Using Constructivist Grounded Theory in a study of the career aspirations of children from diverse backgrounds in Ireland

Ireland's general and schooling populations significantly diversified since the 1990s, but the teaching population has remained strikingly homogenous, consisting predominantly of those from majority ethnic and higher social class backgrounds. While diversifying the teaching profession has become an important aspect of national education policy, we know little about children's and young people's reasons for considering (or not) various careers, including teaching. The study upon which this chapter draws employs Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) to develop a substantive theory about the experiences and perspectives of senior primary school pupils from diverse social class backgrounds about their higher education and career aspirations, particularly in relation to teaching. Working with two different primary schools, the study engaged 47 pupils aged 10-13 from diverse social class and ethnic backgrounds using focus groups and individual interviews over several rounds of data generation and analysis. This chapter explores how the study's research design aligns with constructivist principles, focusing on issues of researcher positionality and critical reflexivity and how a participatory approach to meaningfully involve the children in the development of the study was embedded.