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CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH PARADIGM AND DESIGN

INTRODUCTION

The earlier chapter dealt with literature review on international and South African perspectives. This chapter builds on the information presented in the previous chapter in order to develop a research approach, design the study, develop data collection instruments and address ethical considerations as well as validity and reliability.

RESEARCH PARADIGM

A paradigm is thought of as a way of looking at the world, and the world-view of constructivists rejects the control of phenomena (Guba & Lincoln, 1994:113). Unlike the stance of positivists which maintains that reality can be measured and manipulated, constructivists see “knowledge as a process of making meaning through communication” (Mhlolo, 2011:48) with participants in order to understand the meaning they attach to their cultural and historical context (Mills, Bonner & Francis, 2006:2). The general objective of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of management constraints in the recruitment of qualified mathematics and science teachers from the perspectives of teachers, principals and education officials and in their own settings. Given that the constructivist paradigm resonates with the objective of this study, the researcher adopted this particular paradigm. The adoption of the paradigm signified the importance of establishing relationships between the participants and the researcher in order to facilitate purposeful conversations. It is this type of purposeful conversations that allowed participants to construct meaning out of their own situations regarding an in-depth understanding of management constraints in the recruitment of qualified mathematics and science teachers in a post-1994 South Africa.
The constructivist paradigm also offers the researcher an opportunity to define the relationship between the developed conceptual framework of “Turning vision into practice” and the theoretical foundations of change management as well as those from the realms of psychology (Iqbal, 2007:17). The “Turning vision into practice” framework links the analysis of management constraints in the recruitment of qualified mathematics and science teachers to existing knowledge as discussed in Chapter 2. For instance, this case study adopted and modified Kotter’s Eight-Step Change Model (1996) which states, among others, that leaders and managers carry the keys to unlock the benefits of transformational change and these entail: communicating the vision, signalling support for change, modelling new behaviours and rewarding employees for innovation and improvisation (Stragalas, 2010:35). Despite the positive aspects of Kotter’s model, the requirement that all the eight steps must be sequentially makes the model prescriptive and linear. Thus, the model does not address the reality that change is a continuous process rather than an event (Stragalas, 2010:35).
Furthermore, the prescriptive nature of the model disregards the fact that some of the steps may not be relevant in other contexts. In the light of these weaknesses, the researcher adopted but modified the eight-step change model and developed the “Turning vision into practice” (TVP) conceptual framework. Unlike Kotter’s Eight-Step Change Model which focuses on the process of change, the TVP is essentially an implementation framework which supports the vision of prioritising greater access to mathematics and science education through the recruitment of qualified teachers in these subjects. Therefore, the framework provides a link or relationship between advocacy for change, development of recruitment systems and policy, effective communication, implementation, needs of individual teachers, monitoring and evaluation, feedback and review of the effectiveness of systems and policy implementation in the recruitment of qualified mathematics and science teachers in a post-1994 South Africa.

