RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Stage 2 Survey
The questionnaire was administered to all mathematics teachers at all 30 public and private secondary schools in the Windhoek urban area, giving a possible maximum of 105 respondents. The number of mathematics teachers at each school differed depending on the learner enrolment and varied between one and four. Principals and Heads of the Mathematics Departments who also happened to be mathematics teachers also took part in the survey. The first phase of the research therefore focused on obtaining responses from as many participants as possible from all the targeted 30 secondary schools.
The teacher training campus of the University of Namibia, where the researcher works, is located in Windhoek. The choice of Windhoek as the research site was thus a purposeful and pragmatic decision which allowed the researcher convenient access to all schools during both phases of the data acquisition process. All the 30 secondary school are located within a reasonable distance from the researcher’s workplace. The teacher trainees of the researcher’s institute do their teaching practice in schools within the Windhoek urban area and a good rapport already existed between the training college and the various school principals.
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Phase 2
Phase 2 of the research process took the form of a case study. Non-probability purposive sampling was used (Maree, 2007, p. 179). Five schools that participated in Phase 1 were targeted for Phase 2. These five schools were carefully chosen so that they represented a broad spectrum in terms of teaching aid availability. This purposeful selection process was guided by data emanating from Phase 1 of the study. Sampling preference was given to key participants who, “on account of their position or experience, [had] more information than regular group members and/or [were] better able to articulate this information” (Welman, et al., 2005, p. 204). The case study was focused on obtaining an in-depth understanding and insight from five teachers purposefully selected from five different secondary schools based on Phase 1 results. Two teachers were selected from well-resourced schools that showed good use of teaching aids. A further two teachers were selected from under-resourced schools in terms of the supply of teaching aids in Mathematics. The fifth teacher was chosen from a school that was moderately supplied with teaching resources. The sampling process thus purposefully selected cases from both extremes (Yin, 2009, p. 59) as well as a school lying between these two extremes since the focus of the study is on both well-resourced and under- resourced contexts. The other factors that contributed to the selection of the five teachers who took part in Phase 2 included:
• The general responses that were given by the teachers in Phase 1 regarding the availability, use and source of the teaching aids at their schools.
• The willingness of both the participating teacher and the school principal.
• The teaching experience and general perceptions portrayed in the open-ended question of the questionnaire.
3.8 DATA ANALYSIS
Analysis of data in this mixed methods study used both quantitative (descriptive numeric analysis) and qualitative (description and thematic text analysis) approaches (Creswell, 2003, p. 220). According to Maree (2007) mixed research is a procedure “for collecting, analysing and ‘mixing’ both qualitative and quantitative data at some stage of the research process” (p.
280). The mixing of the qualitative and quantitative data in this study occurred during both the data collection and data analysis processes.
33 The data analysis was carried out in two phases:
Phase 1
The quantitative data collected from the questionnaires was analysed using spreadsheet software to identify any trends and patterns in the use and availability of teaching aids in schools. Graphs and tables were developed and used to analyse the source, frequency of use as well as the availability of teaching aids. The open-ended question of the questionnaire produced some qualitative data in the form of emerging themes identified from the teachers’
perceptions towards the use of the resources in their classroom teaching. The data analysed in Phase 1 was also used to guide the second phase of the research study.
Phase 2
The second phase focused on analysing qualitative data in conjunction with the quantitative data to provide a richly textured and more nuanced understanding of the use of teaching aids.
The analysis of data in Phase 1 led to the generation of data through a case study of five selected schools in Phase 2. According to Cohen, et al., (2007), qualitative data usually focuses on a smaller number of participants than quantitative data, “yet the data tend to be detailed and rich” (p. 461). Qualitative data from the interviews was transcribed and coded.
Coding is defined according to Welman, et al. (2005, p. 214) as a process of analysing and making sense of the information that has been generated. Themes that emerged from this process were gradually grouped to provide a rich and deep characterization of teachers’
experiences and perceptions of the use of teaching aids in the Namibian Mathematics classroom at secondary school level.
During the data analysis process equal weighting was given to both quantitative and qualitative data, the results from the two phases being fully integrated at the interpretation and final discussion stage of the study.
34 Table 3.1 Summary of the Research Process
Phase Stage Method/
Techniques Aim Data Analysis