CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
4.5 Research design
The research design is a plan according to which the researcher obtains data in order to answer the research questions. Nieuwenhuis (in Maree, ed, 2007, p. 70) describes a research design as “a plan or strategy which moves from the underlying philosophical assumptions to specifying the selection of respondents”, the data gathering techniques to be used and the data analysis the researcher conducts (Leedy & Ormrod, 2005). According to Hofstee (2006) in research design techniques are discussed and their strengths and weaknesses that apply to the problem.
4.5.1 Case Study
Given the interpretive position adopted in this research, the case study methodology was considered the most suitable approach to utilise because it presents an organised way to gather data, analyse information and report the outcome. The case
92 study methodology fits the needs of this study, which is to describe the learning that takes place among teachers. Robinson (1993, p. 146) defines a case study as “a strategy for doing research which involves an empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon with its real life context, using multiple sources of evidence”. The phenomenon refers to the learning that is happening among the teachers when they are in their meetings, provincially, at district level and at cluster level. The real life context is where the learning is happening and where the teachers are. The multiple sources of evidence used are interviews and observation.
According to Yin (2003), a case study design should be considered when (a) the focus of the study is to answer probing questions; (b) you cannot influence the conduct of those involved in the study; (c) you want to include natural settings because you believe they are pertinent to the phenomenon under study; or (d) the margins are blurred between the study and the situation. The case study approach is valuable in circumstances where contextual conditions of the phenomenon being studied are crucial and where the researcher has no direct control over the incidents as they happen and cannot influence them. For the purpose of this research I have chosen the case study in order to understand how teacher cluster engagements contribute to teacher learning and if that is not happening, why it is not happening.
The inception of the cluster meetings was initiated so that teachers are able to learn from each other, support each other and to ensure that implementation of the curriculum is seamless. A single case study has been drawn upon, with the unit of analysis being the Life Sciences teachers. The case study approach allows me to observe the teachers learning from each other. The observation will take place when teachers meet for their content enrichment and intervention workshops, including their moderation sessions. The intention of such observation is to investigate though roughly and to examine exhaustively the varied phenomena that embodies what I had gleaned through the interviews with the teachers, departmental officials and the cluster leader, with a view to establishing generalisations about the wider population to which the unit belongs (Cohen & Manion, 1994).
Nieuwenhuis (cited in Maree, 2007) argues that case studies offer a multi- perspective analysis in which the researcher does not only consider the voice and
93 perspectives of one or two participants in a situation but also the views of other relevant groups of actors and the interaction between them. Mark (1996, p. 219) refers to seven types of case study, all with different purposes:
• The intrinsic case study is solely focused on the aim of gaining a better understanding of the individual case. The purpose is to describe the case being studied. Stake (1995) uses the term to suggest that researchers who have a genuine interest in the case should use this approach when the intent is to better understand the case.
• The instrumental case study is used to elaborate on a theory or to gain a better understanding of a social issue. The purpose is to facilitate the researcher’s gaining of knowledge about the social issue or to define a theory (Stake, 1994). The case is often looked at in-depth, its context scrutinised and its ordinary activities detailed because it helps the researcher to pursue the external interest (Stake, 1995).
• The collective case study helps the researcher to further understand the social issue that is being studied. The case study has been chosen so that the researcher is able to do a comparison between the two cases and concepts in order to extend and validate theories (Yin, 2003).
• The explanatory case study. This type of case study would be used if you were seeking to answer a question that sought to explain the presumed causal links in real-life interventions that are too complex for the survey or experimental strategies. In evaluation language, the explanations would link programme’s implementation with programme effects (Yin, 2003).
• The exploratory case study. This type of case study is used to explore those situations in which the intervention being evaluated has no clear single set of outcomes (Yin, 2003). The focus is on furthering the understanding the researcher has about a general phenomenon or condition (Mark, 1996).
• The descriptive case study; this type of case study is used to describe an intervention or phenomenon and the real-life context in which it occurred (Yin, 2003).
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• The multiple case study. This type of study enables the researcher to explore differences within and between cases. The goal is to replicate findings across cases”. (Yin, 2003).
For the purposes of this study, I am going to choose the descriptive case study for this research which will assist me to develop an understanding of a bounded system.
The main purpose of this research is to develop a better understanding of learning that takes place in Life Sciences cluster meetings. ‘Bounded system’ is the term used to define a focal point of study (Stake, 1995). The teachers and the MDoE management may use the results to gain a better sense of what their professional development model looks like from an outsider’s point of view and may even adapt their policies moving forward.