Duplicating
and Analyzing a Case Study
Appraising
the problem situation:
What is being dealt with? What is the object of the conflict? Who is
involved? How did the conflict start? How is it described in the case
study? What information is missing? etc.
Further study at the information level: What additional information
is required to understand the case? How can it be sourced?
Map approach: What approach did the protagonists described in the
case study take? What deliberations influenced them? What concrete steps
can be identified?
Determining phases: Can various phases (or sections) be presented
separately in the description? How can these phases be transposed?
Power relations: Which parties are involved in the conflict? Which
groups provide them with support? How is the attitude of the media and the
public to be evaluated? (see
Energy Field Analysis)
Values
and norms: Which
values and norms are expressed through the action taken? What are these
founded upon, and how are they legitimized.
Developing alternatives: What alternatives to the problem
represented were developed? What other alternatives come into question?
What do you estimate the chance of realizing these alternatives to be?
Ability to generalize: Which aspects of the approach and the
experiences made can be generalized? What experiences can be made from
dealing with conflicts?
Interpreting reality: Visualize the description as already
representing an interpretation, and not the whole of reality.
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Case
Study as the Object of Conflict Analysis
In
order to work out constructive solutions to conflicts, they first need to be
analyzed with regard to their basic forms, contours and escalatory stages.
It is not only possible to initially understand the conflict against this
background, but also possible to find alternative solutions. Ulrike C.
Wasmuth has developed a series of model questions for this
(see Analytical Raster).
Role-Playing
Case Studies
Each
case study contains a variety of concrete (key) scenes which are suitable as
a model for role-playing. Role-playing is considered to be one of the
methods through which personal experiences can be made in the group by of
acting and reacting. Due to the experiences made concerning attitudes and
personal behavior, individuals encounter the problem as being important in
itself. Social learning becomes possible through role-playing, i.e. learning
from how attitudes and ways of acting can be changed. Reality is simulated
in an informal atmosphere and situations are acted out without any
consequences in reality. Role-playing can contribute towards,
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Developing
the ability to observe and social perception skills; |
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Representing
and analyzing conflicts in the group and in other areas of life; |
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Rehearsing
other forms of
behavior; |
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Becoming
aware of the socio-political context of individually experienced problems.
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Case
Studies as a Rehearsal for Making Decisions
The
conflicting situations clarified in the case studies can be discussed by
small groups in the form of scenarios. A general problem is presented in the
form of an actual case in one scenario and then analyzed by asking specific
questions. The analysis takes the form of a group discussion. The group
provides answers to the questions after a set period of time and provides
information about their deliberations and their justification for these. The
answers are then compared in the plenum. |
