**1. Introduction**

The meta-analysis of the educational literature in the workfield reveals the perspective of multi-literacies: pedagogy theory, education studies, education research, practices in education, pedagogy in education, etc. As a consequence of these multiple discourses, there are various categorizations in the function of different theories (causes) conducting to hybrid

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educational links (effects). The educational epistemology inserts and develops multiple explanations about the knowledge in the field of education. The data collected reflect four types of explanations:


The most used explanation is dependent on the etymological perspective: the term "pedagogy" is connected to pedagogue, a Greek slave accompanying the child on his way to school. The time distance between Greek antiquity and the sixteenth century, when imposed pedagogy is important and are negotiated polymodal explanations. The rhetoric of epistemological explanation is related to knowledge and to different cognitive models of science (linear, nonlinear, shifting, etc.):


From the vantage point of historical pedagogy could be analyzed in a fragmented way the scientific discourses: these are phases detailed by various thinking schools adapted to multiple cultural links. The key terms demonstrate a shifting identity of the education sciences: "pedagogy theory," "pedagogy in education," "teaching pedagogy," "pedagogy of poverty," "pedagogy of hope," "pedagogy of the oppressed," "pedagogy of multi literacies," "andragogy," "pedagogy of higher education," "pedagogy in primary school," "digital pedagogy," "online pedagogy," "traditional pedagogy," "radical pedagogy," "pedagogy in curricular discourses," etc.

In many educational systems, case study [1] served for disciplinary content knowledge. Currently, we live in a measuring culture. Assuming this hypothesis, the contemporary Romanian case studies involve new knowledge, skills, and experiences both from the part of

**Questions Possible Epistemological Answers**

Case Studies as Unconventional Meanings http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.70247 213

Towards a polymodal world? Critical pedagogy Linking education to cultural studies? Cultural pedagogy

A pedagogy for life? Lifelong learning Towards excellence in teaching? Teacher education

Linking education to learning environment? Educational psychology

A bound pedagogy? Hybrid educational sciences

epistemology? Multiliteracies pedagogy

Rethinking recent pedagogy? Cases studies

Case studies are discussed in the literature as knowledge context-dependent [2]. Rhetoric on case study delineates the meanings [3], the identity, the categorizations, the analysis procedures [3], and so on. From the perspective of the critical exegesis [4] based on research methodology [1], it is important to specify the continuities and discontinuities concerning the camps of fieldwork. There are varying approaches implying polarization of paradigms: case study versus survey; questionnaires versus case studies; qualitative versus quantitative; objective versus subjective; numerical evidence versus textual evidence; and probabilistic versus opportunistic. Within this paper, the meaning of case study includes a continuum [2, 3] delineated by various understandings: an event, a situation, an individual, a method, an approach, a narrative, and a learning problem. This understanding is related to an epistemological explanation of case studies, the philosophical questions of the issue. The "sophisticate" attribute of the approach resides in an authentic combination of different kind of methodologies [1], theories, and paradigms. Assuming this hypothesis, the case study is a concept defined in contrasting points of view [2]. When taking into account, the dialog between learning and curriculum [3], it is about the intrinsic case study. Instrumental case study means using case study in order to clarify the Romanian identity of learning problems. The huge number of different data (cases) collected provides that a research could be considered as a collective case study. To conclude, a research is very complex, combining opposite paradigms. These involve exceptional documentation, atypical design of the research, and special

the teachers and students.

Towards reconstruction in education

**Figure 1.** Questioning educational epistemology.

effort to capture the educational reality.

Education wording depends on the globalized society, by finances, by ICT, by news in communication and in STEM, and by the multiform negotiations refined into such different educational systems (USA, France, Italy, Spanish, Romanian, German, etc.). The following table exemplifies the most important epistemological questions in the field of educational sciences in this age of supercomplexity (**Figure 1**).