RESEARCH DESIGN

A qualitative approach differs from quantitative approach in the sense that the former does not provide the researcher with a step-by-step plan (Fouche, 2007:268). Essentially, qualitative research is largely based on a constructivist ontological assumption that sees reality as a social construction (McMillan & Schumacher, 2006:315). Furthermore, qualitative approach is primarily concerned with understanding social phenomena from the perspectives of the participants (McMillan & Schumacher, 2006:315). Finally, a qualitative approach also helps to explicate the ways participants come to understand, account for, take action and manage their day-to-day situations in their particular settings (Miles & Huberman, 1994:56). Shifting from the debate on the differences between quantitative and qualitative research, Bryman (2012:45) posits that researchers also tend to confuse the concepts: research design and research method. According to Bryman, research design is a framework for the collection and analysis of data and notes that a research method is a technique for collecting data. The apparent confusion whether a design is a method or not has affected the case design (Bryman, 2012:45).
A case study involves the study of one organisation, community, administrator, programme, process, policy implementation, or one concept (McMillan & Schumacher, 2006:316). In essence, the characteristics of a case study include delimiting the object of study: the case (Merriam, 1998:27). According to Merriam, if the phenomenon one is interested in studying is not bounded, then it is not a case. A case is studied for an identified particular or peculiar reason (Hyett, Kenny & Dickson-Swift, 2014:2). However, the debate is whether the bounded case should be understood as design which is not necessarily a method or that it is a design which suggests a method of research. While Bryman (2012:46) posits that a case design is a plan and not a method, Yin (2009:
47) understands a case design as a method. Notwithstanding the different perspectives regarding the case study design, Creswell sums up the different views and states that “I choose to view it as a methodology, a type of design in qualitative research, or an object of study, as well as the product of the inquiry” (Creswell, 2007:73). The researcher in this current study shares the aforementioned view as espoused by Creswell.
According to Yin (2009:47-48), there are four types of case study designs: single case (holistic) designs, single-case (embedded) designs, multiple-case (holistic) designs and multiple-case (embedded) designs as illustrated below.
An interpretation of the abovementioned designs is that Yin suggests that a case study is a process which entails both the phenomenon and the method(s) of investigation such as the collection of data using a single source (holistic) or multiple (embedded) sources of data. Therefore, Yin holds a different viewpoint than that of Bryman (2012:46) which separates a design from investigation methods. There are however, case studies that are distinguished in terms of the intent of the analysis (Creswell, 2007:74). These types of case studies include the single instrumental case study, the collective or multiple case studies as well as the intrinsic case study (Creswell, 2007:74). Creswell explains the differences of the case studies as follows:
In a single instrumental case study the researcher focuses on an issue or concern and then selects one bounded case to illustrate the issue;
In a collective or multiple case study the researcher also focuses on an issue or concern but selects multiple case studies to illustrate the issue; and
The intrinsic case study focuses on a unique or unusual situation.
Based on the abovementioned discussion, the present study belongs to the collective or multiple case studies. In terms of Yin’s grouping, the study can be classified under the category of multiple-case (holistic) designs because it deals with a single (holistic) process: management constraints in the recruitment of qualified mathematics and science teachers in a post-1994 education system of South Africa. Furthermore, the study shows the different perspectives while displaying the following characteristics of qualitative case studies:
The study is bounded by time and activity (Merriam, 1998:27): the study is confined to a historical period which is after the collapse of apartheid. In addition, the study is bounded within four secondary schools and a single province (Mpumalanga); and
The study investigates contemporary phenomena within its real life context and multiple sources of evidence are used (Yin, 2009:53), namely, current recruitment process in affluent and impoverished schools and 14 (multiple) .

Population of the study

A population is thought of as the total collection of participants that meet certain criteria for inclusion in a study, and about which the researcher makes some inferences (Burns & Grove, 2003:43; Cooper & Schindler, 2003:69). The population for this study consisted of education officials whose responsibilities entailed the allocation and distribution of teaching posts to schools in the province of Mpumalanga, Grade 12 mathematics and science teachers as well as principals of secondary schools in the Ehlanzeni and Nkangala districts. The secondary schools selected for this study in the two districts service communities that have different combinations of socio-economic levels of development (Bryman, 2012:417). School A and C are situated in the affluent communities and they are both former Model C schools. Conversely, Schools B and D are situated in the historically disadvantaged communities and School B belonged to the former homeland of KaNgwane while School D was administered by the former Department of Education and Training.

