3.6 The Interviews .1 School B
3.6.2 School A
Second interviews were conducted at school A. School A is in eMolweni, a rural area outside Pinetown. This school is about fifteen kilometres away from Pinetown and about forty kilometres away from
Durban. As it is the case with the communities in KwaNgcolosi, the adults from the communities from eMolweni work far away from their homes in towns and cities such as Pinetown and Durban. The communities from this area consist mostly of unemployed people.
Most of the people from this area depend on government grants for their survival.
School A consists of four blocks of buildings and is properly fenced.
There is a security gate but there is no security guard controlling and recording the details of people who are visiting the school. The enrolment at school A is about 550 learners. At this school they have a flush toilet system for learners and educators. Attached to one of the school‟s blocks are the principal‟s, deputy principal‟s and HODs‟
offices.
I did not experience any difficulties with gaining access to this school since I am known to the principal and the members of staff. I arranged with the principal to negotiate for my interviews with the other participants who are members of staff and also with a parent. I did not experience problems in getting willing participants. A deputy principal‟s office was used for the interviews.
3.6.2.1 Interview: principal School A
The interview with the principal of school A was conducted in the deputy principal‟s office. It started at 13h00 and ended at 13h20. The main focus of the interview with the principal was the same as the interview with the principal in School B. The same interview proceedings as in School B were followed. The interview was tape- recorded and permission to record asked for before recording was done. There were no problems or interruptions and everything went well during the interview with the principal.
3.6.2.2 Interview-HOD School A
An interview with an HOD of School A was also conducted in the deputy principal‟s office. It started at 13h25 and ended at 13h45. The main focus of the interview with the HOD was the same as in School B. The same interview proceedings as in School B were followed. The interview was tape-recorded to capture interview discussions. The purpose of recording was explained and permission to do so was asked. Probing questions were posed during the interview for clarity purposes and to gain some additional information. There were no problems or interruptions during the interview.
3.6.2.3 Interview: educator School A
An interview with the educator of School A also took place in the deputy principal‟s office. It started at 13h50 and ended at 14h20. The main focus of the interview with the educator was the same as that of the educator in School B. The same interview proceedings of the educator in School B were followed with the educator in School A. The interviews were tape-recorded to capture the interview discussions.
Follow-up questions were sometimes asked during the interview for clarity. There were no problems or interruptions during the interview.
3.6.2.4 Interview: parent School A
An interview with the parent of School A was also conducted in the same office. It started at 14h30 and ended at 14h45; it lasted for fifteen minutes. The main focus of the interview with a parent of School A was the same as that of the parent of School B. The same interview proceedings as in School B were followed. The interview was recorded to capture interview discussions. Before recording the interview permission was asked from the parent. Everything was in order and there were no problems that were experienced.
3.6.3 School C
The third and last interviews were conducted at school C. School C is in KwaNgcolosi, a rural area about twenty kilometres outside Hillcrest.
The communities from this area consist mostly of unemployed people who depend on government grants for survival. This school is along the main road and consists of six blocks of buildings. The conditions at school C are much better when compared to the conditions of the other two schools. At this school they have a security fence and a security guard at the gate who controls access of people into the school. He makes a record of all the people who visit the school. The administration block is next to the gate. Inside the administration block is a principal‟s office, a deputy principal‟s office, HODs‟ offices and an administration clerk‟s desk. They have a flush toilet system for both educators and learners.
In one of the buildings there is a school library, a computer room and a school hall. The enrolment at this school is about 800 learners. I did not experience any difficulties with gaining access to this school since I am known to the principal and the members of staff. I arranged with the principal to negotiate for my interviews with the other participants who are members of staff and also with a parent. I did not experience problems in getting willing participants.
3.6.3.1 Interview: principal School C
An interview with the principal of School C was conducted in the principal‟s office. It started at 13h15 and ended at 13h55. The main focus of the interview with the principal of School C was the same as that of the interview with the principal in School B and School A. The same interview proceedings as in School B were followed. The interview was tape-recorded and permission to record asked for before
recording was done. There were no problems or interruptions and everything went well during the interview with the principal.
3.6.3.2 Interview: HOD School C
The interview with the HOD of School C also took place in the principal‟s office. It started at 14h00 and ended at 14h20. The main focus of the interview with the HOD was the same as in School B. The same interview proceedings as in School B were followed. The interview was tape-recorded to capture interview discussions. The purpose of recording was explained and permission to do so was asked. Probing questions were posed during the interview for clarity purposes and to gain some added information. There were no problems or interruptions during the interview.
3.6.3.3 Interview: educator School C
The interview with an educator of School C was also conducted in the principal‟s office. It started at 14h30 and ended at 14h50. The main focus of the interview with the educator was the same as that of the educator in School B. The same interview proceedings with the educator in School B were followed with the educator in School C. The interviews were tape-recorded to capture the interview discussions.
Follow-up questions were sometimes asked during the interview for clarity. There were no problems or interruptions during the interview.
3.6.3.4 Interview: parent School C
An interview with a parent of School C was conducted in the same office. It started at 14h55 and ended at 14h20. The main focus of the interview with a parent of School C was the same as that of the parent of School B. The same interview proceedings as in School B were followed. The interview was recorded to capture interview discussions.
Before recording the interview permission was asked from the parent.
Everything went well in School C and was in order except for a tape- recorder that I did not notice it had stopped recording during my interview with the principal. I explained the problem to him after noticing that it has stopped and I asked him to start all over again. He agreed and we started all over again and there was no problem when I was doing it for a second time. I finished the interviews on Friday as I had planned to conduct interviews at only three schools.
3.7 Ethical considerations