3.4 RESEARCH DESIGN
3.4.2 Study site, Population and Sampling
The section of the population and sampling is described with regard to the study area and participants of the study.
40 3.4.2.1 Study site
The focus in this study was in Mankweng. The area in question is one of the local townships within the Capricorn District Municipality in Limpopo Province. This are is located 27 km east Polokwane city, and it has such famous areas as the University of Limpopo, and Moria on the R71, moreover it has a rich historical background and public figures such as the late King Mamabolo, Frans Mohlala and Peter Mokaba. The area is pre-dominantly rural and covers 11.97 square kilometre. According to (IDP, 2018/19) the population are rounds to a figure of 33738 mostly, speaking Sepedi as a first language and other minor spoken languages like Xitsonga, Venda, and Afrikaans.
All these people attend schools or attended a sample of the schools the study focused on. however, the area occupies the Mankweng Circuit and the Lebopo Circuit and Dimamo Circuit in the same vicinity sharing the same office block and separating the schools accordingly.
41 Figure 3.1: Map of area
3.4.2.2 Population
The population of the study was all teachers for Natural Science and Technology and officials in Mankweng Circuit area.
3.4.2.2 Sampling
The researcher has used purposive sampling, this technique will be further discussed in the following subsections. this is because according to Tarhedoost (2016) “in order to answer a research question it is doubtful that researchers should be able to collect data from all cases” hence the need to identify a sample moreover sampling is used to make inference about a theory or even make generalizations about a population (Tarhedoost, 2016; Creswell, 2014). Tarhedoost (2016) emphasizes that the population must be known in the research study; moreover it forms the first step of the six-sampling method tabulated in Chapter 1.
• Sampling technique
The non-probability sampling method was used to make the final selection of those who will be participating in the study. This is because nonprobability is often associated with case studies which is what I used for this thesis. The motivation for using case studies, as previously said, is to small sample size; however, an apparent reason as to why those participants are selected must be clearly stated (Yin, 2003).
For that reason, only four teachers and two subject advisors, all resulting in equal gender of male and female, were selected for this study, see Table 3.1.
Table 3.1 : Sample of participants
Targeted
number of participants
Number of teachers Number of subject advisors
Six Four Two
42 Gender
specification
Two males Two females
One male One female
Total number of schools
Four
Total number of department officials (Subject advisors)
Two
Fundamentally, the researchers used the purposive sampling method to select the participants for participation in the study. Purposive sampling was driven in identifying a research problem of exploring the effects of language transition from Sepedi to English in teaching and learning the subject Natural Sciences and Technology in grade four classrooms, under Mankweng Circuit. According to Maree (2011) in purposive sampling, people are chosen, as name implies, for a specific purpose. The basis for selecting this type of method is that it will be used to select the respondents to provide information regarding the effects of language transition in teaching Natural Sciences and Technology to grade four learners, in rural schools surrounding Mankweng township. For case studies, Creswell (2014) recommends featuring or interviewing at least two cases. Hence this study was guided by that principle in involving both teachers and subject advisors. The motivation was that they would bring different perspectives to the research study and enhance the study's reliability.
• Sampling size
Sampling refers to a method of selecting a representative of a population for a research study (Grove, 2019). According to Creswell (2014), a sample is defined as the subsection of the whole population investigated by a researcher and whose characteristics may be generalized to the entire population depending on the type of
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sampling. According to Tarhedoost (2016), a frame forms a representation of the whole population and includes data from actual cases resulting from that area.
Dissimilar to quantitative studies, the sampling size in qualitative studies, size is not mathematically calculated. There is no specific set of rules for deciding on the sample number in such a study (Creswell, 2014), However, it must be sufficient to allow comparison to occur. Sample size often depends on the conceptual approach for example when testing a prior hypothesis, you may be able to get away with a smaller sample size. Which is why I have a small sampling size consisting of only six participants. consequently, due to the above statement you are likely to partake in what Glaser and Strauss 1967(Turner, 2016) call theoretical sampling.
This is because this type of sampling size allows you to specifically choose
participants that are well versed in the subject matter being investigated. Inclusion and exclusion criteria set the boundaries for the systematic review in a study (Lancaster, 2017). They are determined after setting the research question usually before the search is conducted, which in this study they were outlined along with the aim and objectives. Other inclusion or exclusion criteria can include the sample size or method of sampling.
• Inclusion and Exclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria are defined as the key structures of the target population that the investigators will use to answer their research question typical inclusion criteria may include but are not limited to demographic and quantifiable characteristics according to Patino & Ferrera (2018). In this study the participants all are demographically and geographically deployed in schools under Mankweng circuit. Moreover, they are all allocated the subject Natural Sciences and Technology for grade 4 classrooms.
In contrast, exclusion criteria are defined as features of the potential study
participants who meet the inclusion criteria but present with additional characteristics that could inhibit the success of the study or increase their risk for a favourable outcome. Common exclusion criteria include the following but are also not limited to this characteristics of eligible individuals that make them highly likely to be lost to follow-up, miss scheduled appointments to collect data as by the investigator, have
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comorbidities that could put the results of the biasness the results of the study, or increase their risk for adverse events (most relevant in studies testing interventions)(
Patino and Ferrera, 2018).
For this study the most prevalent exclusionary criteria were the restriction of
movement by the investigator to the various schools. For contact sessions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, I as the investigator maneuverer around the hurdle by constructing a survey template to live with the relevant participants. Also I ensured that upon collecting the data feedback I telephonically communicated with them to verify if the sentiments were still the same as when they wrote them down in the comforts of their classrooms. A detailed transcript of what each participant said can be found in annexure j on page 106.