Sampling

Hancock, Ocleford and Windridge (2009:21) maintain that sampling in qualitative research differs from sampling in a quantitative study. These authors attribute the difference to a belief which suggests that qualitative researchers are less concerned with being able to generalise at a statistical level as they focus on purposive or strategic sampling. Morrow (2005:254-255) also shares the view that sampling procedures in qualitative research serve a different purpose from those that are being used in quantitative research. Morrow adds that qualitative sampling is always purposeful because participants are deliberately selected to provide rich information. According to the same author, purposive sampling is always criterion-based (i.e. it uses specific criteria). Bryman (2012:418) expands on this issue of criteria and indicates that in a purposive sample the researcher samples with the research goals in mind. In addition, Bryman cautions that although purposive samples select people in organisations based on their relevance to the research questions, researchers need to be clear about criteria that will be relevant to the inclusion or exclusion of units of analysis.
In summary, the aforementioned discussion indicates that qualitative sampling differs from quantitative sampling in that: qualitative research, sampling in qualitative studies is guided by research questions and that qualitative studies largely employ purposive sampling criteria. Most importantly, sampling in qualitative research needs to be based on criteria for selection. In view of these factors, the researcher employed a maximum variation tactic of purposive sampling. This tactic for purposive or purposeful sampling captures and describes central themes or major findings that cut across a great deal of participant or programme variation (Patton, 1990:172). The rationale for the selection of this sampling strategy is that it attaches particular interest and value in any common pattern that emerges from great variation, particularly with regard to capturing the core experiences and central shared aspects or impacts of the programme (Patton, 1990:172).
Based on the already mentioned maximum variation sampling tactic, the researcher took a decision to first identify information-rich participants from within the education system and at the level of management. However, these participants were identified from sections that are responsible for the management or provision of mathematics and science education in the district and provincial structures of the Mpumalanga Department of Education (MDE). The researcher studied the organisational structure of the MDE and identified the participants from the following relevant sections at the provincial level: Education Management Information System (EMIS), Teacher Development Directorate, Mathematics and Science Directorate, as well as the Human Resource Management Directorate (HRM). In the education districts, participants were identified from the sections of HRM.
According to the South African Schools Act (Act No 84 of 1994), the selection and recommendations for the appointment of new teachers is the responsibility of schools. Therefore, the researcher felt it necessary to identify school principals for participation in the study. Equally, principals were also responsible for the day-to-day management of appointed mathematics and science teachers. Thirdly, the researcher decided to identify mathematics and science teachers for the study in view of their position in the schools which derives from the recruitment process they went through. Contact with these teachers was established through the help of the respective principals who also play the role of being gatekeepers in the schools. Principals are responsible for overseeing all activities taking place in their schools. Therefore, the researcher requested access to the teachers from the principals. The decision to include Grade 12 teachers was based on the general belief that Grade 12 teachers set a benchmark through which the overall functionality of the post-1994 education is judged.
Furthermore, the researcher had to take two critical decisions regarding the sampling process in relation to the selection of the schools and the geographical location of the study. The geographical location was a challenge because the researcher had to balance costs of the study and the principle of multiple sources of data with regard to district positions. Eventually, the researcher abandoned the idea of involving officials from the four districts in the province due to high cost implications. Instead, the study was to be carried out in two districts that are within the proximity of the researcher. Subsequently, eight (6) invitations were dispatched to the identified district and provincial officials. The requests were accompanied by informed consent forms that were to be returned to the researcher. In view of the large number of principals, mathematics and science teachers in secondary schools of Mpumalanga, the researcher decided to access the National Senior Certificate (NSC) schedules of results for the period of 2011 until 2013.
The schedules were obtained from the websites of both the MDE and DBE respectively. From these schedules, the researcher identified 10 schools from the top performing 20 and another 10 from those that performed averagely. The top 20 schools were defined as those that have been consistently achieving pass rates that ranged between 80 and 100 per cent over the three years period (i.e. from 2011 until 2013). Schools that were seen as average performers are those that fell outside the top 20 bracket and have been consistently obtaining a pass rate of between 0.00 and 80 per cent from 2011 until 2013. Therefore, a combined list of 20 former Model C and historically disadvantaged schools was compiled. The researcher requested permission to conduct a pilot study at two (2) schools from the list of 20.
However, only one school from the two granted permission for the pilot study to be conducted. Subsequently, principals of the 18 remaining schools from the list were sent requests for participation. In addition, the researcher requested the same principals for permission to access the Grade 12 mathematics and science teachers. The researcher identified Grade 12 teachers as information-rich participants considering that the grade is used in benchmarking the functionality of the post-1994 education system. From the 26 requests that were dispatched to the different schools and education officials, 14 identified participants agreed to participate. Their participation was indicated through the return of signed informed consent forms which the researcher also confirmed with the participants telephonically. Only one identified participant from the provincial division of Human Resource Management (HRM) declined participation in writing. The rest of the identified participants did not respond even after telephonic prompts from the researcher. Therefore, the final picture of the participants that were interviewed is illustrated below.
Table 3.2 above shows that four principals and eight teachers for mathematics and science were selected from four secondary schools. Two of these schools are situated in affluent communities while the other two (2) are found in historically disadvantaged areas. The NSC schedules of results suggest that schools in the top 10 are situated in affluent communities. Conversely, the average performing schools outside the top 20 bracket are found in the impoverished communities of Mpumalanga.

