At the inception of the study, I wrote a letter to the Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Education in Lesotho. In the letter I explained the study and requested his permission to conduct research within schools. I also appealed for the ministry'ssupport in any manner as I conducted the study. This was important as in my sample of participants; some participants were located in schools. Schools were but one of the many sites I was to cover. I was granted permission and in the same letter I was introduced to whoever I wanted contact with in the ministry. Some of the participants were minors, although at the time of the study they were not in school. Therefore, for both in school and out of school minors, I wrote letters to seek parental approval to interview their children. In addition to parental approval I also sought the approval of the participants themselves to make sure that they were willing to be involved in the study. A consent form accompanied each letter to a parent or guardian. Either a parent or guardian filled in the form to allow the child to participate. However, where the parent or guardian was not willing they kept the form.
5.5.1 The selection criterion
I selected participants for two aspects. The first group was for participants who assisted in the survey of the context while the second was for the major study.All the participants were Basotho. Some of the participants spoke both English and Sesotho while others spoke only Sesotho. All participants in the second group resided in Maseru at the time of the study. In stating that they resided in Maseru at the time of the study I mean both those . permanently and temporarily staying in the Maseru town. Maseru (as I mentioned in the chapter on context) is the city in which I stay and there are people who live there for different reasons,such as work and school,though they still maintain their original home.
The reasons for the selection were motivated by the accessibility of participants for interviews; I selected all the sites where participants could be found conveniently (Creswell, 1994). Being around the same town allowed me easier access in person or by telephone as well as being faster to arrange for repeat visits. All participants were willing
to be part of the study (Plummer,2001).
The general criteria I used for the selection of participants for interviews were that they were all in one way related to the notion of pregnancy and education (Flick, 1999). For in depth interviews, the girls had to have been pregnant young women while schooling.
I used eight participants for the in-depth interviews and eleven for two focus group sessions, comprising of five and six participants respectively. Six of the participants in the one to one interviews and all the girls in the focus group interviews were pregnant while at school in the last two years or less. The six girls were between ages fourteen to nineteen and were all either seventeen or younger when they fell pregnant. I have also used two participants who are an exception to the previous group. One of the participants was pregnant and in school six years ago and she is now twenty-two years old. The second was pregnant at the age of fifteen and she is now thirty-six.
In establishing the context, participants were parents and siblings from a background that has had a pregnant young woman as a family member. They should have still be in contact with the young woman enough to witness her life at the time of the interviews. In addition, partners participate as men who have made a schoolgirl pregnant in the last two years. The last group of participants consisted of school principals. Three of the principals came from 'Maseru '. One of the principals came from 'Leribe ' District. I selected this principal because of an incidence that I had learned about at my workplace.
The principal had just expelled a pregnant young woman and when I called he agreed to talk and participate in the study. The second principal, who was not from'Maseru', came from 'Teya-Teyaneng', I shared my study with him and he became interested. My interest in him was evoked by the strict nature of the management of the school, and the pregnant girl issue was of interest to him. In all the cases, five members were interviewed from each group.
I realized the need to allow for diversity in this study. I added to the studies voices other than the pregnant young women's and mine. I added the male voice and those of women
Karabo Mokobocho-Mohlakoana Chapter Five: Methodological Considerations
who have not been pregnant. The male voice was important for this study to capture any information that might have been differentiated by gender. This was necessary, as I do not condone the absence of a male partner in many young women's pregnancy cases in Lesotho (Letuka et al., 1998). The study does not aim to compare the experiences of the women with any other experiences what the design pushes for is the allowance of different perspectives on the same situation. The inclusion of several groups responds to an exploration of the wider society's construction of young women's pregnancy in the words of others (Naidoo 2002 and Kathard, 2003). The members of the group are different from the previously pregnant mothers due to class, location, age and lack of being pregnant as young women.
5.5.2 Sampling
As I have already mentioned in chapter One, the study is not meant to give statistically generalizable results. That outlook has had an influence on the participants' selection. I am aware of debates around sampling and sample size (van Rensburg, 1999). With a study like this one any number of participants would have worked as well as the other.
The number was not an important factor. What was important was the quality of people's willingness to participate. In addition,the amount of time we could both afford and make available to conduct the study decided on who participated.
This study has benefited from the use of purposeful sampling. I undertook the selection of participants with experiences fitting the type of information I was looking for. This type of sampling has sometimes been called purposive or judgemental. Purposeful sampling utilizes convenience samples; the researcher relies on the individuals who are 'available and willing' to participate. Purposeful sampling allowed the selection of available participants according to the purpose of the study (Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K. 2000 and Wiersma 1991). Sampling in this fashion should not be done without setting prior criteria. The approach benefited from a snowballing or networking effect. By this I mean that individuals I originally contacted to participate in the study assisted by selecting or putting forward names of others who might be suitable for the
study (Vaughn et al., 1996). Participants thus selected should suit the laid out criteria (Bailey 1994).
In addition to purposeful sampling, I used convenience or accidental or opportunity sampling (Cohen et al.,2000). I used a self-selected sample to distribute questionnaire to school principals I used for establishment of the context. I distributed one hundred and fifty questionnaires to schools that were represented in a meeting that was held by the Ministry of Education. Of all the questionnaires, I allocated one half to primary schools and the other half to both secondary and high schools principals. The package to each school principal contained a letter that requested principals to fill in the questionnaire. I also included the questionnaire together with a self addressed and stamped envelope to facilitate return of the questionnaire.