This chapter investigates case studies in terms of contemporary pedagogy. Worldwide, the researches describe the potential solutions for the traditional classroom structures. The theoretical wordings on the quality of education reveal disparities in educational opportunities or inadequate capabilities. The chapter is based on an approach in relation to Romanian curriculum and contemporary learning cultures. The influences from the vantage point of constructivist, sociocognitive, and sociocultural perspectives evidence a gap between the new learning cultures and the classic views in the field. There is no doubt that the challenge in Romanian education is connected to the challenge from the society. A case study implies discerning between various capacities of the target population: capacity for analysis and synthesis; problem solving; teamwork; capacity to learn; capacity to adapt to new situations; concern for quality; capacity for organization and planning; sense of maturity; thinking abilities; and so on.


**Figure 1.** Questioning educational epistemology.

educational links (effects). The educational epistemology inserts and develops multiple explanations about the knowledge in the field of education. The data collected reflect four types of

212 New Pedagogical Challenges in the 21st Century - Contributions of Research in Education

The most used explanation is dependent on the etymological perspective: the term "pedagogy" is connected to pedagogue, a Greek slave accompanying the child on his way to school. The time distance between Greek antiquity and the sixteenth century, when imposed pedagogy is important and are negotiated polymodal explanations. The rhetoric of epistemological explanation is related to knowledge and to different cognitive models of science (linear, nonlinear, shifting, etc.):

• Are questions with ambiguous meanings in the dominant literature in the workfield?

"traditional pedagogy," "radical pedagogy," "pedagogy in curricular discourses," etc.

From the vantage point of historical pedagogy could be analyzed in a fragmented way the scientific discourses: these are phases detailed by various thinking schools adapted to multiple cultural links. The key terms demonstrate a shifting identity of the education sciences: "pedagogy theory," "pedagogy in education," "teaching pedagogy," "pedagogy of poverty," "pedagogy of hope," "pedagogy of the oppressed," "pedagogy of multi literacies," "andragogy," "pedagogy of higher education," "pedagogy in primary school," "digital pedagogy," "online pedagogy,"

Education wording depends on the globalized society, by finances, by ICT, by news in communication and in STEM, and by the multiform negotiations refined into such different educational systems (USA, France, Italy, Spanish, Romanian, German, etc.). The following table exemplifies the most important epistemological questions in the field of educational sciences

This chapter investigates case studies in terms of contemporary pedagogy. Worldwide, the researches describe the potential solutions for the traditional classroom structures. The theoretical wordings on the quality of education reveal disparities in educational opportunities or inadequate capabilities. The chapter is based on an approach in relation to Romanian curriculum and contemporary learning cultures. The influences from the vantage point of constructivist, sociocognitive, and sociocultural perspectives evidence a gap between the new learning cultures and the classic views in the field. There is no doubt that the challenge in Romanian education is connected to the challenge from the society. A case study implies discerning between various capacities of the target population: capacity for analysis and synthesis; problem solving; teamwork; capacity to learn; capacity to adapt to new situations; concern for quality; capacity for organization and planning; sense of maturity; thinking abilities; and so on.

explanations:

**a.** Epistemological explanation,

• Is it about the education sciences?

in this age of supercomplexity (**Figure 1**).

• Is it about pedagogy or about education research?

**b.** Historical explanation, **c.** Etymological explanation, **d.** Contemporary explanation.

> In many educational systems, case study [1] served for disciplinary content knowledge. Currently, we live in a measuring culture. Assuming this hypothesis, the contemporary Romanian case studies involve new knowledge, skills, and experiences both from the part of the teachers and students.