Data collection strategies

Data for this study was collected through interviews that were supplemented through the examination of relevant documents. The semi-structured interviews were conducted after a pilot study which validated the interview schedules. The interviews were conducted in November 2013, while document analysis was done after the completion of transcribing.

Pilot study

Prior the main research, a pilot study involving 3 participants in a single school was conducted in order to validate the interview schedules, particularly to ensure whether the interview questions will solicit the required information. In addition, the pilot was intended to assist the researcher in estimating the time and costs that may be involved as well as pre-empt possible problems during the actual interviews (Strydom & Delport, 2007:327). According to Strydom and Delport (2007:327), a pilot study in qualitative research is seen as being beneficial because it allows the researcher to obtain clarity on specific areas that may have been unclear or to test the nature of questions in an interviewing schedule in order to enable the researcher to make modifications (Strydom & Delport, 2007:327). Considering that the main research question in this current study required the perspective of participants on constraints in the recruitment and redeployment of qualified mathematics and science teachers, the researcher validated the interview questions through a pilot study. It involved three (3) participants – one mathematics teacher and one science teacher and their principal–from a secondary school with characteristics that are similar to those identified for the main study. These participants were interviewed at their school. Subsequently, the responses and feedback from the three participants were used in order to analyse and revise specific aspects in the design of the study. For example, information from the pilot study indicated that Curriculum Implementers (CIs) were not necessarily involved in the supply, recruitment and redeployment of mathematics and science teachers in schools. Therefore, the original decision of including the CIs in the study was reviewed and they were eventually excluded from participation.

