5.8 Methods
5.8.1 Interviews
5.8.1.2 Interview schedules
I designed the schedules with the help of the doctoral semmar group members.
Suggestions that came up from colleagues and supervisors were included and represented. Like the questionnaire that I used for the survey, I shared the interview schedule in order to get feedback. The final schedules that I have used represent opinions and suggestions from different comers. The initial contacts I had with some of the pregnant young women also helped me to include some of the points I might have missed. The schedules I constructed such a way that I could ask questions where issues were not clear for me. The participants did not have to answer questions in any particular order, they could choose to start anywhere they felt comfortable.
5.8.1.3 Re-Iistening in preparation for interviews
I will just share experiences and the challenges that were posed by having to learn to listen in a different way. Anderson and Jack (1991) prompted me with the challenge to start questioning my ability to listen well by saying:
... we need to refine our methods for probing more deeply by listening to the levels on which the narrator responds to the original questions. To do so we need to listen critically to our interviews, to our responses as well as our questions. We need to hear what women implied,suggested,and started to say but didn't.
(Anderson and Jack 1991:17)
In one of the research seminars, the facilitator in the group put emphasis on the role of listening in carrying out research. The emphasis was on listening well in any activity where information will be given orally. This aspect of listening was important and it became even more important as the interviewees and the interviewer engaged with each other on issues of feelings. Here I was an adult, a mother, having to listen to the people with whom I was to interact. The challenge also came with me having to listen to younger people. The practice is not common in the culture in which I have been brought up. Both the interviewees and myself had to renegotiate and observe that the time was for the women and other participants to talk (Kathard, 2003).
This double confusion to me was brought about by the job orientation from which I have come and in which I still work. In the world of lecturing I am accepted as the knower and the teller. I got used to many years of telling and the struggle to learn to listen was not an easy one. I took the challenge seriously and got myself enrolled in a communication class within my own institution. The class emphasises listening as a skill that can be learned.
The practical aspects of the course planted in me the patience to sit and listen. I practiced with my colleagues, some of my friends and my children. They were not very interested at first but they still helped. My children reinforced the idea to learn how to listen to younger people in a different way. As a result of the class, my contacts with people improved. I can tell because of the remarks I have received lately. I have been asked in many conversations why I am so quiet, and I am able to say my reason is that I am listening.
Doing feminist research and choosing to do life history research lends itself to being able to listen and listen well. Listening well means to me listening for more than just the words. Listening pays attention to meanings in the words and the feelings and emotions that make the interaction between the interviewee and their meaning making process. I had to work on listening well and to negotiate with research participants to allow me to listen to them "...first we have to learn to be quiet in order to listen" (Heyl, 1997: 4).
Because I had to interview younger people I was not familiar with the ways in which they
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expressed themselves at times as language has evolved over time. Similar notions have been shared and suggestions were made that, when we interview, we should not pretend that we know what we do not know. Itis in a situation where trust has been established that individuals are able to declare their ignorance about certain issues (Kathard, 2003 and Gregg cited in Reinharz 1992).
That shift was dependent on some level of trust having been developed: trust that the other wouldn't laugh at the naivete and ignorance revealed in our requests for clarification. Our talk over time built trust. But clearly it isn'ttalk that builds rapport and trust.
Itis almost a cliche' that talking at someone is very different from talking to someone
(Heyl, 1997:4).
I needed to learn this earnestly due to my awareness that the participants had stories to share. The issue of researcher commitment came into my mind: I was committed to learning from participants' stories. Their stories had 'something to teach me' (Heyl, 1997).
I have mentioned the instruments and will discuss the theoretical backgrounds of each. In addition, I will explain how I utilised the various instruments in this research.Lastly,I present the challenges that I experienced. In some cases the challenges include the coping strategies that I employed. In this following section I infuse my experiences and feelings about the use of the instruments and what it has meant for me as a researcher. This procedure of presenting the instruments is followed for all the instruments and techniques of data collection. The order and manner in which I present the instruments has no bearing to the study.
I chose to conduct semi-structured interviews with the young women, parents, siblings, church representatives, school principals and partners. I preferred the use of semi- structured interviews to other techniques like structured interviews as it enabled me to dig
deeper and gain further understanding of young women's pregnancy. The semi-structured interview helped me to establish gaps, pick up contradictions, ask for clarification and pick up on areas that seem to be difficult for the participants (Banister et al, 1994, Smith
& Van Langenhove, 1995; Willig, 2001). My choice to use semi-structured interviews
allowed me to be flexible in asking questions and allowed participants to begin where they felt comfortable (Smith & Van Langenhove, 1995). In addition, the semi-structured interview allowed the participants and me to gain insight into our own meaning making process. As Kvale (1996) puts the idea, the participants and I"co-create" the world and the meaning we make out of it. This allows us, in different ways, to develop our own awareness and make meaning of the magnitude of the young women's pregnancy phenomenon. The uses and benefits of semi-structured interviews in feminist research have been documented elsewhere (see Best and Khan 1989, Gay 1992 and Bailey 1994).