> Case studies are discussed in the literature as knowledge context-dependent [2]. Rhetoric on case study delineates the meanings [3], the identity, the categorizations, the analysis procedures [3], and so on. From the perspective of the critical exegesis [4] based on research methodology [1], it is important to specify the continuities and discontinuities concerning the camps of fieldwork. There are varying approaches implying polarization of paradigms: case study versus survey; questionnaires versus case studies; qualitative versus quantitative; objective versus subjective; numerical evidence versus textual evidence; and probabilistic versus opportunistic. Within this paper, the meaning of case study includes a continuum [2, 3] delineated by various understandings: an event, a situation, an individual, a method, an approach, a narrative, and a learning problem. This understanding is related to an epistemological explanation of case studies, the philosophical questions of the issue. The "sophisticate" attribute of the approach resides in an authentic combination of different kind of methodologies [1], theories, and paradigms. Assuming this hypothesis, the case study is a concept defined in contrasting points of view [2]. When taking into account, the dialog between learning and curriculum [3], it is about the intrinsic case study. Instrumental case study means using case study in order to clarify the Romanian identity of learning problems. The huge number of different data (cases) collected provides that a research could be considered as a collective case study. To conclude, a research is very complex, combining opposite paradigms. These involve exceptional documentation, atypical design of the research, and special effort to capture the educational reality.

The research is based on a personalized design of investigation and takes into account both subjective and objective data. Beyond the review of the literature in the fieldwork, this approach has been conducted in terms of longitudinal study over time within the University of Bucharest during the period between 2008 and 2017. The stages of the research could be delineated by the followings steps:


Because of the supercomplexity of the research, the target population was involved in realistic, relevant, and explicit tasks. For example, over time, the tasks were focused on various situations [2]: recognizing the case study; reflecting on the case study; reporting the case study; assessing (measuring) the case study; solving the case study; selecting a case study from the Romanian press; comparing case studies (from different levels of education, from different cultures, from different thinking school or trends in the field, etc.); delineating the principles of case studies; evidencing practices; identifying case study applications (in education, in social sciences, in neuropsychology, etc.); giving specific examples; and clarifying implications.

Apart from the analysis of the studies published as a result of the investigation, this paper examines the data collected in the confirmatory stage of the research. Equally problematic as the demands of the approach were the nature and the extent of the investigation beyond the academy. It is about the SOPHRD/87/1.3/s/63906 project on learning issues. This wording critically presents the qualitative materials collected in the project in order to cover the requirements according to case study. The target population consists of 300 students in teachers training, and 446 teachers, psychologists, and school counselors who were invited to report case studies on the topic of learning in accordance with personal experience. The objectives of the research are as follows:

In terms of ethnographic research, the collected narratives offer a "natural" manner to look at the Romanian learning problems. The findings could be interpreted according to the follow-

"B. I. is a student in the fifth grade, is part of a family with reduced material possibilities. The parents do not have stable jobs, and the family income is represented by the grandfather's pension and by the children's allowances. (B. I. has a brother in the first grade in the same school.) He is diagnosed with ADHD by the psychiatrist; his intellect is at the limits of normalcy, has low interest toward school activities; he has not promoted in Romanian and in

This discourse details the aspects relating to the socioeconomic environment of the student's family, the family structure, and typology. The highlight of the parameters from the perspective of a psychological and educational process give consistency to the case portrayed. It is a

ing typical discourses; each type of situation is illustrated by a significant example:

1.Personal or individual case study

3.Case study as interpretations of cultures 4.Case study in terms of leadership practices

6.Case study as a story (piece of literature)

7.Case study as a problem to solve

11.Personalization of case study

9.Reconsidering the task

5.Case study as school-community interrelationships

Case Studies as Unconventional Meanings http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.70247 215

8. Case study as general considerations on the topic

10.Semiotics as a result of previous generalizations

13.Cases selected from foreign educational systems

15.Case study as shift in discourse defining pedagogy

12.Example of wording on learning problems

14.Case study as a narrative explanation

16.Case study as making inferences 17.Case study as action research 18.Case study as specific knowledge

2.Organizational case study

(a) Personal or individual case study

**Figure 2.** Categories of analysis.

French classes on the first semester."

narrative about the individual case of B.


From the 446 participants in the project, 400 narratives were collected from the answers; 360 case studies were selected in terms of the topic. Only 300 narrative exercises are considered "master narratives" and are measured in a scientific way. From 300 students in teacher training were collected 290 narratives, and 200 were considered scientific discourses. As a consequence of these explicit requirements or theoretical considerations, the findings are literally based on 500 descriptions of the learning discontinuities in schools.

