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3.2 SELECTION OF SCHOOLS
The study was piloted in the area that represented the characteristics of the chosen sample. The aim was to get a fair and just sample spread of schools for this study.
Three academic schools were identified in the greater Pietermaritzburg area. The first school visited was School A which is located in the northern suburbs of the city.
This was a former House of Delegates school. The second school was School B, which is located on the periphery of the city centre adjoining the southern suburb.
This being an ex model C school. And the third school, School C, is located on the edge of a Black residential (township) area. This was an ex Department of
Education and Training school and is now a KZN Department of Education school.
3.2.1 School profiles
The three schools are all senior secondary schools in the FET (General Schools) band which also have Grade 8 and 9 in the GET band in their structure. They are similar in that their core curriculum is formulated around the academic general subjects. They each have approximately the same number of learners and also have a representative mix of both male and female learners.
Schools A and B are both examples of ‘‘advantaged’ schools which provide a well organised learning environment supported by both the teachers and parents. All the teachers are well trained and experienced in their subject areas especially in Mathematics and Science (Teese and Polesel, 2003:197). Both schools are struggling to find suitably qualified teachers specifically to teach the subject Technology.
The majority of the learners in School A are mainly from the Indian community with about a third consisting of Black learners from both genders. These learners come from middle to working class families from the surrounding residential area and nearby townships. The buildings and grounds are well maintained. The school has
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sufficient facilities, adequate equipment and is staffed by a competent teacher complement that is qualified to service the general academic curriculum. The school is, however, experiencing problems trying to acquire the services of suitably qualified and trained teachers to teach specialist subjects like Technology.
School B is an established school where the evidence of a previously privileged education system is visible. The learners attending this school are mainly from middle to upper lower class backgrounds. It is a diverse, multi cultural school that includes both genders and all the race groups of our country. Many learners come from more affluent township families. Within the school grounds are beautifully maintained buildings, manicured lawns and well tended sports fields. Hostel facilities are available for in-house boarding. The school is well resourced with classrooms, specialist venues, equipment and apparatus. Qualified teaching staff take care of the academics of the school. Numerous sporting and extra-curricular activities are also offered. The school also does not have trained specialist teachers in Technology. An untrained teacher who was prepared to take up the cudgel manages and teaches the subject with assistance from teachers from other subject areas.
School C on the other hand has the characteristics of a ‘disadvantaged school’
(Teese and Polesel, 2003:123). It is situated on an unkempt tract of land. The school is minimally resourced, with sufficient teaching facilities and a reasonably good staff complement. Whilst, the interior of the buildings were neat and clean, the exterior needs maintenance and upkeep. The school has an entirely Black learner population that come from low to very low income families from the surrounding township and further a-field informal settlements. Quite a few learners are being looked after by other members of the family, siblings or even members of the community. This school recognises the need for, and is willing to, provide skills based subjects. The school understands the importance of offering skills based subjects in providing a base for their disadvantaged learners to enter the job market.
Although it has the available teachers, without external funding, assistance and
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support it is financially hamstrung to implement some of these critically identified subjects due to the prohibitive costs of running such subjects.
The schools are further elaborated on in the next chapter.
3.2.2 Gaining Access to Schools and Consent from Participants
An interview is seen as a social, interpersonal interaction, rather than a data collection process. Research ethics were considered throughout the process.
Research ethics are “a code of conduct” being the general principles of what one
‘ought to’ or ‘ought not to do’ (Robson. 2000: 29). Informed consent, guarantees of confidentiality, the interview process, methods of data collection, what will count as data and who will benefit from the research study are some of the issues that form part of the code.
Gaining permission for this study went unhindered as full support was obtained from all the officials involved. Consent was requested from the Kwa Zulu Natal Education Department to conduct this research study. Approval was granted with additional consent given to enter the three requested schools and interview their personnel (Addendum B). Ethical clearance was also granted by the University of Kwa Zulu Natal (Addendum A) to conduct this research.
Gaining access to the above schools was not difficult. The aim and outcomes of this research study together with the respondents participation was communicated to the principals. They were also assured of confidentiality and that no data would be used personally against them or against the school in any way. The collected data was safely stored and after completion and on acceptance of this study will be kept for a period of five years before being disposed of. The participants’ signed letters of informed consent are securely stored.
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The participants were given the contact details of both researcher and supervisor should they wish at any stage to consult with either party. They were also informed that should they wish to leave the research, they would be freely able to do so at any stage without repercussion, (Mouton, 2001) (Addendum C).