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Sociological Practice: A Journal of Clinical and Applied Sociology, Vol. 4, No. 2,June 2002 (C2002)

Ah Ha . . . Learning: Using Cases and Case Studiesto Teach Sociological Insights and Skills

Josephine A. Ruggiero1

Grounded in a thorough review of the relevant sociological and cross-disciplinary literature, the author makes a case for the value of using cases(also known as decision cases) and case studies in teaching undergraduate

sociology students. Herthesis is that cases and case studies are under utilizedteaching-learning tools in sociology courses at all levels. Cases and case stud-ies can be especially relevant in practice and application-oriented courses andclasses. The literature indicates that students who use sociological insights andtools to frame and analyze real-life dilemmas and situations develop a clearer

grasp of concepts, theories, and practice issues as well as learn/enhance criti-cal thinking, analytical, and evaluation skills. Although this article focuses on

students as the targeted audience, practitioners can also use both cases andcase studies in training or working with clients.

KEY WORDS: cases; decision cases; case-study method; sociology; teaching tools.

INTRODUCTION

What do you remember most from your undergraduate and graduatecourses? If you were like me, you probably remember statements, ideas,points of view, and research decisions that you thought were surprising,perhaps outrageous, but, at the same time, challenging and enlightening. Iam talking about the Ah ha, I get it kind of learning that happened whenyou were immersed in situations and experiences which were either similarto, or very different from, the ones you faced.

Fast forward to the present. Where has lifes turns and twists brought you

as a professional? Are you a full-time practitioner? A full-time academician?

1Department of Sociology at Providence College,Providence,Rhode Island 02918-0001;e-mail:[email protected].

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Or involved in both practice and teaching? Since many of us are engaged in acombination of teaching and applied or clinical work, the focus of this articleis on using cases and case studies to teach, or train, others. The thesis explored

here is that cases and case studies are potentially rich, but underutilized,teaching-learning tools in sociology courses at the undergraduate as well asthe graduate levels.

Casesandcasestudiescanalsobepowerfulaidsindoingclinicalorotherpractice work. Both can be used in training professionals in fields such as,for example, education, publicadministration, management, medicine, socialwork, and other helping occupations. Cases can also be an engaging wayto help clients see issues and concerns in a different way and to imagineand evaluate the feasibility of possible solutions.

Through verstehen, outsiders become insiders for a while. By learninghow to suspend judgments and to recognize personal biases, insiders learnhow to view situations as an outsider might. As converts to sociology havediscovered, the excitement of studying issues sociologically lies in gettingbeneath the surface of what appears to be in order to find out what is reallyis going on in a particular situation. The excitement of studying and usingsociology is about adding to our stock of ah ha learning about our socialworld and our place in it. Exposure to cases and case studies is an engagingway for instructors to help students to develop ah ha learning.

CASES

Imagine this . . . A student at an inner-city high school wants desperatelyto go to college but he feels pressured and trapped by the problems heencounters daily: drugs and the threat of escalating violence in his schooland neighborhood. How can he stay on the right track when so much ofwhat is going on around him is leading him in the other direction? A childin middle school is the object of bullying on the school bus. She is viewed asdifferent because she is both foreign-born and adopted. What should shedo about the bully?

The two scenarios described above are examples of problems aroundwhich cases can be designed. In addition to posing a question about whatthe actors should or could do in each of these situations, instructors or prac-titioners who use cases need to focus the students or clients attention onraising and answering other important questions such as: How is the actorschoice of actions linked to, or constrained by, the social structures of schools,of communities, and of the larger society? How are actions taken at differentlevels linked? That is, how might responses by others affect the success orfailure of an individuals choice of actions?


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What Are Cases?

Cases are short, realistic, action-oriented, . . . story-like accounts . . .

designed to raise issues (Hutchings 1993, p. 14). The actor, or actors, in thecase face a problem or conflict which requires a solution. Possible solutionsmay require a response at one, or more, levelindividual, group, organiza-tional, or communal. Because the dilemma which the actor faces does nothave a simple, clear-cut solution, controversy arises as students or clientsconsider and discuss possibilities. Thus, cases should have enough ambiguityto generate lively discussion (Christensen and Hansen 1987).

How Can Cases Be Used?

Teaching Objectives

Cases can be used to engage students in active learning about the com-plexities of relationships, about the various dimensions of a social situation,and about the diverse social, cultural, and other factors which may affect de-cision making. Students use course-relevant ideas and explanations to framethe case problem, to analyze it, and to explain its causes. In addition, they

may be expected to develop feasible interventions and to evaluate the prob-able success of the interventions they propose, using contextual and othervariables in a meaningful way.

Versatility

There are many ways in which cases can be used to encourage andpromote a ha learning. For example, an instructor may organize a wholecourse around a series of cases. Or, she/he may introduce a few cases as oneof several ways to generate student interest and stimulate greater studentinvolvement in discussion.

Cases may be assigned to individual students, two-person teams, or tosmall groups of students. Assigning cases to teams or small groups of studentspromotes opportunities for collaborative learning at more than one level.Through their interactions, students have an opportunity to bounce ideas offtheir partner(s) and to learn about the viewpoints of others. When teams orsmall groups are diverse in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, or social class,the interaction and learning become sociological on a deeper level.

The instructor may ask students to develop a plausible scenario whichillustrates a particular set of principles, theoretical perspectives, applica-tions, or other learning objective. If a case includes different characters,


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the instructor may also ask students to role play the characters in the case.Instructors who develop their own repertoire of cases should expect to refinethe cases they use through feedback from students.

Cases can be used at all levels of student sophistication, from those tak-ing a first course in sociology to majors in advanced courses. Cases can workwell in substantive as well as in theoretical and practice-oriented curriculaand in both small and large classes.

In Which Disciplines and Courses Have Cases Been Used?

Outside the Social Sciences

Using cases as a teaching tool has a long history in the fields of teachereducation (Kagan 1993) and in the training of business students (Merseth1991). Cases are commonly used as a central instructional method in manyother fields including education administration, social work, medicine, nurs-ing, and engineering (Nilson 1998; Silverman and Welty 1995). Miller (1987)adds law to this list. Nilson (1998, p. 120) also points out that cases havebeen used in teaching pastoral studies, engineering, philosophy (e.g., ethicscourses), music history, biology, chemistry, and ecology. Cases have been

used in training faculty andTeaching Assistants how to trouble shoot prob-lems which might arise in classes or with individual students (Nilson 1998).

In the Social Sciences

Cases have been used in courses in political science, economics, andpsychology (Nilson 1998). Political scientists have used the case method(Winston 2000) and case studies (Jensen and Rogers 2001) in teaching publicadministration, policy analysis, constitutional law, and in the senior seminar(Mason 2001). Psychologists have incorporated cases into courses in clinicalpsychology, abnormal behavior, and organizational behavior (Nilson 1998).

Articles about using cases in sociology courses began to appear inTeaching Sociology in the early 1980s. A review of the periodical litera-ture indicates that sociologists have used cases in teaching undergraduatesabout applied sociology as ethical practice (Green and Salem 1983), the

family (LaRossa 1984), complex organizations (Miller 1987), political so-ciology (Miller 1987), industrial sociology (Baxter 1988), medical sociology(Pescosolido 1990), theoretical criminology(Quinn et al. 1992; Williams et al.1995), and stratification (Shope and Singer 1996). Lurie and Ovrebo (1995)report using cases in teaching a graduate course in evaluation research.


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Sociologists have used cases to teach students in intermediate andadvanced courses how to examine the logic and validity of sociologicalarguments (Fredericks and Miller 1985), understand the applied/practical

relevance of sociological theories to intervention strategies, how groundedtheory is derived, and as an aid in conceptual analysis and in developingcritical thinking skills (Fredericks and Miller 1987). With the publication ofSociology in Action, Cases for Critical and Sociological Thinking (Hatchen2001a), the use and availability of cases has expanded to the IntroductorySociology level.

What Is the Consensus About the Value of Cases as a Teaching Tool?

The cross-disciplinary literature indicates that instructors who haveused cases consider them to be valuable mechanisms through which active,insightful learning can take place (Cornely 1998; Herreid 1994; Hutchings1993; Kagan 1993; Merseth 1991; Pescosolido 1990; Shulman 1991; Silvermanand Welty 1995; Wilkinson 1993). Cliff and Wright (1996, p. 19) state thatcases help students to deepen and solidify their understanding of. . . specificfacts, concepts and principles. Wilkinson (1993, p. 52) points out that casesallow students to immerse themselves in complex and challenging issues.

Nilson (1998) views cases as providing opportunities for students to learnabout issues and problems which they may not have personally experienced.

Sociologists who have used cases concur with educators in other dis-ciplines: Using cases as a teaching-learning tool produces positive learningoutcomes. Although much of the evidence on which this conclusion is basedappears to be anecdotal, Williams et al. (1995, p. 411) report obtaining evi-dence of both a qualitative and a quantitative nature in support of the con-clusion that using cases produced successful results in their classes . Theirqualitative indicators included informal comments from students about their

higher level of interest, sustained attention, and enthusiasm. Their quan-titative measure was a 21-item questionnaire designed to assess studentsunderstanding of criminology theory. Williams et al. (1995, p. 411) used thequestionnaire on a matched sample of 54 students before and after they tookthe course and report finding . . . significant increases in their knowledge ofbasic concepts of theoretical criminology.

What Insights and Skills Can Cases Foster?

Analyzing cases can be a powerful mechanism through which studentscan develop insights and skills which can be especially useful in the practiceof sociology. It is clear to this author that cases can provide a context through


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which students learn to

identify goals,

set priorities, develop feasible strategies for change based on their analyses of situ-ations and/or problems,

trouble shoot the likelihood of high, moderate, or low success of theintervention(s) they propose,

identify the major intended and unintended consequences which mayflow from the proposed intervention(s).

According to the literature, valuable insights and skills include

using the sociological imagination to examine and understand issues(Pescosolido 1990), learning how to use structural rather than individualistic explanations

to make sense of situations and relationships (Williams et al. 1995), learning how to solve problems within an uncertain, risk-laden en-

vironment (Nilson 1998, p. 119), developing higher-order critical thinking skills such as reflection,

analysis, synthesis, application, and evaluation (Pescosolido 1990;Williams et al. 1995),

comparing and contrasting different theories, assessing each theorysstrengths and weaknesses, applying theories to particular examples,understanding the relevance of theory to practice/policy efforts in anarea, and learning how to think inductively, that is, gain experiencein developing grounded theory, as well as deductively (Williams et al.1995),

integrating the connections among various social science disciplinesin regard to theoretical and practical concerns (Shope and Singer1996).

Where Can One Find Examples of Cases and Sources of Case Ideas?

Tested and refined examples are available, both in printed form andon-line. Some of the authors cited in this artricle include examples of casesin their articles. Shope and Singer (1996) provide three cases which deal withglobal inequality. Pescosolido (1990) identifies examples of films she uses ascases to teach students about various aspects related to illness, death, anddying. Silverman and Welty (1990) describe and discuss a case involving astudent who challenges a grade. In addition to offering a detailed frameworkand rationale for using the case approach in teaching theoretical criminology,Quinn et al. (1992) illustrate how their framework can be used to analyze a


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case. The case example they discuss focuses on Charles Whitman, the serialkiller.

Hatchen (2001a) includes 18 decision cases and the sociological frame-

work which he developed. His framework orients students to

see the social connections which exist among the actors in the con-troversy or dilemma around which the case scenario centers,

look at the situation or problem from multiple theoreticalperspectives,

decode the culture which is embedded in the situation so that theycan understand each actors point of view,

uncover the inequalities and power differentials based on class, race,

and gender and examine how these variables influence or constrainactors abilities to pursue their interests, consider social change by imagining futuresand identifying the driv-

ing forces behind different alternative futures (p. xviii).

Hatchen (2001b, pp. 99101) also identifies and annotates 11 web sitesand case databases which are available on-line. Many of these sites are rele-vant across disciplines. Hatchen includes his own web site among them:http://www.nd.edu/dhatchen/cases/.

Ideas for writing cases may come from a personal experience or from

articlesorastoryinthenews.Articlesfrompopularsourcescanbeadaptedtoprovide scenarios about timely issues which are ripe for sociological analysisand a consideration of possible solutions.

ISSUES IN DESIGNING CASES

What Are the Characteristics of a Good Case?

Educators who have developed and used cases across disciplines agreethat a goodcase has certain important features. A good case

tells a focused story, is based on reality, or is at least believable, contains specific contextual information including (some) back-

ground, characters, and a particular institutional setting (Silvermanand Welty 1995),

is brief and to the point (Hatchen 2001b, p. 18), has an element of uncertainty and risk (Nilson 1998, p. 120), ends with a need for a decision, engages the reader at both the intellectual and emotional levels

(Hatchen 2001b).


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Good cases are usually prospective. However, Hatchen (2001b) indi-cates that they can also be retrospective. Hatchen (2001b) believes thatcases are more likely to engage students if they regard the narrative as be-

lievable and can imagine the problem happening to them. I contend that agood case may also focus on a problem which readers have notexperiencedor could not even imagine experiencing themselves. They know, however,that, for someone else, this dilemma is very real. I am referring here to prob-lems experienced by actors of a different social class, race, gender, or age.For example, what is it like to be a child living in an impoverished neighbor-hood and attending a deteriorated school which has few resources? What isit like to be a homeless person or a child in a family which has lost its home?Analyzing cases built around the experiences and dilemmas of marginal and

powerless segments of society can help students to experience vicariously,to some degree, situations at both an intellectual and emotional level.

Are There Any Common Components to Consider in Designing

Good Cases?

In discussing how cases should be structured, educational specialistsSilverman and Welty (1995) claim that the two key components of a case are

Analysis and Action. The Analysis portion includes:

identifying the facts: Who are the characters? What is their relation-ship? What is the chronology of events?

identifying the problems/issues: How can the reader look at the factsin a way or ways which help(s) him/her to understand the problem(s)?and

taking a perspective on the problem(s)/issue(s).

The Action component involves:

proposing solutions: What are the range of possible actions? Whatshould be done? and

evaluating the solutions: What are the risks versus the benefits of eachproposed solution? What would happen if. . .?

Hatchen (2001b) offers suggestions about how to create engaging cases. Headvises

beginning the case with action rather than description, usingconversationsbetweenthemainactorandothers,notjustaction, helping readers imagine what they would experience if they were in

the situation,


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creating vivid images of the setting as well as of the characters.What would readers see, feel, hear, or smell, if they were in thesituation?

having the actors express their reaction to the dilemma they face onan emotional level. Are they frightened, sad, amused, and so on?

using a confiding conversation between the principal actorand a confidant as a way to show the actors thoughts, recollections,or ruminations about possible courses of action. Actors can also beengaged in a stream of consciousness or a conversation withthemselves.

What makes cases designed for sociology students unique, I believe,

is that well-written cases provide enough background to enable studentsto (1) link the actors dilemma with the context in which a decision will bemade and (2) take into account thesocial forces which affect actor(s) choices.Instructors can adapt the Analysis component described by Silverman andWelty (1995) to sociology by helping students to frame the actors problem byusing the sociological perspective and the sociological imagination as lensesthrough which to analyze the actors problem. TheAction component wouldthen be geared toward getting students to identify and evaluate possibleinterventions.

What Are the Objectives in Using Cases?

Instructors who design their own cases need to decide what they wantthe cases to illustrate and how they can best put together a case which willmeet their objective(s). The questions below are offered as a guide.

Relevance to Course Objectives? How does using one or more cases in thiscourse fit your course objectives? What concepts, theories, practice prin-ciple(s) and/or issue(s) do you expect students to learn about by analyzingand discussing a particular case?

Level(s) of Analysis? At what level(s) of analysis will the case focus? Willit deal with a micro issue (e.g., a family problem), a meso issue (e.g.,an organizational, community, or statewide dilemma), or a macro-levelproblem (e.g., an issue of societal or global importance)? Solutions mayneed to be proposed at more than one level.

Real Versus Realistic? Will the case be based on a real situation or factualissue, be a composite of two or more real situations or experiences, orconsist of an authentic-sounding but hypothetical situation or experiencecreated to allow students to draw conclusions about specific issues andapply certain sociological principles?


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Presentation Format? What format will best meet your teaching objectives?Usually cases are presented in written form. However, they may also bevisual: dramatized on videotape or in the form of a motion picture, or

interactive, on CD-ROM (Nilson 1998).Length? How long will the case be? Cases may vary in length and amount

of detail from a paragraph or two to a small monograph.Ethical Component? Will an ethical dimension be incorporated into cases

and course content? That is, will students be given guidelines against whichthey will measure the appropriateness or impropriety of the actions andinterventions they propose.

I use the case scenario described below in my final exam in SocialChange. The problem which needs to be addressed might be the basis ofeither a case or a case study. The scenario places the student in the role ofthe principal actor who needs to solve a clients problem. My objective isto provide an opportunity for students to integrate and apply the principlesand strategies they have learned in the last section of the course. The level ofanalysis is organizational but other levelsthe individual and the commu-nity, for example, need to also be considered. The scenario is realistic, brief,and encourages students to consider both practical and ethical constraints

in developing their strategies.Consider the following scenario: The Vice President of Human

Resources of a company of 250 employees contacts you about a prob-lem the company is experiencing. She is interested in hiring you as a con-sultant to develop a strategy to improve workers morale. This companyhas a top-to-bottom flow of information and directives. Decisions aremade without getting feedback from middle-level managers or from em-ployees. You know that several upper-level managers will oppose anystrategy which seems too radical or too costly. At the same time, theyrecognize that employees dissatisfaction has resulted in significant turn-over of talented employees and increased absenteeism among some ofthe employees who remain, leading to reduced efficiency and loss ofprofits.

Questions: How will you define the scope (major aspects) of your roleas a change agent in this situation? What strategies and variables would bebest suited to promote change in this organization? What are the princi-pal advantages and disadvantages of using particular strategies? How willyou motivate the various constituencies in the organization to implementthe changes you propose? What practical and ethical issues might arise inimplementing the proposed changes?


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CASE STUDIES

What iftwo researchers decide to study drug dealers and drug smugglers

by becoming peripheral members of the dealers and smugglers socialscene (Adler 1985).

Questions: How far can, or should, they go in gathering their data?What are the personal, legal, and ethical risks in doing this type of study?What other options are available to researchers who want to gather validand reliable data on drug dealers and smugglers or about members of othersubcultures viewed as deviant by the dominant society?

What Are Case Studies?

Case studies are detailed accounts of actual experiences in doing so-ciology. Case Studies generally vary in length from articles to books. Theyare typically written by professional sociologists. Some case studies are writ-ten by researchers who describe details and unanticipated directions theirproject took. Others may be written by practitioners who discuss how theyaddressed a problem or concern experienced by some group, organization,or community.

Case studies often contain a behind-the-scenes look at how the reality ofwhatunfoldedoncethesociologistgotinvolveddifferedfromhis/heroriginalplan, why, and with what effect. Unfortunately, there are many valuablelessons which have not been written up for any outside (non-client) audience,often because of proprietary reasons.

Sources of Case Studies and Ideas for Case Studies

Case studies written by sociologists for professional colleagues haveappeared in a number of books published between the mid 1960s and theearly 1980s. Examples include:

Sociologists at Work: Using a case study approach, Hammond (1964) chron-icled the research experiences of a number of well-known sociologists.These narratives identified issues which emerged and lessons learned, orconsequences which flowed from, their research.

The Uses of Sociology: Lazarsfeld et al. (1967) edited a comparable, butapplied-oriented, book which focused on case examples/essays by sociol-ogists who were actively using sociology in (1)professions such as the law,medicine, social welfare; (2) nonacademic settings including the military,


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educational, and public administration; and (3) addressing social problemsand planning; and in directing change.

Putting Sociology to Work: In this book, Shostak (1974) offers first-hand ac-

counts of how 24 application-oriented sociologists used sociological ideasin their work.

Social Research for Policy Decisions: Finsterbush and Bender Motz (1980)provide an insightful look at the complex relationship between socialresearch and social policy as the two connect, or do not connect, in thepolitical arena of real-world decision making. The authors include severalgood case study examples to illustrate their points.

Applied Sociology: Freeman et al. (1983) examined the status of appliedsociology into the early 1980s in a book which also offered the reader a

look at some of the roles and activities in which sociologists in variouswork settings engage.

More recent examples of case studies and field experiences can be foundin this journal and in its predecessor, The Clinical Sociology Review. Othersources of case studies have appeared in The Journal of Applied Sociology,and in Social Insight. However, as with the examples typically included in theabove books, case studies which appear in journals are written primarily forother sociologists, and perhaps graduate students, not for undergraduates.

Case studies reported in journals are also not written withteaching objectivesin mind.

More needs to be done to broaden the range of available case studies sothat they address not only issues in business and government but also mat-ters of importance regarding health, family, religion, education, and so on.More effort also needs to be directed toward writing student-friendly casestudies which can be used in undergraduate courses. Career profiles/pathsof sociologists may be used successfully in undergraduate sociology courseswhose objective is to inform students about the range of possibilities whichpeople with sociology training on various levelsfrom BA, to MA, to PhD,have chosen or created. Stephens work is one example of an available re-source about careers (Stephens 1998).

Sociologists can turn the experiences and insights they have gained frommonitoring and advising student interns or service-learning volunteers intocompelling case studies. For example, Carlson (2001) discusses how servicelearning can lead to social change on the grass-roots level. She notes thather involvement with students engaged in service learning has resulted in abagful of stories to tell about the lives of the homeless people they havemet.Materiallikethiscanbeadaptedforastudentaudience.DuBois(2001a)shares some of the interesting experiences he has had in applying sociologyto design effective social settings in nightclubs and bars. Du Bois (2001b)


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also describes how he used sociological insights to improve morale and buildpositive attitudes in a community following a crisis. These great examples canbe condensed and adapted for use in applied courses or application-oriented

segments of courses.

Two Strategies for Using Case Studies as TeachingLearning Tools

Case studies may be used in at least two ways. In the firststrategy, stu-dents read the case study or an excerpt from it. They describe the natureof the research, strategy, or intervention. Then they analyze and evaluatethe case study content in context, bringing in the time period, political, so-cial, and economic constraints, and so on. Finally, they decide whether and

what alternative choices to the ones discussed in the case study were possi-ble and what their likely consequences would be. This is the strategy I haveused in assigning case study materials to students in the Introductory Soci-ology course. An excerpt from Adlers research account makes an excellentreading assignment and a controversial case study (Adler 1985). I use herwork to raise questions about the ethical justification for studying individ-uals and groups engaged in deviant behavior by using a covert role as wellas about methodological, legal, physical, and psychological risks involved indoing research like hers. Since participant observation research about de-

viant groups has typically been done by men, Adlers account is all the moreinteresting because it allows students to see how a researchers gender, orrace, for example, may open or close doors to certain projects. Also reflectedin Adlers work is the serendipitous way in which research opportunities mayarise.

In the second strategy, the instructor orients students to the casesparameters by describing the problem(s) andconstraints (time, budget, otherresources, and so on) involved in a particular case study but notthe specificchoices the sociologist made. Students play the role of the social researcheror practitioner in this situation. They outline how they would approach solv-ing the problem and dealing with budgetary limitations and with other con-straints. Students can be asked to map out alternative scenarios for changeand to identify likely consequences of each scenario, both intended and un-intended. After students have presented and discussed their ideas in eithera small-group or class-wide discussion, they read the actual case study, orexcerpts from it, revealing what the researcher or practitioner actually didand with what effect(s). Using case studies in this way has several strengths:Students learn to sharpen their problem-solving skills, get practice in com-paring and contrasting their ideas and proposed interventions with thosedeveloped by other students as well as with the choices made by the re-searcher or practitioner.


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CONCLUSION

The cross-disciplinary literature on the use of cases as a teaching tool

points to a variety of consistently positive learning outcomes. Personal in-terviews which I conducted with colleagues who use cases in their under-graduate courses in the fields of education, accounting, social work, andbiochemistry at my institution also support this conclusion.

Despite the positive outcomes reported in the literature, cases appear tobe underutilized in many disciplines, including in sociology, relative to theireducational potential. However, using cases in sociology classes can helpstudents toframe issues using the sociological perspective, to design practicalapplications, and to develop and evaluate potential strategies for change.

Cases can assist instructors in laying the foundation for critical thinking andapplication skills early in students undergraduate careers so that we canbetter prepare future majors to participate actively and at higher levels inadvanced courses as well as to develop the kinds of thinking and problem-solving skills which employers seek.

Case studies can also provide a context in which students practicethinking critically about decision making and about the likely impacts ofdifferent decisions. Through exposure to the experiences of professionalsociologists, students can gain insights into the excitement and the chal-

lenges involved in doing sociology. What is it like to be a change agentwho works with residents of an inner-city neighborhood to design a com-munity center or who helps victims of a disaster to re-establish a senseof normalcy and rebuild their lives and communities? What are the chal-lenges and constraints encountered by a program evaluator hired to lookat the effectiveness of different early intervention programs for challengedchildren in a mid-sized city? What variables does an applied demographertake into account in order to design a potentially effective family plan-ning strategy for poor women in a developing country? How does anapplied criminologist come up with an effective strategy to help soon-to-be released, incarcerated women make an effective transition back intosociety?

By introducing students to some classic and contemporary examples ofsociologys uses, instructors can help them to understand where sociologyhas been influential in policy issues, what variables, in addition to socio-logical research, affect decision making, and to be optimistic about poten-tial for sociologists continuing involvement in change. Through using casesand case studies in creative teaching, not only will we enhance studentsah ha learning but we may also be able to attract more and better stu-dents into the major and more nonmajors into our upper-level sociologycourses.


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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author wishes to express her appreciation to two anonymous re-

viewers for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper. Thanksalso go to Stan Capela, and to colleagues at Providence College, JuneanKrajewski and Deborah Goessling (Education), Kathleen Cornely(Chemistry), Kathy Wilkicki (Accountancy), Marian Mattison and WilliamAllen (Social Work), who shared ideas and/or examples of cases/case studiesthey have used in their courses.

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Baxter, Vern. 1988. A Case-Study Method for Teaching Industrial Sociology. Teaching Soci-ology 16:2124.

Carlson, Barbara A. 2001. Creating Grassroots Change Through Service Learning. Pp. 193212 in Applying Sociology, edited by W. Du Bois and R. D. Wright. Boston: Allyn andBacon.

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Cliff, William H. and Anne W. Wright. 1996. Directed Case Method for Teaching HumanAnatomy and Physiology. Advances in Physical Education 15:1928.

Cornely, Kathleen. 1998. Use of Case Studies in an Undergraduate Biochemistry Course.Journal of Chemical Education 75:475478.

Du Bois, William R. 2001a. Design and Human Behavior: The Sociology of Architecture. Pp. 3045 in Applying Sociology, edited by W. R. DuBois and R. D. Wright. Boston: Allyn andBacon.

Du Bois, William R. 2001b. Transforming Community Attitudes and Morale. Pp. 4656 inApplying Sociology, edited by W. R. DuBois and R. D. Wright. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Finsterbush, Kurt and Annabelle Bender Motz. 1980. Social Research for Policy Decisions.Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.

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Case Studies Insights