There is a Romanian educational reality that could be examined by the following thematic and linguistic structures (**Figure 2**):

**Figure 2.** Categories of analysis.

The research is based on a personalized design of investigation and takes into account both subjective and objective data. Beyond the review of the literature in the fieldwork, this approach has been conducted in terms of longitudinal study over time within the University of Bucharest during the period between 2008 and 2017. The stages of the research could be

• The research itself (from 2010 to 2012) when the respondents were teachers, psychologists,

Because of the supercomplexity of the research, the target population was involved in realistic, relevant, and explicit tasks. For example, over time, the tasks were focused on various situations [2]: recognizing the case study; reflecting on the case study; reporting the case study; assessing (measuring) the case study; solving the case study; selecting a case study from the Romanian press; comparing case studies (from different levels of education, from different cultures, from different thinking school or trends in the field, etc.); delineating the principles of case studies; evidencing practices; identifying case study applications (in education, in social sciences, in neuropsychology, etc.); giving specific examples; and clarifying

Apart from the analysis of the studies published as a result of the investigation, this paper examines the data collected in the confirmatory stage of the research. Equally problematic as the demands of the approach were the nature and the extent of the investigation beyond the academy. It is about the SOPHRD/87/1.3/s/63906 project on learning issues. This wording critically presents the qualitative materials collected in the project in order to cover the requirements according to case study. The target population consists of 300 students in teachers training, and 446 teachers, psychologists, and school counselors who were invited to report case studies on the topic of learning in accordance with personal experience. The objectives of

• To explore the Romanian culture of case study about learning issues (ethnographic part of

• To examine the typical features of the data collected (psychological level of the investigation). From the 446 participants in the project, 400 narratives were collected from the answers; 360 case studies were selected in terms of the topic. Only 300 narrative exercises are considered "master narratives" and are measured in a scientific way. From 300 students in teacher training were collected 290 narratives, and 200 were considered scientific discourses. As a consequence of these explicit requirements or theoretical considerations, the findings are literally

There is a Romanian educational reality that could be examined by the following thematic

the investigation in order to clarify the culture of Romanian case study);

based on 500 descriptions of the learning discontinuities in schools.

• The pretesting stage (from 2008 to 2009) using students as target population;

• The pilot research (from 2009 to 2010) using students as target population;

• The stage of test-retest (from 2012 to 2017) using students as participants.

school counselors, and students from the University of Bucharest;

214 New Pedagogical Challenges in the 21st Century - Contributions of Research in Education

delineated by the followings steps:

implications.

the research are as follows:

and linguistic structures (**Figure 2**):

In terms of ethnographic research, the collected narratives offer a "natural" manner to look at the Romanian learning problems. The findings could be interpreted according to the following typical discourses; each type of situation is illustrated by a significant example:

(a) Personal or individual case study

"B. I. is a student in the fifth grade, is part of a family with reduced material possibilities. The parents do not have stable jobs, and the family income is represented by the grandfather's pension and by the children's allowances. (B. I. has a brother in the first grade in the same school.) He is diagnosed with ADHD by the psychiatrist; his intellect is at the limits of normalcy, has low interest toward school activities; he has not promoted in Romanian and in French classes on the first semester."

This discourse details the aspects relating to the socioeconomic environment of the student's family, the family structure, and typology. The highlight of the parameters from the perspective of a psychological and educational process give consistency to the case portrayed. It is a narrative about the individual case of B.

#### (b) Case study as a story

"A 11-year-old student, comes from an orphanage (the children's home). Departing alone from school, unattended, and neglected (he does not do the homework). Mother visits him from time to time (at the beginning of the school year, at the end of the semester, and at the end of the school year) arrives late to classes, often is not prepared for lessons; has no writing instruments, books, and exercise books. He is encouraged by his colleagues to learn, to play together but without any echo from his part. Many times, he is given as a negative example by the teachers, because he does not do the homework."

