EVALUATION
3. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
3.7 INTERVIEWS
3.7.1 RATIONALE FOR THE USE OF INTERVIEWS
In order to triangulate the data obtained from the questionnaire and to get greater depth to the issues surrounding IQMS, the researcher considered interviews to be the ideal data gathering tool. Qualitative and quantitative researchers alike define problems, select research designs and develop methodologies, collect, analyze and interpret data, and report findings. There is, however, one significant difference between the two approaches. In qualitative research, the researcher is the principal data collection
instrument; whereas in quantitative research, scientifically designed data collection tools are developed as in this case, the survey. However, regardless of how one chooses to collect the data, it is important that the researcher try to understand phenomena and interpret the social reality from two perspectives. Thus the use of interviews helped the researcher to gather more information on items in the questionnaire which required closer scrutiny. One positive feature of interviews is the richness and vividness of the data that turns up (Gilham 2000: 10).
The interview is defined by Anderson (1990: 190) as ‘a specialized form of
communication between people for a specific purpose associated with some agreed subject matter’. It is a highly purposeful task that goes beyond mere conversation.
Furthermore, the interviewer can clarify questions and probe the answers of the respondent. The teacher unions liaise with both government officials and educators therefore, the researcher hopes to gain from them some insights into whether the IQMS benefits educators and enhances their professional development. The possible use of the IQMS to emphasize accountability and control the work of teachers also comes under scrutiny.
3.7.2 INTERVIEW INFORMANTS
Two sets of interviews were conducted. The first set of interviews was conducted with government officials from the National and Provincial Department of Education
The second set of interviews was conducted with three union officials who are provincial representatives serving on the staffing committee of the KZN ELRC.
3.7.3 SELECTION OF INFORMANTS
In selecting the informants for the interview, the researcher used purposive sampling.
This type of sample does not pretend to represent the wider population; it is deliberately selective and biased (Cohen, Manion and Morrison 2001: 104).
The people to be included in the sample were handpicked on the basis of their involvement in IQMS. The following were chosen:
• Regional Chief Education Specialists involved in the IQMS were selected from the Department of Education;
• The regional director of IQMS (KZN);
• Three SEMs (Superintendents of Education Management) from the eThekwini region who supervise the IQMS at school level. Convenience sample was used to select the three SEMS. A convenience sample is a sample that is easy for the researcher to reach. However, each SEM represents a different district in the eThekwini Region.
In terms of the selection of the union officials, three provincial negotiators serving on the ELRC IQMS committee were chosen – one each from the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU), the Association of Professional Educator of KwaZulu-Natal (APEK) and the National African Teacher’s Union (NATU). As every school could not be represented in the sample, the SEMS would be able to give a more indepth picture of schools in their respective areas while the teacher trade unions would reflect the voice of their entire membership.
3.7.4 NATURE OF INTERVIEWS
Kvale (1996: 11) regards an interview as an interchange of views between two or more people on a topic of mutual interest with the purpose of using this human interaction for knowledge production. Interviews enable participants to discuss their interpretations of situations and to express their point of view. The main advantage of the interview is that it enables the interviewer to clarify the questions and probe the answers of the respondent, providing more complete information than would be available in written form (Betram 2003: 20).
There are two types of interviews: the structured and the unstructured. The researcher is of the view that the use of structured interviews will be too restrictive. A rigid interview schedule would have to be adhered to strictly without the freedom for elaboration or
reformulation. Given this limitation, the researcher opted for the semi-structured and the unstructured interviews as data gathering tools in order to obtain depth on the issues of the IQMS. A semi-structured interview was used in interviewing departmental officials.
A set of questions was developed (see Annexure E). Unstructured interviews were used in interviewing the three union officials.
3.7.5 TRAILING OF INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Possible interview questions for the semi -structured interview were trailed with senior members of the management staff at a secondary school. This enabled the interviewer to get a feel of the interview process, to rephrase questions and to determine key questions.
3.7.6 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
The informants were briefed in advance on the purpose of the study and were assured that any information provided by them will be used solely for the purposes of research. Both confidentiality and anonymity was assured. They were also allowed to withdraw from the research at any time if they so desired.
3.7.7 ANALYSIS OF INTERVIEW DATA
All interviews were audio recorded. Each interview was transcribed verbatim with some minor editing taking place for readability reasons. A qualitative content analysis was then undertaken by identifying key substantive points and grouping them into themes and categories.
3.8 DOCUMENT STUDIES
In order to answer the critical questions the researcher engaged in an in depth study of the IQMS policy documents: IQMS Collective Agreement 8 of 2003 and the IQMS Manual 2005. The following documents were also studied:
• Norms and Standards for Educators;
• The Code of Conduct for Educators;
• Roles and Responsibilities for Educators; and
• The Skills Development Act.
The tenets of the Norms and Standards for educators have informed the development of a single instrument for evaluating the performance of institution-based educators (IQMS Collective Agreement 8 of 2003: 8). In analyzing the contents of the above documents, the researcher integrated the salient points of these documents into the literature review and then went on to provide a critical review of these documents and other relevant education policy documents and education legislation in relation to the IQMS. This was done in line with the aim of the study to undertake a critical analysis of the IQMS as policy.
In interpreting the IQMS policy documents the aim was to:
• uncover hidden meanings with regard to the real and apparent purposes of the IQMS and its three programmes DA, PM and WSE;
• uncover contradictions especially between the use of the IQMS instrument for professional development and its use for performance measurement linked to rating scales, ‘performativity’, accountability and financial rewards;
• examine the hidden meaning of particular words and phrases in relation to their use with regard to performance standards and performance criteria and the intention to keep the three separate purposes of DA; PM and WSE intact;
• but, primarily the purpose of document analysis was to uncover the ideological underpinnings of the IQMS. NPM and New Managerialsim were identified as having an influential impact on the underpinnings of the IQMS policy. The Senior Management Team, which consists of the principal, deputy principal and
education specialists (heads of department), is required to ensure that the school is operating efficiently and effectively ( IQMS Collective Agreement 8 of 2003: 8).
The final monitoring agent of the ‘performing school’ and ‘performing teachers’
is the Department of Education.