Interviews

In this study, face-to-face interviews were organised with each of the four (4) principals, eight teachers (8) and two (2) education officials. Therefore, 14 interview sessions were conducted and tape-recorded using two audio-tape recorders to guard against technical failures. Interview questions were contained in three separate interview schedules and according to the participants’ level of responsibility in the Mpumalanga Department of Education (MDE). The interview questions were arranged in a way which allows for the spontaneous wording of questions, and also enabled the researcher to establish a conversational style which created room for the interviewer to explore, probe, and ask clarity-seeking questions in particular subject areas (Patton, 2002:343). As a result, the researcher was able to gain access to participants’ accounts and articulations or to analyse the participants’ use of language and construction of discourse (Mason, 2002:63-64). Although the interviewing strategy has the aforementioned advantages, the strategy has its disadvantages as well. For instance, interviewed participants may be unwilling or uncomfortable sharing all information the interviewer wishes to explore (Marshall & Rossman, 1995:81). In the current study, the researcher’s experience and skill in interviewing minimised the disadvantages. Having occupied the position of a principal in a high school and currently occupying a senior management position in the MDE, the researcher has developed adequate interviewing skills.
Gay and Airasian (2003:209) define an interview as a purposeful communication between two or more people focused on one person trying to obtain information from the other person. Furthermore, an interview is thought of as “a form of conversation in which the purpose is to allow the researcher to gather data that addresses the study’s goals and questions” (Savenye & Robinson, 1996:105). During interviews the “conversation” oral questions and the participants’ oral responses are the main features (Gall, Borg & Gall, 1996:289). Qualitative interviews have several noticeable advantages that include the corroboration of evidence from interview sessions, assisting in understanding the philosophy of an organization and allowing the researcher to prompt and probe the issues deeper for clarity (Kruger, 1994:34-35).
Additionally, interviews allow the researcher to understand the meanings people hold for their everyday activities, and assist with the gathering of a variety of information across a large number of participants (Marshall & Rossman, 1995:81). For the researcher, the overarching purpose of qualitative interviewing is to describe how the participants view their world, to learn their terminology and judgments, as well as to capture the complexities of their individual perceptions and experiences (Patton, 2002:348). Therefore, good interviews are those in which the participants are at ease and talk freely about their points of view because such interviews produce rich data filled with words that reveal the respondents’ perspectives (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007:104).
Semi-structured interviews
This study employed in-depth semi-structured interviewing for all the sessions and they were tape-recorded, as the primary data collection strategy, while the researcher chose a research role of an interviewer. A research role is defined as “a relationship acquired by and ascribed to the researcher in interactive data collection appropriate for the purpose of the study” (McMillan & Schumacher, 2006:344). The interviews were conducted according to three (3) different interview schedules or protocols that entailed pre-formulated questions that were specifically designed to suit each group of participants, namely: eight (8) teachers, four (4) principals and two (2) education officials. During interviewing, the participants were allowed sufficient freedom to express their beliefs and experiences on constraints in the recruitment and deployment of mathematics and science teachers to their respective affluent and impoverished schools in a post-1994 education system of South Africa. In addition, the researcher ensured that the participants were at ease by overcoming apprehension through the maintenance of a relaxed and informal atmosphere. Before the commencement of each interview session, the researcher reminded participants of the aim and importance of the study, as well as their right to withdraw their voluntary participation whenever they deemed it necessary. During each interview session, which lasted over 60 minutes, the researcher asked questions using words that were familiar to the participants. Furthermore, the participants were assured that the information they divulged would be treated with utmost confidentiality.

Document analysis

Advantages of document analysis include not only what can be learnt directly from the selected documents but also as stimuli for paths of inquiry that can be pursued only through direct observation and interviewing (Patton, 2002:294). Formal documents are important because they provide an internal perspective on an organisation and describe its functions and the values in terms of which various people define it. These documents further assist in the identification of the chain of command and provide clues about the organisation’s leadership style and values (McMillan & Schumacher, 2006:357). For the purpose of this study, relevant documents were analysed in order to establish an in-depth understanding of patterns, values, experiences, beliefs, leadership styles as well as the chain of command regarding the recruitment and deployment of mathematics and science teachers in both affluent and impoverished schools in a post-1994 education system of South Africa. The documents that were analysed include the National Education Policy Act, (Act No. 27 of 1996) and the Employment of Educators Act, (Act No. 76 of 1998), the Further Education and Training Act (Act No. 98 of 1998), the South African Council of Educators Act (Act No. 31 of 1998), school records and government circulars.
Although the examination of documents may assist in the reconstruction of events and the provision of information about social relationships, the risk of their incompleteness and failure to provide an objective truth might compromise the trustworthiness of the study. There is always a possibility that some of the documents may contain the author’s prejudices and the effects of the time lag between the occurrence of the event and the writing of the document (Fouche, 2007:317). In this study, the researcher ensured the authenticity or credibility of the documents through the scrutiny of their history, their completeness and their original purpose. In addition, salient and relevant information from the formal documents was highlighted, analysed in terms its relevance to the research question. The information that linked with the main research question was placed in the respective themes were formed to group information from the transcripts (Appendixes G-J).