Narrative descriptions are based on the dissociation of the core features of the weak student from the vantage point of learning; the wordings are adding psychological delineations

Case Studies as Unconventional Meanings http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.70247 217

• the parents of the student are not involved in the activity of the child or the parents' educational constraints appear manifested by unrealistic requirements that causes demotivation; • (the student) has negative relationships—in family, in school, and from the vantage point

of social perspective, in general—which generates labeling of the student;

• disturbed constantly working overtime because he does not understand;

• from the economic perspective, the conditions of the family are around average;

• the whole educational activity of the student is at surface, inconsistent, and poor."

The writing correlates the motivational aspects of the case with relationship, environmental, and performance issues of a Romanian prototype. Some of the research participants associate the task with the portrayal of a weak student in learning, which could be considered a routinized or "soft" view. The wording is comparable with any of the similar case study presented

• choosing to evidence himself by negative activities or by dezaptative modes (e.g., smoke);

The wording includes two parts: the first part details the profile of the student, while the second part outlines the features as a result of generalizations. In terms of personality, it is delineated

strictly in each sentence. (e) Reconsidering the task "Weak student in learning:

• is low motivated intrinsically;

• the parents are divorced or separated;

in the global literature in the fieldwork.

• defies the teaching framework;

• develops family conflicts;

• low extrinsic motivation;

• lacking self-confidence;

• disorderly behavior;

• "is absent;

(f) Semiotics as a result of previous generalizations

The student with low performances in learning:

• seeking justifications and guilty for his failure;

• trying to impose by force or by power in front of colleagues;

• manifesting the need of affection and valorization."

#### (c) Case study as a problem to solve

"The case study is about a student in the fifth grade in danger to have to repeat the fifth grade. At birth, he was abandoned by his mother—who was then 18-year-old—and his father is not known. He was taken into care by a lady who knew his natural mother. Subsequently, she christened the boy, becoming his godmother. The boy has been educated by his godmother and her husband. It is necessary to mention that his godmother and godfather never had children and were quite old when they got him. They try to offer the boy everything. He meets the natural mother, but he refuses any relationship.

The boy is overweight, and when he entered the school, he became the target of offenses from the part of classmates; sometimes, even from the part of the teacher. In the second semester of the fourth grade, he has been moved from his class to another class because he refused to activate in the same collective. He was emotionally affected, offended, and marginalized. In the fifth grade, his godfather died, and he was supervised and educated only by the godmother. Shortly, he became violent: he hit a colleague with a chair in her head and used violent language with the teachers.

Now, after the event, he refuses to come to school and his godmother is saying that he should not do that and not knowing what to do. The boy stays at the computer all day and does not care about anything."

Compared to most of the collected narratives, this case study is different because it offers a history of the problem and delimits the causal relationships.

(d) Case study as general considerations on the topic

"(The case or the student) might be


Narrative descriptions are based on the dissociation of the core features of the weak student from the vantage point of learning; the wordings are adding psychological delineations strictly in each sentence.

(e) Reconsidering the task

(b) Case study as a story

by the teachers, because he does not do the homework."

216 New Pedagogical Challenges in the 21st Century - Contributions of Research in Education

the natural mother, but he refuses any relationship.

history of the problem and delimits the causal relationships.

• extremely selective because he learns only subjects that she/he likes;

(d) Case study as general considerations on the topic

prizes obtained from a concern for artistic order);

learning and is not able to solve the learning problem;

• a student with an upside down value system."

used violent language with the teachers.

