1. CHAPTER ONE: BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY AND RATIONALE
3.2 Research design
3.2.10 Confidentiality
According to Burns and Grove (2009, p. 196), “confidentiality is the researcher’s management of private information shared by a subject that must not be shared with others without authorization of the subject.” In this dissertation, participants were assured that all the research information from them would be treated confidentially. Their real names were also not used as a way of concealing their identity.
Design limitations
The limitations were that the study was based on one case, so the findings were not transferable to other situations but only helped me to understand issues in this particular case. The findings provided a reference point for other similar centers and implementers, though. It was challenging for me to make sense of the massive amounts of data that I had collected.
Researchers like Patton (2002, p.432) acknowledge my above admission by asserting that: “The challenge of qualitative analysis lies in making sense of massive amounts of data. This includes reducing the volume of raw information, sifting trivia from significant, identifying patterns and constructing a framework communicating the essence of what the data reveal.” Interviews were time consuming; as a result, l suffered from interviewer fatigue.
In addition, I had a very small sample and this may be a challenge to checking the authenticity of the data gathered. My research budget was also very limited and this may have an effect on the quality of the research. Students’ strikes at the college contributed to loss of time in completing interviews as planned. There was also a delay of ethical clearance letters.
Researcher positionality
Since I am the participants’ lecturer at the TVET College, my position may have negative connotations/impact. Participants may not have given me honest answers. They may have told
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me what I wanted to hear. This may have affected the credibility of the study. My own feelings as a mother of a disabled child might also have influenced the research. To address the above limitations, I triangulated my data and also remained subjective throughout the data collection procedure.
As their lecturer and a mother of a disabled child, I had to adopt an “outsider” position to their experiences of disability and could not support all their points of view.
Trustworthiness
To enhance the trustworthiness of the case study, the researcher checked for transferability, credibility, dependability and confirmability (Rule & John, 2011, p. 107). In this study, trustworthiness was ensured by asking participants to verify the contents of the interview transcript or a life history narrative to improve accuracy. I kept a well-organized case file and researcher notes as an audit trail. This served as evidence for claims made in the study. I also asked my fellow students to check my interpretation of data. I also used triangulation, which implies using many sources and methods to support findings generated in a case study (Rule &
John, 2011, p. 109). Finally, l also used thick descriptions of the case and context.
Conclusion
This chapter began by highlighting the qualitative research methodology followed in this study.
It explained the research paradigm adopted and the research approach and design implemented in the study, and their justifications. The population, sampling and the data collection instrument and its features were described in detail. In addition, matters relating to data collection procedure and method and ethical considerations complied with in the study were highlighted. The chapter also considered the matter of my positionality as a researcher. The following chapter will report on the life histories of students with disabilities at the TVET College.
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4 CHAPTER FOUR: LIFE HISTORIES OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES 4.1 Introduction
In this chapter participant profiles are developed to introduce the participants who shared their experiences and aided this research. The six students with disabilities who agreed to be interviewed are first profiled individually. There are six students, four visually impaired and two with physical disabilities. Four are females and two are males. Their ages range from 22 to 33. Each life map includes the person’s family and social background, origin and nature of impairment, and experience of schooling: mainstream/special; dropping out; barriers; enablers;
and feelings. Their experiences of college, including application, admission, teaching and learning, assessment, relationships, barriers and enablers are explored. Finally, they also talked about their hopes and aspirations.
General data from interviewee respondents and life histories
Some of the data analysis was based on transcriptions of the interviews and summarized afterwards, and by my reflection on the data after the interviews. Six respondents were involved in standardized interviews, which were conducted by the researcher. I gained permission to use the boardroom within my workplace as the venue for interviews. The room was private and comfortable so the participants could feel relaxed. Four of the interviews took place there. One participant was interviewed where she was doing her internship, while one was interviewed telephonically using a loosely structured interview schedule. Interviews varied in duration from 30 minutes to one hour. An open question was posed to the interviewees on barriers to learning that they encountered in order to determine their experiences at the TVET College.
4.2 Life histories of the participants in relation to their TVET
Life histories were developed from in-depth interviews with the six students. An interview schedule was used with each participant. From the interview data, I developed a life map visual tool to place events in a meaningful order. I begin each life history with this individualized life map, which provides an overview and a summary of key events in the participant’s life.
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