The research design and methodology will be discussed in detail in Chapter Five. The purpose of this section is to provide an overview of the process and explain why the researcher opted for the chosen methodology. The intention is to stress that the researcher recognises that good research requires the development of a research design that is fully compatible with the needs of the topic and that the most
Chapter One: Overview of the Empirical Study 29
appropriate research design should be one capable of enabling the researcher to achieve the research objectives. The first step will be to conduct a literature review.
A literature survey is usually a critique of the status of the knowledge on a carefully defined educational topic (Schumacher and McMillan:1993). It is undertaken to gain the insight, views and findings from previously conducted studies by other researchers. It is, therefore, crucial to review the literature in order to unlock the significance of the study, avoid unnecessary duplication, select the best methods, to identify flaws in the body of knowledge and suggest possible remedies. Therefore, a literature survey will be used to develop a framework and to discuss the teacher evaluation systems in use nationally and internationally. It will also provide an assessment of professional development strategies for teachers.
The focus of this study, namely, to investigate the extent to which the policy is being consistently being implemented at all schools and whether teachers in the Ugu Education District regard the current system of teacher appraisal in schools as professionally constructive, will require that both quantitative and qualitative approaches be used.
The former will be employed in the interest of representivity of the views expressed, and the latter for the purposes of more in depth probing and the verification of the quantitative data. The use of multimethods in this study will secure optimal understanding of the phenomenon in question - involving the research dimensions of both breadth and depth (Cresswell,1994; Denzin and Lincoln,1998; Salomon,1991).
The quantitative approach will involve a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire will consist of forty eight closed questions. For these closed questions the Likert scale will be used. A pilot study would be done in a few selected schools in and around Port Shepstone.
This approach will also involve individual semi-structured interviews with participants representing various levels of experience and managerial involvement in the process of teacher appraisal.
Since surveys typically use questionnaires and interviews in order to determine the opinions, attitudes, preferences and perceptions of persons of interest to the researcher, these were the instruments identified as being the most appropriate for the study.
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1.12.2 Sample
In most research work generalizations are made to draw inferences based on samples about the parameters of the population from which the samples were taken. According to Kothari (2003) the researcher quite often selects only a few items from the universe for study purposes. All this is done on the assumption that the sample data will allow to estimate the population parameters.
This study defined the population as all state paid educators employed at public schools in the Ugu District, including teachers, heads of department, deputy principals and principals. The sample was selected irrespective of age, gender or race group. By selecting part of the elements of the population, conclusions will be able to be drawn about the entire population. Therefore the population will be the total number of teachers on which some inferences will be able to be made. The methodology of defining the sample for the study is elaborated on in Chapter Five.
1.12.3 Data Collection and Analysis
The capture and analysis of the questionnaire data will be computerised. For the analysis of the responses on the open questions a coding frame will be drawn up, also providing for verbatim reporting of responses where applicable (Bell, 1993:107; Oppenheim, 1992:266).
For the analysis of the interview data, the tape-recordings of the interviews will be transcribed. The typed transcript data will then be coded. From the codes (or categories), patterns and themes will be identified and described in an attempt to understand the meanings of these categories from the perspectives of the respondents, with verbatim texts included where appropriate.
1.12.4 Reliability
Reliability will be ensured by cross-verifying a) questionnaire data with interview data, and b) data provided by respondents from different post levels. The field notes made after each interview will be checked to verify the interview data.
Chapter One: Overview of the Empirical Study 31
1.12.5 Ethical Measures
Questionnaire respondents and interviewees will be fully informed about the research aims and the voluntary nature of their participation, and assured of the confidentiality of their own and their schools’
identities and data provided. In analysing and interpreting the data, every effort will be made to heed the assurances given.
1.12.6 Demarcation of the Study
This study is limited to all state paid educators employed at public schools and offices in the Ugu District, including teachers, heads of department, deputy principals, principals and those responsible for the overall administration of the schools such as ward and circuit managers, referred to as office based educators. The sample selected is irrespective of age, gender or race group.