"(The case or the student) might be

care about anything."

ment [5];

(c) Case study as a problem to solve

"A 11-year-old student, comes from an orphanage (the children's home). Departing alone from school, unattended, and neglected (he does not do the homework). Mother visits him from time to time (at the beginning of the school year, at the end of the semester, and at the end of the school year) arrives late to classes, often is not prepared for lessons; has no writing instruments, books, and exercise books. He is encouraged by his colleagues to learn, to play together but without any echo from his part. Many times, he is given as a negative example

"The case study is about a student in the fifth grade in danger to have to repeat the fifth grade. At birth, he was abandoned by his mother—who was then 18-year-old—and his father is not known. He was taken into care by a lady who knew his natural mother. Subsequently, she christened the boy, becoming his godmother. The boy has been educated by his godmother and her husband. It is necessary to mention that his godmother and godfather never had children and were quite old when they got him. They try to offer the boy everything. He meets

The boy is overweight, and when he entered the school, he became the target of offenses from the part of classmates; sometimes, even from the part of the teacher. In the second semester of the fourth grade, he has been moved from his class to another class because he refused to activate in the same collective. He was emotionally affected, offended, and marginalized. In the fifth grade, his godfather died, and he was supervised and educated only by the godmother. Shortly, he became violent: he hit a colleague with a chair in her head and

Now, after the event, he refuses to come to school and his godmother is saying that he should not do that and not knowing what to do. The boy stays at the computer all day and does not

Compared to most of the collected narratives, this case study is different because it offers a

• low interest toward school (maybe it is about other rewarding mechanisms; for example,

• a child going through a family trauma, which remains unknown for the school environ-

• maybe it is about a child who was not taught to learn and face a particular difficulty of

"Weak student in learning:


The writing correlates the motivational aspects of the case with relationship, environmental, and performance issues of a Romanian prototype. Some of the research participants associate the task with the portrayal of a weak student in learning, which could be considered a routinized or "soft" view. The wording is comparable with any of the similar case study presented in the global literature in the fieldwork.

(f) Semiotics as a result of previous generalizations

The student with low performances in learning:


The wording includes two parts: the first part details the profile of the student, while the second part outlines the features as a result of generalizations. In terms of personality, it is delineated as a contradictory image: assertive or unassertive, extrovert or introverted, educated, or ignorant student. The consequence is the fact that there are very numerous cases in schools. The dichotomic structure acquires a whole dimension by connecting various cognitive genres of the narrative: cognition, social cognition, moral cognition, and meta-cognition.

From the vantage points of linguistic and semiotics, the narrative is structured in the form of seen traits; in terms of educational and psychological perspectives of the portrait as a whole.

Case Studies as Unconventional Meanings http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.70247 219

"An Egyptian student aged 12 years was physically assaulted by a teacher because the student was not doing the homework at home. Aggression has resulted in the death of the student. The Ministry of Education from Egypt decided that the school located in the neighborhood of Cairo must close until the completion of the case. It is necessary to mention that the regrettable event took place on the 5 March, and the pupil's death occurred on the 8 March… The case is inextricably tied to race violence… It is known that people who live in a violent envi-

"I choose this case because it has created a situation that tends to become a habit to a certain

Unfortunately, the Romanian schools can be divided into two categories: (1) very good schools and (2) very poor schools. In the second category, the most important cases are those of violence which, even if they differ from one from another, are about the same causes.

In the present case selected, two students from a high school listen to music during the math-

• because the school is currently talking about the students' rights without detailing the stu-

The wording is focused on explanations; the case identity consists in explicit sentences about

The critical exegesis of the multiple case studies is based on the key features of the case study. The most important areas of case study are grouped into classes or categories by

The case is connected to the state conflicts in entire Egypt and to behavior theories.

(i) Cases selected from the foreign educational systems

ronment most often adopt an aggressive behavior."

(j) Case study as a narrative explanation

category of schools in tertiary education.

ematics class. Such cases have multiple causes:

• the absence of communication between parents and their children,

• the promotion of negative patterns in society (the model of dishonesty),

• lack of interest from the student and parents toward learning,

• lack of education on the part of parents,

• the educational deficiencies of students,

• strength of reality and repeatable problems;

• "hard data" and impressionistic data.