All participants were asked to give their opinions on what they consider as basis for the pregnant young woman's way of experiencing. Initially I intended to use focus groups for the rest of the participants in this group. However, I only succeeded in having focus group discussions with some of the pregnant young women. The intent to use focus group interviews failed because some efforts to bring the participants together failed.There was difficulty in trying to convene the meetings.
5.8.1.4 Pregnant young women's Interviews
Previous research into the sensitive area of young people and sexual health has shown the importance of in depth, semi-structured interviews for reflecting the interpretations a young person places on their experiences, not just through the words they use, but through silences, and the difficulty they have in expressing certain issues (Holland et al., 1998). I selected to interview the young women individually and in focus groups. The aim of the pregnant young woman interviews was to collect deeper details about experiences of young women's pregnancy and their interactions with schooling. The information allows an analysis of the views of the young women regarding the ways in which their careers have been touched by being pregnant young women in school. With
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the interviews I also wish to gain an understanding of pupils' attitudes,beliefs, and norms towards young women's pregnancy and parenthood.
The use of semi-structured interviews in eliciting information from young people has been highlighted. As I have already discussed, the flexibility of a semi-structured interview schedule allowed the interviewees to exert more control over the process, and to guide the flow of the interaction to the issues they considered particularly important with regard to the sessions and young women's parenthood more generally. Kvale (1996) notes that in interviews both participants co-create knowledge and meaning about the world around them. Using this method therefore increased my awareness of my own part in the research process and the way in which who I am and my particular worldview not only influenced what the interviewees said, but also how I interpreted and built on that.
On a practical level, the unpredictable nature of the groups and schools coupled with my lack of control over these settings meant that using methods which acknowledge and focus on the uniqueness of each case, rather than relying on controlled contexts for gathering data,was more appropriate..
I held two focus group interviews with pregnant young women who were not included in the one to one interviews. The two focus group discussions had five and six members respectively. The number of participants was guided by the notion that a group had to be large enough for a lively discussion to emerge without people feeling crowded or overwhelmed (De Vos, 1998).The focus group allowed for the sharing of ideas by more than just two individuals. It was a cooperative way of soliciting data rather than the individualistic method of data collection exemplified in a one to one situation. The opportunities in the group interviews allowed for many ideas to be represented and heard.
The experiences were shared in an enabling environment that allowed members to support each other. I used group interviews to elicit larger amounts of data within a manageable time. The human interactions that emerged in the settings built strong networks whose positive results have started to pay back in their own ways. Experiences seemed to become deeper as members reminded each other and reflected as other participants did their own sharing. Focus group interviews were used to provide insight
especially in situations where beliefs and attitudes that underline behaviour are under exploration (Garey, 1994). When collecting data through focus group interviews, perceptions and opinions of a rich nature emerged. The rich data that was generated in this manner arose as a result of individuals interacting with each other and with the data.
For some people, the interaction that occurred provided an opportunity to deliberate beyond the individual to the wider perspective.
The two groups used the services of a group leader that was selected by members (I was included in the membership). One pregnant young woman acted as a scribe to both sessions. The choice was made because some participants expressed the idea to have a closed group attended by insiders, which in this instance was determined by having been pregnant while schooling. The group interviews ranged from one and a half to two hours.
In addition,a different group of previously pregnant young women were interviewed on a one to one basis. The one to one interviews with these participants ranged between one and one and a half hour. Interviewing participants in this manner gave me an opportunity to create a situation where researcher and researched could interact. For people to express their situations, feelings, thoughts, and intentions, they need to be given an opportunity and a safe space to do so.
5.8.1.5 Interviews with Principals
As mentioned above, the interviews with the school principals were on a one to one basis (see Appendix J).The intent was to gain an overview of the national as well as particular school policies in relation to young women's pregnancy. The aim was to investigate issues around admissions, readmissions, transfers, support, and the expulsion of pregnant young women in schools. A further aim was to find out how the policies were informed and who was involved in coming out with policy in the area. The principals were also asked about their own views in relation with young women's pregnancy and schooling.
Each participant was interviewed for between 45 minutes and 1 hour at their office.
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5.8.1.6 The parent interviews
All the interviews with parents were one to one encounters (see Appendix M). I spoke with different parents and requested their participation in the study. Some were willing while others were not. I was finally able to arrange with and interview five parents. I included the parents, as I was interested in getting information about what informed their decisions and values in relation to young women'spregnancy. I was also interested in the influence they have or lack in relation to pregnant young women and schools in their capacity as co-owners of schools together with government and the church. The parents were interviewed for thirty five to forty five minutes.
5.8.1. 7 The partner interviews
These interviews were also one to one encounters (see Appendix N). The males who were in this section were those of any age who had been partners to a pregnant young woman while the girl was still in school. Five men presented themselves for this part of the study. The group was to share their view of the women's experiences and the possible reasons for their perceived view. The group members were asked about their view of the pregnant young women's experiences. The partners were interviewed for thirty five to forty five minutes.
