Implications of conducting naturalistic research in multiple sites

A curriculum initiative project was implemented in four schools in Singapore over a span of five to six weeks during 2004. The project employed a number of different schools: girls only, boys only and co-educational schools; different levels of performance in a graded situation; multiple teachers and classes within each site; and control and experimental conditions for the curriculum implementation. The diverse schools offered an opportunity to examine the implications of conducting naturalistic research with some features of action research on a curriculum initiative in multiple sites. Though there were also departures or adaptations made to some characteristics of classical action research, many of the fundamental characteristics of an action research were followed during the project. There was also an opportunity to study the benefits and challenges of conducting multiple site case studies in naturalistic research.