3.1. Research Concerns 59
3.1.4. Selection of Schools
In support of this quote, I must admit to finding that each of the interviews differed, depending on who the respondent was and our ability to relate to each other. (See impact on each other in Section 3.2.2).
A trend which post-modem researchers support is that assessing the validity and reliability of qualitative data is antithetical to the very nature of this type of research (Denzin & Lincoln, 1998). Whilst I hope that the measures I followed have resulted in data which is verifiable and an honest record of the interactions, the data will have been influenced by my interests or what Powney & Watts, (1987: 11) would call "my filter", the participants' own agendas and our interactions. This is acceptable in qualitative research since each person's contribution is valued as relevant. Admittedly this makes generalisability of this sort of research difficult (LeCompte & Preissle, 1993).
Another important criteria was that schools had to be government run. Private schools were excluded because they became multi-racial long before government schools did (Christie, 1985) and offered subjects and curricula different from government schools, even writing different examinations from the National ones.
Having chosen schools located in the area of my home meant making contact with schools and people that I had once been familiar with. My initial thoughts that this familiarity was an advantage were challenged on reading Taylor and Bogdan (Chuildra, 1997:59) who warn 'new' researchers against studying friends and familiar surroundings as familiarity "could bias their ... findings". I reasoned that as I has been absent from the community for years and had had no contact with the teachers, principals and schools for almost a decade I had no invested interest.
I found, however, that having previously been a member of the community proved to work in my favour, as I gained access to some of the schools with relative ease. This membership also meant that I had knowledge about some of the schools' origins and population which was advantageous to this research project.
The first school visited was Hamilton High, which was located on the edge of a residential area, at the outskirts of the town. This school was the newer of the two schools in the town closest to my home and had developed the image of being more liberal over time, as it was the first school in the area to be multi-racial. Its population was primarily Indian, though Coloured learners had attended it in the early years of its existence. For these learners to attend this school legally, an exemption form was filled in by their parents and permission gained from the appropriate Education Departments. In 1989, the first white learner attended the school.
Walking around the school, I noticed that there was graffiti on the walls and a lack of toilet paper in the toilets. This first visit to the school, which took place a week prior to the interviews, indicated that many things had changed since my days as a learner when I had attended it for 2 Yz years. For instance, the staff composition had changed. Some teachers from 10 years ago were still teaching at the school, but there were also a number of new faces.
The other ex-HOD high school in this area was Mohammed High. It was situated in a more industrial area, also on the outskirts of this town. It was the first high school to open in the area and lay less than a kilometre away from Hamilton High. It comprised of both older and more
67
recently built buildings. Itwas a school that historically catered for the predominantly Indian population in the community but also had Coloured learners in attendance in the 1980's.
The third school, Thandeka, an ex-DET school, was situated within the very heart of a township, about 10 kilometres away from Hamilton High and Mohammed High. It was situated within the confines of a predominantly Black community and was the only high school in that area. Its population consisted of predominantly Black learners, although learners of mixed origin, who would have been classified as 'Coloured' under the previous Race Act, were also in attendance. Entrance to the school was via a bumpy, potholed, dirt road. Some of the rooms that I was able to see had no furniture, although being utilized by members of the staff at the time. The school had no electricity, or phone and no fencing, (unlike the other schools).
Running water was a commodity that they did possess. Although learners wore plain clothes or mismatched school unifo~ articles, an element of neatness was attempted. Before lessons began, learners assembled for a short assembly, which was enlivened with enthusiastic singing.
The last school, Saint Cyprian's was an ex-NED school located in the heart of a middle to upper-middle class residential area, approximately 10 - 15 kilometres away from the other schools. The buildings and facilities seemed to be better than those at the other schools I had interviewed.
In my aim to be representative of all races I attempted to gain entry into a Coloured school, in an area further inland from the south coast, approximately 80 kilometres from the four schools described above. This would have been the only school, which housed boarders. I pondered about the comparative value of data originating from this school, taking into account its distance from the other schools. I did however have a strong desire to include the school, as it was the only Coloured school in the region and had been in existence for many years. In fact, Coloured parents over the years had shown an affinity to this school, preferring to send their children to this institution rather than to Mohammed or Hamilton High. The principal of this school was reluctant to permit me to interview his teachers, so this school was not included in the study.
Below is a table, indicating the geographical site of the schools, as well as their population groups.
Site Setting Socio-economic Historical Current Class of Location: Population: Population
1. Hamilton High Semi-urban Middle - lower Predominantly Indian Multi-racial
2. Mohammed High Semi-urban Middle-lower Predominantly Indian Multi-racial
3. Thandeka Rural Middle-lower Predominantly Black Predominantly Black
4. Saint Cyprian's Urban Middle-Upper Predominantly White Multi-racial
Table 3.1. Schools, their settings and their historical populations
Teachers were also helpful in suggesting schools located in the vicinity, which they knew were experiencing difficulty, i.e. network sampling of schools occurred.