Sampling refers to the process which the researcher uses to select a component of the larger population for the study (Maree, 2007). Sampling involves making decisions about which people or settings to select for research analysis (Cresswell, 2009). Sampling in qualitative study includes a particular way that the researcher selects the participants. Qualitative research is based on non-probability and purposive sampling (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2007) rather than probability and random sampling favoured by quantitative research (Maree, 2007). Sampling in qualitative study is made in order that the researcher obtains rich and comprehensive data to answer the research questions.
3.6.1. Purposive sampling of participants
In qualitative research purposive sampling is used to select the participants based on their particular characteristics and their interaction with the data which is to be collected (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2007). “Purposive sampling means selecting participants according to preselected criteria relevant to a particular research question” (Maree, 2007, p.83). Further, this type of sampling is used in a specific situation with a defined purpose in mind. Purposive sampling allows the researcher to handpick the participant who would contribute the richest and most detailed data for the study. The study was based on mentor learning so I had to purposively handpick my participants who have experience as mentors during school-based teaching practice. Qualitative research usually works with small samples and I have a sample size of four (Maree, 2007).
The participants teach and mentor in the three phases offered at this school: the Foundation, Intermediate and Senior phase. The participants were made up of three females and one male.
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Although gender was not a criterion, this particular participant was the only male to have a few years of experience in mentoring. I chose these participants because they were able to articulate their concerns, challenges and tribulations during school-based teaching practice.
This cohort represents a group of teachers who started mentoring at its inception at this school in 2005 and have mentored ever since. The participants are full-time, state-paid teachers who teach the stipulated hours as per departmental regulations and include the mentoring of student teachers into their existing workload.
3.6.2. Profiling the school context 3.6.2.1. About the school
The study was conducted at a primary school in Chatsworth. The primary school was selected purposively as the school takes on student teachers for the annual blocked teaching practice.
On one end the school borders informal settlements, some of which have been partially developed with low-cost housing and tarred roads. On the opposite side is the built up area which consists of semi-detached houses, in a developed housing settlement with basic amenities. A road built up in the last eight years has linked both ends to the school. There are 24 full time staff members, two governing body post holders and five Indian language teachers who serve the school on a part-time basis. The learners are disadvantaged in term of cultural and material capital. A large percentage of the learners live in single family homes with minimum to no income, depending solely on the social grant. The learners are also faced with social ills: unemployed parents, poverty, substance abuse, child-headed homes, teenage pregnancy and dreaded diseases. The relationship between the parents and the school remains a tenuous one. In a school population of over 700 only on average 21% of the parents pay school fees, which have never gone beyond R1000 per annum. The school depends on the allocation from the Department of Education, fundraising drives, initiated by the teaching staff and sponsors. The school has a self-sustaining feeding programme and a daily delivery of sandwiches from local religious organisations to feed the poor. Included in the social welfare programmes is the distribution of uniforms, stationery and food hampers. Teaching within this context demands a unique ethos from the teacher, requiring them to make an investment in the social welfare of the learners, be creative about the lessons especially when resources are required and understand the reality of the child. This environment provides the student teacher with a unique learning experience.
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3.6.2.2 The School-based Initiative for Mentoring (SIM)
Most teachers on staff serve as mentors to student teachers during teaching practice. Three members of staff were selected to participate in the Mentoring in Schools short course which was offered by a university. Since 2005-2009 the School Liaison Mentor and mentor teachers attended the annual meetings the university held before student teachers were deployed for teaching practice. The teachers who attended this course recognised a need for the development of mentors and mentoring at the school and decided to introduce a School-based Initiative for Mentoring (SIM). The SIM was introduced to establish a culture of mentoring within a specific school context. The purpose of the SIM is two-fold: to develop and support the teacher as mentor as well as the student teacher. The SIM provides support to the student teacher in the form of an induction. Induction includes a guided tour of the school as well as introducing the student teacher to the daily running of the school, how to avail themselves of the resources, timetabling, and school policy. The school time-table is adapted during teaching practice to include an early morning meeting with the school liaison mentor, observing, planning, teaching and engaging with mentor teachers during post evaluation meetings.
The second purpose of the SIM includes support for the mentor teacher. Two readings formed the backdrop of the design of the SIM for the mentor teachers to understand the nature of mentoring and some key markers for the practice of mentoring. The first article, Mentoring adult learners: a guide for educators (Cohen, 1995), provided the mentor teachers with an understanding of the different phases of the mentoring process. These phases were used to develop a semi-structured programme which divided the school-based teaching practice session into fluid phases and gave the mentor a yardstick as to the mentee‟s progress.
The second article, Mentoring as a journey (Awaya et al., 2003) introduced the ideas of the developmental moments in the journey of mentoring. Although the mentor teachers were introduced to other readings, the above two pieces of work have remained the basis of the SIM during school-based teaching practice. The SIM takes mentoring out of the isolation of the classroom to common places like the staffroom and corridors. It provides the opportunity to enquire, find out, and test ideas and thoughts on mentoring, with colleagues.
47 3.7. Data collection: Methods and Procedures