Role of the researcher

Qualitative researchers sometimes do not agree on the role that the researchers play during interviewing. Some are of the view that researchers, as normal human beings “can experience a kaleidoscope of feelings: of euphoria where they feel jubilant and happy that they are doing something important and worthwhile, as well as guilt, anger and frustration in response to participants’ stories or when they feel they may be exposing their participants to emotional distress” (Johnson, 2009:28). Henning (2010:66) concurs that emotions play a significant role in the communication between researchers and participants. However, she argues that interviewing is an unequal relationship because the ownership of the interview is the privilege of the interviewer and that a possibility exists that the interviewer could be tempted to treat interviewees as vessels of information rather than partners in the research. Henning (2010:70) states that “the strength in the constructivist and discursive view of interviewing lies in the attitude of the researcher and the preparation for working with the captured data in the analysis process”. Based on this discussion and the understanding that the researcher in this present study holds a senior official in the MDE management structures, it was imperative therefore for the researcher to adopt a reflexive approach during the process of data analysis. Reflexivity is thought of as an “awareness of the ways in which the researcher as an individual with a particular social identity and background has an impact on the research process” (Dunne, 2011:118). According to Shaw (2010:2), the focus of qualitative researchers is on data gathering which involves engaging with other people’s language, their stories and experiences. Therefore, this task of the qualitative researchers comes with reflexivity responsibilities (Shaw, 2010:2). The choices researchers make with regard to ontological and epistemological positioning are bound up not only with their personal or academic biographies but also to their interpersonal, political and institutional contexts (Mauthner & Doucet, 2003:421). With regard to this study, the researcher analysed data within a context of being a member of the senior management team in the MDE. This senior position exposed the researcher to a vast knowledge in respect of internal decision-making processes at a very high level of the institution to which the participating schools belong. Therefore, the researcher may have relied on this knowledge when making choice on the extracting of texts from transcripts that guided this study. This interpersonal and institutional exposure put the researcher in a position which allowed him to “go beyond the participants’ words to understand” (Mauthner & Doucet, 2003:421) their institutions’ or organisational culture and the educational significance of participants’ words. The researcher balanced out this possible bias through the adoption of the constructivist ontology which allowed the researcher to capture and reflect the participants’ exact words verbatim. However, the position of the researcher in the MDE structures, in part, could have enabled the researcher to draw from his work-related knowledge and experience to indirectly “shape the theoretical and ontological contours of the thesis” (Mauthner & Doucet, 2003:422). In essence, the study may have been affected by what Mauthner and Doucet call the “school of thought, interpersonal, political and institutional context” of the researcher in spite of “the bracketing of such personal views” (Chediel, 2009:79).

TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABSTRACT
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1. OVERVIEW
1.2. BACKGROUND
1.3. PROBLEM STATEMENT
1.4. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1.5. SPECIFIC RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.6. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
1.7. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
1.8. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
1.9. DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS
1.10. STRUCTURE OF THE STUDY
1.11. CHAPTER SUMMARY
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. INTRODUCTION
2.2. PART ONE: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.3. PART TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW FROM AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
2.4 PART THREE: LITERATURE REVIEW FROM A SOUTH AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE
2.5. CHAPTER SUMMARY
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH PARADIGM AND DESIGN
3.1. INTRODUCTION
3.2. RESEARCH PARADIGM
3.3. RESEARCH DESIGN
3.4. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
3.5. DATA ANALYSIS
3.6. VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
3.7. CHAPTER SUMMARY
CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS
4.1. INTRODUCTION
4.2. PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS
4.3. CHAPTER SUMMARY
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION AND INTERPRETATION
5.1. INTRODUCTION
5.2. DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
5.3. CHAPTER SUMMARY
CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1. INTRODUCTION
6.2. SUMMARY
6.3. CONCLUSIONS
6.4. THEORETICAL IMPLICATIONS
6.5. CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE
6.6. RECOMMENDATIONS
6.7. FURTHER RESEARCH
6.8. CONCLUDING REMARKS
7. REFERENCES
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