RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
4.4 Sampling procedure
Tashakkori and Teddlie (2010: 356) define sampling as ‘a process of selecting a subset or sample unit from a larger group or population of interest’, with its purpose to answer the research questions. In this research, I needed a representative sample of teachers from KwaZulu-Natal province from which I could generalize. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education is divided into twelve districts as shown in Table 4.4.1 below. Of the twelve districts, eight are rural. Three are largely rural, with a fair mixture of urban areas. Only one district is considered predominantly urban. A total of three districts were selected for the study, two rural and one with a rural-urban split. ‘Rural’ schools in this study included all those situated in Traditional Authority areas i.e. in primarily community owned land, as well as those in the commercial farms. ‘Urban’ schools included those in the metropolitan areas and well as those in the peri-urban, i.e. in townships and informal settlements.
89 Table 4.4.1: Districts in KwaZulu-Natal province and their geographical form
District Name Rural/Urban
a. Pinetown Predominantly urban
b. Ugu Rural/Urban - predominantly rural
c. Ilembe Rural
d. Umlazi Rural/Urban - predominantly urban
e. Sisonke Rural
f. Othukela Rural
g. Umzinyathi Rural
h. Umgungundlovu Rural
i. Amajuba Rural/Urban
j. Uthungulu Rural
k. UMkhanyakude Rural
l. Vryheid/Zululand Rural
90 Source: http://www.cohsasa.co.za/institution-district/umdm (eThekwini combines Pinetown and Umlazi)
Figure 4.4.1: Map showing the districts in KwaZulu-Natal
The three districts sampled for the study were coded District 1, District 2 and District 3 for purposes of keeping them anonymous. Districts 1 and 2 were completely rural whilst District 3 had an urban/rural mix. Sampling of these districts was purposive. According to Johnson and Christensen (2008: 239), in purposive sampling, the researcher specifies the characteristics of a population of interest. In addition to being rural, districts 1 and 2 had been the lowest- performing in the National Examinations for Grade 12 in the year preceding collection of data for this research study (District 2 being the worst performing and District 1 was second worst performing). Life Sciences was one of the subjects in which learners were performing poorly. One of the key objectives of this study was to examine teachers’ needs for professional development in Life Sciences knowledge and skills. In view of these development needs, this study aimed to explore ways in which teachers were developed professionally on an ongoing basis, and whether teachers perceived these PD efforts to be effective. These districts therefore potentially possessed rich and valuable information that would answer these critical questions of the study. Although not poorly performing, District 3 had a rural/urban mix which would have potentially provided a different dynamic from the
91 two completely rural districts. In essence, both purposive and convenience sampling were used in selecting these districts. Although convenience samples are not the best way to go (Johnson & Christensen, 2008), it was necessary to ensure representivity in terms of demographics by selecting at least one rural-urban district (District 3) for the study.
During the second phase of the study, the sample was narrowed down to include only District 2. As indicated above, district 2 had been flagged as the worst performing for the Grade 12 National Matriculation examination results. De Vos, Strydom, Fouche, and Delport (2005:
328) elucidate that in purposive sampling a particular case is chosen because it illustrates some feature or process that is of interest for the study. Participants are selected because of the data they hold (Creswell, 2010). Tashakkori and Teddlie (2010: 358) describe this type of sampling as a ‘critical case’ sampling scheme with the technique involving selection of groups or individuals, based on ‘specific characteristics because their inclusion provides the researcher with compelling insight about the phenomenon of interest’. Whilst the majority of the teachers from District 2 who participated in the second phase of the study had completed the first survey questionnaire, a few had not been part of the first set of data collection, i.e.
had not completed the questionnaire. Termed by Johnson and Christensen (2008: 256), this mixed method sampling procedure is a ‘parallel sample relation criterion’. According to Johnson and Christensen (2008) a parallel sample relation indicates that the samples for the quantitative and qualitative components of the research are slightly different but drawn from the same population.
Macmillan and Schumacher (2010) point out that a judgment can be made about which subjects to select to provide the best information to address the purpose of the research. The choice of District 2 was informed by the need to contribute to the development of Life Sciences teachers’ knowledge and skills. Having obtained findings from the first phase highlighting great need for development in certain specific knowledge domains, the purpose of the second phase was to obtain first-hand data on benefits achieved through participation in a professional development programme. Hence, CPD programmes in the form of training workshops were designed for teachers based on their expressed needs. As indicated above, the choice of District 2 for further study was to a large extent informed by poor learner performance in the district. Therefore any potential benefit that would be derived from participation in a CPD programme was directed at these teachers.
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