded theory are presented in relation to its main assumptions and key elements (phases): the collection of qualitative data, the constant com­parison method, coding and theoretical sampling. In the second part, the authors explicate the methodologically concise but coherent interpretation of this type of qualitative research, which could have significant potential in the process of understanding social-pedagogical phenomena, in the way that enables generating more integrated theories and their greater applicability by social pedagogues/practitioners.