5.8.1.8 The sibling's interviews
Also one to one encounters, the participants for these interviews were of any age with the criteria being limited to at one time having resided with a sister who had been pregnant while schooling (see Appendix 0). There were five participants three of who were females while two were males. The group was to share their view of the women's experiences and the possible reasons for their perceived experience. The experiences from this group also included the school and home experiences of the pregnant young women. The siblings were interviewed for thirty five to forty five minutes.
5.8.1.9 The interviews with church representatives
The group was asked about the practical experiences in relation to the National, and school policies versus practice (see Appendix P). They were also requested to give their views on the possible reasons for some of the decisions that they or other stakeholders have taken. The idea was to find out their views in relation to the interaction of policy with the school experiences of young women's pregnancy. The church representatives were interviewed for thirty- five minutes.
5.8.1.10 Interviews with Government official
I held one interview with an Officer from the Ministry of Education to give the official stand and policies in relation to young women's pregnancy (see Appendix Q). The Ministry official was also to give a view on the policy versus the practical aspect of young women'spregnancy in schools. The government officer was interviewed for forty- five minutes.
5.8.2 Questionnaire
A semi-structured questionnaire was also used to elicit information from a wider coverage of school principals. The reason for this approach emerged from the varied type of data that was necessary in order to address the critical questions. The location of participants, time limitations and scarce funding contributed to the way data was collected. The data that was to be collated and not the methodology informed the research instruments,a process that conforms to a feminist view (Reinharz 1992).
The idea of a questionnaire came as a result of one of the research seminars.As I scanned the field on young women's pregnancy from the perspective of it not being a problem, there was little information available. I needed to establish a few pointers in support of the rationale for the study. The challenge was further compounded as I looked for school experiences of pregnant young women. The group agreed that a survey would be useful
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as a tool for situation analysis. The aim of the survey was to establish whether schools have experiences with pregnant young women. In addition, I wanted to explore what schools did with issues of young women's pregnancy and what informed the decisions they took in cases where they had a pregnant young woman. The questionnaire was constructed in such a way as to elicit qualitative data only. The reason for this choice was that available studies had sufficient statistics to indicate that young women's pregnancy is a reality in schools within the 'Lesotho' context. Though the studies did not investigate school experiences,there are statistics to include the school going young woman in the pregnancy 'crisis' ( Morojele, 1994' ; 'Kimane' et al., 1999 and Mapetla' and 'Tuoane- Nkhasi' ,2003).
The intent of the data I collected in this survey is different from the others; I have effectively supplemented the other data in a way. This study attempts to capture the questions of why and how things happen. It has asked participants to think of what informs their actions. Though the findings of this study are not intended to be statistically generalizable, I sent out a questionnaire to get information that was to be found in the schools of Lesotho. I sent out 150 copies of the questionnaire survey to principals in schools. They were sent to 75 primary schools and 75 secondary and high school principals. The package contained a copy of the questionnaire. In addition there was a self- addressed stamped envelope. I included one letter to explain my request and a copy of the letter from the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Education. The questionnaires were given to schoolteachers who had attended a training workshop who originated from all ten districts in Lesotho. The use of this instrument was to strengthen the school experiences of pregnant young women by use of the survey to supplement and complement other approaches (Best,1981).
The use of a highly male constructed tool, such as a survey questionnaire for data collection,has been used in this study.Itis a tool that poses great challenges and frictions for me as a feminist researcher (Singh, 2000). The type of data I am to handle in this study however necessitates that I use a survey. As I reflect back to the choice of a questionnaire I observe many struggles that I was confronted with. Struggles included
how the document should be designed and the VarIOUS possible meanmgs of some questions to some participants. I also wondered about how structured,semi-structured or open-ended or closed-ended the questions should be. Some of the issues have been thoroughly debated in the last chapter. I mention them here to reiterate that even as I get into how I interacted with this tool the challenges had not stopped I used a different questionnaire for the survey in the schools. All the questionnaires were piloted with some of the school principals around Maseru, my colleagues at work and some fellow research students. The questionnaires that I finally used were a joint effort in this manner. All questions were written in English but I could ask questions in either 'Sesotho'or English depending on the preference of the participant.
The questionnaires were finally constructed with a mixture of open-ended and closed- ended questions. Bell (1997),Jegede (1995),Ary,Jacobs and Rasavich (1985) and Cohen and Manion (1997) all reach a consensus about the usefulness of mixing open-ended and closed-ended questions.The closed-ended questions on the other hand assisted me to find out issues that needed a yes or no answer or specific information like age.
Though I sent out the questionnaires, the return rate was slow and in some cases they came in much later than I had expected them, despite my pleas in the letter, which included a proposed deadline.The late response in some incidences caused some concern as the data was to form and reinforce the rationale for this study. The challenge of a lack of control over who responds and timeframes was experienced in this study. The return rate was successful as it was above fifty percent (Singh 2000). I have had my suspicions about the high return rate for the following reasons: Some of the primary school principals were my former students at the teacher training college, I have also met and interacted with secondary and high school principals all over the country in my position as a schools inspector. The return rate has challenged me to propose for further research on what makes participants choose to return or not return questionnaires timorously in the context of Lesotho.