CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
3.6 POPULATION AND SAMPLING
Maree (2016:198) defines a population as the individuals or objects on which the researcher wants to base the study. A population normally consists of people who share characteristics and are found in the same area of research. The population of a study is the group from which the
researcher intends to generalise results, and it includes all the individuals with certain specified characteristics.
In this study, the population was all the primary school teachers of the Lejweleputswa district. The Lejweleputswa district was selected conveniently because the researcher of this study is a primary school teacher in the district. The Lejweleputswa has 213 schools and 4 528 teachers.
Three primary schools were sampled and identified as research sites in this study. The next paragraph explains how sampling was done in this study.
3.6.1 Sampling
Mohsin (2016:11) defines sampling as a means of selecting a subset of units from a target population for the purpose of collecting information. Maree (2016:198) also states that sampling is when the researcher chooses a smaller, more manageable number of people to take part in their research that from the population they are interested in studying. Maree (2016:198) mentions that there are two types of sampling, namely random and non-random sampling. In random samples, all people within the research population have an equal chance of being included in the sample. Random sampling gives a researcher greater freedom from bias. There are four types of random sampling, which are simple random, systematic, stratified, and cluster sampling (Maree, 2016:198; Mohsin, 2016:11).
Non-random sampling, as explained by Maree (2016:199), is used if generalisation is not the goal of the study. The size of the sample will depend on the type and purpose of the research. Non- random sampling is often associated with case study research designs and qualitative research, and not every member of the population has a chance of being included. In non-random sampling, participants or cases do not need to be representative of the population or even a random representation; instead, there is a clear rationale for the inclusion of some individuals rather than others. The types of non-random sampling are quota sampling, snowball sampling, convenience sampling, and purposive or judgemental sampling. Purposive sampling involves identifying and selecting individuals or groups of individuals that are especially knowledgeable about or experienced with the phenomenon of interest (Maree, 2016:108). In addition to knowledge and experience, they should also be willing to participate and have and have the ability to communicate experiences and opinions in an articulate, expressive, and reflective manner (Setia, 2016:506).
For the purpose of this research study, purposive and convenience sampling was used to select 15 participants from three primary schools. The intermediate phase teachers (Grades 4-6) were purposely selected because the researcher was interested in exploring the teaching strategies
that the teachers use to develop SRL and those participants were able to provide valuable data to answer the research questions.
Convenience sampling was also used in this study based on the fact that the primary schools that were chosen were easily accessible to the researcher, and the participants were conveniently available. Maree (2016:197) describes convenience sampling as quick, inexpensive and useful exploratory research. Maree (2016:197) explains that convenience sampling means that the participants in the study are chosen because they are readily available. Convenient sampling allowed the researcher to select five participants from each of the three schools. The total number of participants from the three primary schools that participated in the study was 15. This means there were five teachers selected from each primary school (one from Grade 4, two from Grade 5, and two from Grade 6).
The following criteria were used for participants’ selection:
• Participants had to be qualified teachers.
• Participants had to be teaching subjects in the intermediate phase.
• Participants had to be permanent employees of the selected schools.
• Participants had to be willing to participate voluntarily.
3.6.2 Participants’ biographical information
The selected teachers who participated in the study were between the ages of 29 and 55. A total of one male and 14 female primary school teacher took part in the study. Two primary schools are situated in the Thabong township, and one primary school is in Welkom, which is a former Model C school.
Table 3-1: Biographical information of participants School 1- Quintile 2
Participant Age Gender Highest qualification
Teaching experience
Post Level
Subjects
1 35 F Bachelor of
Education – Intermediate Phase
4 1 IsiXhosa, Life
skills
2 49 F Advanced Certificate in Special Needs Education
19 1 English,
Mathematics, Life skills
3 53 F Advanced
Certificate in Special Needs Education
26 1 English, Life
skills
4 59 F Advanced
Certificate in Education
37 1 Natural
Sciences, Life Orientation.
Creative Arts
5 54 F Bachelor of
Education- Honours
18 1 Mathematics,
Sesotho
School 2- Quintile 1
1 35 F Advanced
Certificate in Education
6 1 Mathematics
2 29 F Bed-Natural
Sciences
9 1 Mathematics,
Natural Sciences
3 37 F Postgraduate
Certificate in Education
10 1
Subject Head- English Home Language
English, Mathematics
4 61 F Junior
Primary Teachers’
Certificate
40 2
Head of Department
Mathematics, English, Life skills
5 37 F Advanced
Certificate in Education
10 1 English,
Social Sciences
School 3- Quintile 2
1 49 F Bachelor of
Arts in
Education
23 1 Subject
Head- Lifeskills
Mathematics, Xitsonga
2 38 F Postgraduate
Certificate in Education
4 1 Natural
Sciences, Life skills
3 31 F Postgraduate
Certificate in Education
7 1 Mathematics,
Natural Sciences
4 54 M Further
Diploma in Education Management
24 1 Sesotho,
Social Sciences
5 33 F Postgraduate
Certificate in Education
8 1 English,
Social Sciences
It can be concluded from Table 3.1 that the participants in all three primary schools have more than five years of teaching experience. The average teaching experience of the teachers is 14 years from which it could be concluded that they were experienced teachers teaching in primary schools.
3.6.3 Contextual information about the research site Below follows a description of each school.
School 1
The school is situated in Thabong Township with a total number of 1 065 learners and 34 teachers. The school is a primary school with full-time learners from Grades R to 7. The school is a parallel-medium school with IsiXhosa and Sesotho as the medium of instruction from Grades R to 3 and English from Grades 4 to 7. The school has a library, science laboratory, well-established administration offices, hall, and classrooms. The home languages of the teachers are Sesotho and IsiXhosa. Learners in the school are IsiXhosa and Sesotho speaking and they live near the school.
School 2
The school is a former Model C school and it is situated in Welkom. It has a total number of 815 learners and 26 teachers. It is a well-resourced school equipped with a library, laboratory and
Coloured learners. The majority of the learners are Black. Some learners live in urban areas near the school and other learners live in the Thabong Township and commute to school every day.
The medium of teaching and learning is Afrikaans and English from Grades R to 7. The home language of the teachers is Sesotho, IsiXhosa, English, and Afrikaans.
School 3
The school is situated in the Thabong township with a total number of 789 learners and 23 teachers. The school is a primary school with full-time learners from Grade R to 7. The school is a parallel medium school with Xitsonga and Sesotho as the medium of instruction from Grades R to 3 and English from Grades 4 to 7. Most of the Xitsonga-speaking learners’ parents come from the Limpopo province, and some are foreign immigrants from Mozambique who walk to school about five kilometres. The school also has some Sesotho-speaking learners whose parents are Lesotho citizens. The majority of the learners in the school are Sesotho speaking who live near the school. The home language of the teachers is Xitsonga and Sesotho. The school has no library and laboratory and few classrooms of which most are mobile classrooms.