• attractive metaphor and scientific description;

dents' obligations."

the situation—problem.

exploring between:

(g) Personalization of case study

"George is a student in the fifth grade, coming from an authoritarian teacher that managed the classroom all the time. In this class, apart from the primary school, George works with many teachers and sometimes he does not understand the tasks. During the classes, he plays with personal objects and disturbs the colleagues. He is helped by a school counselor that explains to him the rules and the discipline requirements. At home, he is establishing for himself the rules and the program, but he does not assume the workloads in school or at home. He becomes attentive and cooperative only if his mother is called… George needs permanent control."

This narrative is a mini essay in which the causes to learning deficiencies, daily problems, and exceptional circumstances are presented. The end of the case adds a conclusion, an educational diagnosis, and a suggestion for the student' educational therapy.

(h) Example of wording on the learning problems

"The student that has learning deficiencies:


From the vantage points of linguistic and semiotics, the narrative is structured in the form of seen traits; in terms of educational and psychological perspectives of the portrait as a whole.

(i) Cases selected from the foreign educational systems

"An Egyptian student aged 12 years was physically assaulted by a teacher because the student was not doing the homework at home. Aggression has resulted in the death of the student. The Ministry of Education from Egypt decided that the school located in the neighborhood of Cairo must close until the completion of the case. It is necessary to mention that the regrettable event took place on the 5 March, and the pupil's death occurred on the 8 March… The case is inextricably tied to race violence… It is known that people who live in a violent environment most often adopt an aggressive behavior."

The case is connected to the state conflicts in entire Egypt and to behavior theories.

(j) Case study as a narrative explanation

as a contradictory image: assertive or unassertive, extrovert or introverted, educated, or ignorant student. The consequence is the fact that there are very numerous cases in schools. The dichotomic structure acquires a whole dimension by connecting various cognitive genres of the

"George is a student in the fifth grade, coming from an authoritarian teacher that managed the classroom all the time. In this class, apart from the primary school, George works with many teachers and sometimes he does not understand the tasks. During the classes, he plays with personal objects and disturbs the colleagues. He is helped by a school counselor that explains to him the rules and the discipline requirements. At home, he is establishing for himself the rules and the program, but he does not assume the workloads in school or at home. He becomes attentive and cooperative only if his mother is called… George needs permanent control."

This narrative is a mini essay in which the causes to learning deficiencies, daily problems, and exceptional circumstances are presented. The end of the case adds a conclusion, an educa-

• comes from a family where relationships are in trouble and parents do not encourage the

• the claims of the parents are exaggerated or the parents are indifferent to the style of educa-

• (the student) is part of a group in which the beliefs and the principles are in disagreement

• (the student) is in need of understanding the topic and educational support all the time;

• (the student) can have difficulties of understanding the educational content;

• (the student) is contaminated by the negative cultural models;

• (the student) has cognitive gaps and fluctuations of attention;

• in the classroom, the child might be marginalized or stigmatized."

narrative: cognition, social cognition, moral cognition, and meta-cognition.

218 New Pedagogical Challenges in the 21st Century - Contributions of Research in Education

tional diagnosis, and a suggestion for the student' educational therapy.

(h) Example of wording on the learning problems

• is constantly bothering hours or is always dutiful;

• has poor social relationships or develops conflicts;

tion and toward the outcomes of the student;

• (the student) has no motivation toward learning;

with the education and personal development;

• (the student) needs affective attention;

• the behaviors could be outside social rules;

"The student that has learning deficiencies:

child to learn effectively;

(g) Personalization of case study

"I choose this case because it has created a situation that tends to become a habit to a certain category of schools in tertiary education.

Unfortunately, the Romanian schools can be divided into two categories: (1) very good schools and (2) very poor schools. In the second category, the most important cases are those of violence which, even if they differ from one from another, are about the same causes.

In the present case selected, two students from a high school listen to music during the mathematics class. Such cases have multiple causes:


The wording is focused on explanations; the case identity consists in explicit sentences about the situation—problem.

The critical exegesis of the multiple case studies is based on the key features of the case study. The most important areas of case study are grouped into classes or categories by exploring between:

