Education
A gradual recovery of self- esteem. Slowly developing perception of intelligence and belief in intellectual ability.
Need to achieve professional qualification in order to help people and to provide financial security for mother and siblings.
1991- 3 Semi-Rural:
Zimbane (Outside Umtata, Transkei
Warmth, care and
encouragement of mother and siblings.
Work Experience: "Steers"
(waitress) for6 months. Sales Asst at florist for2.5years.
Applies for Physiotherapy in 1992. Access denied.
Reinforces failure.
perceptions of
1994 present
University of Durban Westville
Mother's death, June 1993
Applies for Speech and Hearing
Therapy in
1993. Accepted in 1994 Registered for the non-elective, four year Honours equivalent professional degree of Speech and Hearing Therapy.
Belief in ability to bear great sorrow with strength and fortitude.
Belief in success
See Table 5 for 'Training History'.
In order to tap the depth and range of Nolwazi's 'ways of knowing' her training experience, a variety of data collection techniques were used. The following section describes them, motivating for each to contribute to some measure of research validity, while also serving to create a jointly crafted synthesis of narrative between us.
3.3
Methods of Data Collection: The Polar Force of the Magnet.
'... The magnetic ability of materials differ in relation to the ease with wllich their atoms can be lined up... ' .
(www.technicoil.com/magnetism.html)
Section Overview
Plummer (1983), cited by Cohen & Manion, (1994), identifies five broad research processes for conducting life-history research in educational contexts. The first of these, that of identifying the problem to be addressed, has been discussed at length in Chapters One and Two of this study. The second, that of selecting an appropriate informant who demonstrates both' an awareness of the issues and a willingness to engage with the researcher, has been covered in 3.2.2 above. Several issues raised by the third research process, that of determining the intentions and motivations of both researcher and participant as regards the nature and uses of the research, have been clarified in Transcript Excerpts 2 and 4. This current section does, however, expand upon this point, particularly as concerns confidentiality and collaboration. In the main, however, the following discussion focuses on the fourth research process, that of describing the range of data collection techniques. Thereafter, 3.4 completes Plummer's research process recommendations by describing the methods of data analysis that seek to provide representativeness, reliability and validity.
3.3.1
The Nature of the Data
The data of this study rests on (primarily) written and spoken dialogue between Nolwazi and myself. The dialogue is conducted in English, because I am unable to speak Nolwazi's mother-tongue ofXhosa.
Chapter Two (2.2 and 2.3) suggested the inadequacy of language as a medium to construct joint meaning, and equally pointed out the inherent discourse constraints within the English symbol system. In 3.2.1 - and even in the context of a common first language - problems were experienced in claiming a link between words and thinking.
There is no doubt, therefore, that data collection and analysis procedures need to be sensitive to the nature of the problems raised by language itself.
This point is expanded in 3.4, particularly in relation to the procedures of language analysis used in this study. At this stage, however, what needs to be highlighted is that in developing the data collection methods to be discussed in this section, I was aware of additional constraints imposed by the cross-linguistic nature of the research process. In
other words, I was concerned about the influence of perfonnative (parole) aspects of our communication and the difficulties these may impose on joint meaning-making.
In addition, and as has been highlighted in Chapter Two (2.3) and in 3.1, the heart of establishing joint .meaning-making in the narrative rese~ch process lies within a trusting communicative relationship between researcher and participant. Before describing the data collection process, therefore, and as supplementary points to those.
described in 3.2.2 and Transcript Excerpts 2 and 4, the important processes of confidentiality and collaboration need elaboration because of their role in enhancing and preserving our relationship.
3.3.1.1 Confidentiality
As can be seen from Table 6, Nolwazi's biography relates many life-changing events.
Several of these have included abuse of herself and others in her family. During the interview process, Nolwazi preceded four narratives by asking for confidentiality to be respected. The incidents were related to me in the context of an increasingly trustful relationship, and in order to demonstrate on what basis her insight into human relationships has developed over the years. In respecting this confidentiality, these narratives, do not appear in the verbatim transcriptions of the research interviews.
3.3.1.2 Collaboration
The Department of Speech and Hearing therapy at UDW was fully infonned of Nolwazi's participation in this research venture. Early in the interview process, however, I became aware of Nolwazi's perceptions of personal risk by so doing.16 Equally, it became clear that the depth of her alienation from the training programme had resulted in a loss of confidence as a therapist.17In combination, these factors made me consider my collaborative responsibilities, and resulted in several courses of action:
a) The first was to add my motivation - to that of others - for Michael Samuel, my research supervisor, to make a presentation around the uses
16Refer to Transcript Excerpt 4.
17 By t~is is meant Nolwazi's perception of inability to apply professional knowledge in a caring, responsible, respectful (Fromm, 1956) manner to people with communication disorders.
of narrative and life-history research to the Departmental staff. This was in order to conscientise Nolwazi's teachers to the value of the research approach in contexts of educational change, and hopefully to legitimise Nolwazi's involvement in this research endeavour. The presentation occurred in September, 1999.
b) The second was concern regarding Nolwazi's poor sense of self-worth as a thinker and knower. Deeply impressed with her critical analysis of the professional curriculum, (Research Interview Three), I submitted the co- authored narrative result of this interview (Refer to Chapter 4.2.3 'The Monster') to an academic journal (Mpumlwana & Beecham, 2000). In addition to increasing her own self-worth if publication should occur, I also hoped to facilitate doubt in teachers' minds as to Nolwazi's status as a failing student.
c) The third arose from my sense of sadness that Nolwazi's interpretations of her experiences of the training programme were progressively leading her to a loss of vocation to be a therapist. Mr. and Mrs van Dokkum, the parents of Ian, a child with a severe autistic syndrome, kindly agreed to Nolwazi and I working with him. The aim was to prove to Nolwazi that her therapeutic abilities were real and needed, and that the range and extent of her implicit knowing could make a significant and immediate difference to a child's communication. This occurred in a two hour encounter which was video-taped in September 1999.
As referred to here, the topic of collaboration has been specifically directed at the relationship dimension of our interaction. 3.4 extends the topic to the collaborative nature of the data analysis process. Before doing so, the following section describes the methods of data collection.
3.3.2 Data Collection Methods
There is no one-to-one correspondence between the way people interpret their life- history experience ~d map it onto current experience (Cortazzi, 1993). To access the complexity of thought inter-relationships involves using a range of strategies in order to tap different 'ways of knowing' past life experiences as they interact with the current situation. Itis for this reason that life-history research needs a variety of data collection methods (Samuel, 1998). In this study, three groups of collection method were used, each concerned with a different modality of communicative expression:
3.3.2.1 The Oral Mode A) Interviewing
In addition to the interviews with Nolwazi described below, interviews were conducted with the following:
• Four teacher-professionals from the SHT training Department at UDW. The process of data collection, analysis and complexities around representation have already been discussed in section 3.2.1.1
• Noshene Shaik, a SHT in private practice. The language data from the audio- recorded one and a half hour interview on the 'process and procedures of speech- language therapy' was formulated by myself into a narrative and sent to Noshene for her editorial input. The final version has been presented in Chapter Two as Narrative Three.
The four research interviews with Nolwazi, each ranging between two and three and a half hours in length, were openly audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim to provide the raw data for analysis. All interviewing occurred in Nolwazi's apartment, at times convenient to herself, during the month of August 1999. The first three interviews followed a sequence comprising:
Interview One:Narration of life-history prior to training.
Interview Two: Experiences of the training programme.
Interview Three: The inter-relationship between life-history and training experiences (Nolwazi's interpretative synthesis ofInterviews Oneand Two)
Interviews One and Three were unstructured, and proceeded from a broad definition of the topic of inquiry as stated above. Interview Two, and because of the complexity of Nolwazi's training history, followed a semi-structured interview approach.IS
In sum, this sequence of interviews aimed to access 'Inertial and Programmatic' 19
forces as categories impacting upon Nolwazi's 'ways of knowing' her training experience (adapted from Samuel, 1998; p571, with the auth~r's permission). Although, and as he points out, this is not an exhaustive categorisation of influences, it does
"foreground the 'messiness' of the process of influence on student[s] ... developing identities".
Table 7: Inertial and Programmatic Forces Impacting on 'Ways of Knowine' the Trainine Experience (Adapted from Samuel, 1998).