DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

In this study the data were collected in two phases in accordance with the research methods indicated above. The data that were collected from both research methods were presented and analysed simultaneously in the data presentation and analysis chapter. The data analysis stage is when the researcher, having collected data from the field, sits down and begins to sort them according to themes that are in line with the research questions. Data analysis is any approach, qualitative or quantitative, that reduces the complexity of the information and comes to an interpretation of what is real and what is not real (Martin and Gaskell, 2000). According to the qualitative research school of thought, data analysis occurs when a researcher is making sense of, interpreting and theorizing data (Schwandt, 2001 and Collins et al 2000). At this stage, the researcher uses a variety of procedures and techniques to enable him/her to work back and forth between data and ideas (Ibid, 2001). As advised by Punch (2003), after collecting the data, I went back to think about the central role of the research questions.

75 Thereafter, I began to summarize, reduce and create variables which were in line with the conceptions of quality teaching, practices and experiences of supporting teaching and learning and factors affecting the support for teaching and learning. Schwandt (2001) suggests that data analysis should involve the process of organising, reducing and describing the data which leads to drawing of conclusions or interpretation of the data. In doing so it was possible to realise which data was needed. Below is an outline of how data from interviews and that from the documents was analysed

3.5.1 Analysis of data from the semi-structured interviews

The interviews were tape recorded and then transcribed into a dataset (see Appendix B to F.). The first step was to read through the dataset and categorise it into themes: first, those derived from the research questions; and second, those that emerged as sub- themes from the data.

Hardy and Bryman (2004) note that the major preoccupation is the paring down and condensing of the data that has been collected. The data from the tape recorder was combined with the notes that were compiled during the interviewing process and condensed into relevant themes. This means that the information was categorized and what was irrelevant was removed. The interview questionnaire was structured such that it had three main sections, which were:, biographic information, the practices and politics of supporting teaching and learning in schools and the monitoring of teaching and learning. There was also a section that dealt with factors affecting support for teaching and learning. In each section there were specific questions that were in line with the main research questions. In the data presentation and analysis chapter the participants were coded and the responses from the same questions were presented and analysed simultaneously.

76 3.5.2 Analysing data from the documentary analysis

The data from the documentary analysis were recorded on the document analysis tool.(see Appendix G). The first step was to read through each documentary analysis tool and transcribe the data into themes based on the research questions. The documents that were analysed were the support and monitoring tools. In analysing district officials’ support and monitoring tools, I hoped to get a sense of their approach to managing quality in schools. It was necessary to understand what district officials do when they support teaching and learning at schools.

Leedy and Ormrod (2005) note that data analysis in a case study involves the organisation of the details about the case, the categorization of the data, and the interpretation of single instances, the identification of patterns and synthesis and generalisation. Notes summarizing the findings from documents were made. This summation of the documents helped in their interpretation. This in turn helped to identify related themes from different documents. These themes were then connected to the themes that had already been identified from the interview questions. Documentary analysis had, to a certain extent, provided data relating to the research questions. The data collected through the documentary analysis were more or less, as indicated in section 3.4.2 above, argumentation of the data collected from interviews. For this reason, it was necessary to analyse simultaneously the data from the interviews and the documentary analysis. In analysing the workshop manuals, it was possible to understand what district officials do when they conduct workshops. The workshop manual obtained, clarified the roles of principals and SMTs as being that of monitoring and managing curriculum.

77 3.6 RESEARCH QUALITY

This section outlines how issues of data trustworthiness and credibility were considered. It discusses how other writers consider data trustworthiness and how I conformed to it.

Collngridge & Gantt (2008) argue that, in recent years, qualitative research has been recognised as making a valuable contribution to knowledge. It has been argued that the traditional positivistic research is unable to capture the meanings people attach to social phenomena and understand the experiential and interpretive elements of their practice. However, for qualitative research to make this contribution it has to adhere to the canons of rigour. According to Guba and Lincoln (1989) and Kock (2006) the quality of research is judged by how it achieves trustworthiness in terms of the criteria of research paradigms.

3.6.1 Data trustworthiness

When doing this study, data trustworthiness had to be established. Figure 3.1 below as adapted from Guba and Lincoln (1989) illustrates how issues of data trustworthiness were considered in this study.

Table 3.1: Adapted from Guba and Lincoln (1989) Establishing trustworthiness

Establishing trustworthiness

Scientific Paradigm Constructivist

Criteria Paradigm Criteria

Truth values Internal validity Credibility

Applicability Validity Transferability

Consistency Reliability Dependability

(Rossman, 2003) proposes that data trustworthiness involves trusting the integrity and credibility of the data, and the historic criteria to judge data trustworthiness are validity,

78 reliability, generalizability and objectivity. In trying to conform to issues of rigour, I tried to include all the instruments that were used during the research. Further that the interviews were transcribed into a data set (see appendix A). It is argued that the trustworthiness or rigour of a study may be established if the reader is able to audit the events, influences and actions of the researcher (Guba and Lincon , 1989).

To establish trustworthiness in a ‘qualitative’ inquiry, Guba and Lincoln (1989) appeal to the criteria of credibility, transferability, dependability and enlarge upon these (Table 3.1). They claim that a study is credible when it presents faithful descriptions and when readers confronted with the experience can recognize it. Attaching the transcript of interviews and the document analysis instrument that would give a full description of events would allow the reader an opportunity to recognize any experience he/she encounters.

According to Elliot (2005: 23) “while reliability is generally defined as the replicability or stability of research findings, validity refers to the ability of research to reflect an external reality or to measure the concepts of interests” This means, therefore, that there is an interrelationship between reliability and validity and that research findings should be consistent and be able to be proved as a reality. O’ Leary (2004) and Scheurich, (1997) argue that validity is premised on the assumption that what is being studied can be measured, proved or captured. It involves seeking to confirm the truth and accuracy of the measured and captured data, as well as the truth and accuracy of any findings or conclusions drawn from the data (Ibid, 2004). In this study, this means that district support for schools can be measured with what they claim they do and what is said about them by SMTs and principals (see appendix A).

79 The analysis of documents (see appendix G) could also measure the support that is given to schools by district officials. Hardy and Bryman (2004:23) note that, “validity is concerned with the issue of whether a variable really measures what it is supposed to measure”. This means that the answers shown in appendix A as given by the district officials and SMTs gave an idea of how district officials manage quality in teaching and learning. Hardy and Bryman (2004:22) further note that, “reliability is concerned with the consistency of a variable”. Somekh and Lewen (2005) further argue that, in qualitative research the truth of the findings is established by ensuring that they are supported by sufficient and compelling evidence.

In considering the reliability of the data, two districts offices were selected and through semi-structured interviews (see appendix B to F) and documentary analysis (see appendix G) I managed to compare the variables given by participants from both districts. The data that emerged from the district officials, school based managers and documentary analysis was triangulated to measure its consistency and reliability. When the results are consistent, stable and repeated, it is said that there is reliability in the study (Holloway and Jefferson, 2000: Bauer and Gaskell, 2000; Singleton and Straits, 2005). The reliability in this study was achieved by probing questions during the interview process (see appendix B to F)

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