LIST OF TABLES
CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.2 Theoretical/Conceptual Framework
3.2.1 Qualitative Approach
A qualitative research design was used in this research project. Before engaging in the discussion of the philosophical underpinnings of qualitative research methodology, I will outline the principal aspects of qualitative research that informed this research project.
According to Terre Blanche, Durrheim, & Painter (2006, p. 563), “qualitative research
seeks to preserve the integrity of narrative data and attempts to use the data to exemplify unusual core themes embedded in contexts”. Qualitative research afforded me the opportunity to understand the social and human behaviour as it is experienced by the participants (Arkava & Lane, 1983). It allowed me to understand the attitudes of the Grade 9 EMS teachers towards the CTA for EMS and how were they engaging with the CTA for EMS in curriculum development. Geertz (1979) argues that understanding comes from the act of looking over the shoulders of actors and trying to figure out (both by observing and conversing) what the participants think they are up to. The idea of acquiring an ‘inside’ understanding is a powerful central concept for understanding the purpose of qualitative inquiry. Bryman (1988) argues that one characteristic of qualitative research is that it is essentially concerned with looking at events, processes, values and actions from the perspective of those being studied.
This research is positioned in the interpretive paradigm that emphasizes interpretation and experiences. The interpretive paradigm was used because I was dealing with the participants in their context. Furthermore, I was trying to understand the phenomena through the eyes of the participants. In this interpretive paradigm, the focus is on harnessing and extending the power of ordinary language and expression to help us understand the social world we live in rather than on isolating and controlling variables (Babbie & Mouton, 1998). I used this paradigm because I was working with the participants in their natural environment. Nieuwenhuis (2007) argues that the interpretive paradigm is based on the assumption that human life can only be comprehended from within. It is for this reason that the research was conducted within the school context. The interpretive researcher assumes that human mind is the purposive source of meaning and social world does not exist independently of human knowledge because human behaviour is affected by knowledge of the social world (Nieuwenshuis, 2007). Furthermore it allowed me to try to understand the phenomena through the eyes of the participants.
According to Babbie and Mouton (1998, p.270), “qualitative research is especially appropriate to the study of the attitudes and behaviours best understood within their natural setting, as opposed to the somewhat artificial settings of experiments and
surveys”. This methodology makes sense in situations where we know in advance what the important variables are, and we are able to devise reasoning. Furthermore, I was trying to understand the phenomena through the eyes of the participants. The aim is to grasp how to interpret our own and others’ action as meaningful. The idea of interacting with the participants in their natural setting and trying to understand the phenomena from their point of view is further emphasized by (Denzin & Lincoln, 2003, p. 5) when they argued that “The qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or to interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring”. In this research, I used an inductive approach. In this approach a researcher begins with a set of vague speculations about a research question and tries to make sense of the phenomena by observing a set of particular instances (Terre Blanche et.al, 2006).
3.2.2 Symbolic Interactionism
Symbolic interactionism is said to have originated within the social psychology discipline and it seeks to find common symbols and understandings that emerge to give meaning to people’s actions. Interactionism is a process of action between individuals. Blumer (1969) argues that, people interact with each other by interpreting the actions of each other instead of merely reacting to the actions of each other. The perspective’s central idea is that people act as they do because of how they define situations. According to Blumer (1969) symbolic interaction rests on three premises. Firstly, human beings act on the basis of meanings which they give to objects and events rather than simply reacting to social stimuli such as social forces or internal stimuli such as drives. Secondly, meanings arise from the process of interaction rather than simply being present at the outset and shaping future action. Thirdly, meanings are the results of interpretive procedures employed by actors within an interactive context. Furthermore, Blumer (1969) maintains that society must be seen as an ongoing process of interaction involving actors who are constantly adjusting to one another and continuously interpreting the situation. In this research project I was trying to understand the perceptions of Grade 9 EMS teachers towards CTA for EMS. Furthermore, I wanted to understand how they were engaging CTA for EMS in the curriculum development.
In the process of undertaking the research I ensured that I based the research on the interactionism principles. I used this approach in this study because I was trying to understand the process of human interaction, as it focuses on the meanings, actions and interpretations derived through social interaction. Haralambos & Holborn (1990) argue that from the interactionist perspective, an understanding of action requires an interpretation of the meanings which the actors give to their activities. The three sociological perspectives are the macro perspective, the micro perspective and the interactionist perspective (Meighan in Naidoo, 2006). Principles of symbolic interactionism guided this research project because human interaction and context are important in this qualitative interpretive study. Furthermore, the need to explore the phenomena in its natural setting lead to the use of the symbolic interactionism. Symbolic interactionism involves interpretive research that is concerned with how people see things, and how they construct their meaning. It involves interpreting research that is concerned with how people see things, and how they construct their meaning (Henning, 2004). The same sentiments are echoed by Haralambos and Holborn (1990) when they argue that from the interactionist perspective, an understanding of action requires an interpretation of the meanings which the actors give to their activities.