Data Collection

Considering the nature of the research questions, the type of data required for the analysis, and prevailing conditions in the research area, I realised as mentioned earlier that the best way of collecting adequate data for the study would be the qualitative approach. This was because the data required was qualitative in nature and could best be obtained through the in-depth interview.

Additionally, aspects of the data were physically observable and could be gathered through direct field observation. There were also school records that

could yield useful data for the study. I therefore became convinced of the usefulness of combining data from different sources in order to gather all the information I needed for the inquiry.

Morrow and Richards (1996 cited in John, 2003) warn of over-reliance on one type of data source, especially when conducting research with children (John, op. cit). Therefore, the present study employs in-depth interviews, field observation and documentary analysis. I draw on the strengths of these different methods of data collection to improve the overall validity of the data.

The children engaged for the study were interviewed and observed; and significant others, such as parents, school heads, and teachers, were also interviewed. Both primary and secondary sources were utilised during data collection. Primary data include interview transcripts, photographs19 and field notes; and secondary data include school records that I collected personally and CREATE school tracking data which was collected by Centre for Research on Improving Quality of Primary Education in Ghana (CRIQPEG) and National Centre for Research into Basic Education20 (NCRIBE).

Research participants – children in particular – engaged in the process of data collection were heterogeneous in terms of age, gender and grade at which they dropped out of as well as returned to school. They also had disparate cultural but similar socio-economic backgrounds, and came from various geographical locations, ethnicities and religious affiliations, although the majority were residents of two albeit discrete rural communities located in a single municipality (see figure 5:1).

The somewhat different circumstances of children’s home lives; interaction and support; values; and perceptions of education enhances the analysis of the diversity of factors that combine to create the notion of ‘community’. Children are located in the context of significant others and events whose interactive

19

The photographs include those taken by the children and myself.

20

I was among NCRIBE team of researchers who collected the first phase of the CREATE data in 2006/7

effects shape school attendance patterns, and the decision whether to drop out temporarily subsequently to return to school later, or not. I therefore collected data through collaboration with children in the school, at home and wherever else they might be found.

In addition to assistance from children in locating dropouts, I also traced school attendance records, which gave me an indication of the number of children who had dropped out. With the help of children and teachers, I identified those whose record showed that they had dropped out, and located, interviewed and observed them.

Teachers were engaged in the school, parents in their homes and significant others in the community. Most interviews were audio-recorded and complemented with notes in my field diary, and, if considered necessary, photographs taken by children.

Table 4:2 Details of Data Collection Target of

Investigation

Method Purpose

Children In-depth interview To discover and describe children’s understanding and interpretation of dropout, the stories of how

they dropped out, and their reasons for dropping out and dropping in. Children’s activities Observation/

Interview

To gain an understanding of the daily activities of children that influence decisions on schooling. School head/

teachers

Interview To discover and describe perceptions and understanding of dropout, how cases of dropout were

identified, and how and why it is thought dropout and drop-in occurs.

Parents Interview To discover and describe perceptions and understanding of dropout, the factors responsible for

children’s attitude towards schooling, and to confirm children’s stories of their experiences.

Documentation Secondary data

analysis

To examine trends in children’s enrolment and attendance, the intentions being to trace children’s attendance patterns, and determine how they exemplify and typify general patterns of attendance in the research area.

School

characteristics

Observation To gain an overview of the school environment and context in which dropout and drop-in occurs,

and the practices that shape children’s education. To gain primary evidence of school level processes and understand how they shape children’s patterns of attendance and dropout.

Classroom interaction

Observation To examine how teachers relate to pupils in the classroom. To gain primary evidence of how

teachers deal with children on the verge of dropout and dropouts who have returned to school. Community-related

activities

Observation To identify and gain an understanding of the socio-economic activities that influence children’s

schooling, and how such activities shape children’s aspirations in terms of returning to school, employment and economic well-being.

Community characteristics

Observation To gain an overview of the context in which dropouts are located, and how it influences the

4.4.1.1 Interviewing Methods

Conducting interviews as part of the study is a useful way of collecting data as it is an introspective technique, which allows respondents to report on themselves, their views, their beliefs, practices, interactions and concerns (Freebody, 2003).

People are more willing to provide information verbally in an interview than if they were asked to write an account of their views or fill out a questionnaire (Robson, 1993). The interview creates an opportunity for participants to react by asking for further clarification of questions they do not understand, and also gives the interviewer the opportunity to seek elaboration of answers if the need arises. Additionally, the Interview guarantees a high level of response because most if not all questions are answered if the interviewee is given sufficient time. Moreover, it is possible to check on the reliability of a response by rephrasing the same question differently and asking it at different stages of the interview (Freebody, 2003).

The interview was therefore employed to obtain data from children and significant others. Such meetings occupied a major part of the fieldwork. The in- depth interview approach to data collection was employed to gather descriptive accounts in participants’ own words in order to help elicit insights from them. During the interview process, participants were allowed considerable leeway in pursuing a range of issues they considered relevant to the subject under discussion.

Interviews were conducted in Fante,21 and later transcribed and translated into English. It should be noted that although I made every effort to render the true meaning of the Fante expressed during interviews when I translated them into English, I acknowledge that there were limitations to this process, as some local vocabulary is nonexistent in English and vice versa. Moreover, it was necessary to render some of what was said in Fante in terms that could be easily

21

The Fante language is the native dialect of the study area and is spoken in most parts of the Central Region of Ghana.

understood. Nevertheless, the sense of what was originally expressed was always preserved.

4.4.1.2 Developing the Interview Guide

The nature of this study necessitates inquiry that focuses more on lived experiences than hypothetical scenarios or abstract concepts (Mason, 2002). I therefore made preparations before meeting with an interviewee by outlining key themes and areas of interest that addressed my principal research questions.

I followed Bryman’s (2004) advice on the use of the interview technique for data collection. Of particular importance in Bryman’s methodology is developing an interview guide based on the research questions; seeking the participant’s permission to be interviewed; arranging a mutually agreeable time and place for the interview; the identification of possible interview themes or subjects; deciding the mode of recording the interview (note-taking, tape-recording or both); and avoiding double-barrelled or multiple-barrelled questions (ibid).

Focusing on my research questions and guided by Bryman’s advice, I developed interview guides for each of the different participant groups in order to explore their respective views on the dropout phenomenon. In all cases, the interview guides were semi-structured in order to allow the respondents the freedom to pursue those topics they considered relevant, while also ensuring that my own questions were adequately answered.

Of all the interview guides, the one I designed for the children was the most detailed; being divided into sections that dealt with the various issues raised in the research questions. I also developed interview guides for school authorities and parents. The focus of the interview guides for both teachers and parents related to children’s explanations of the causes of dropout; what significant others themselves thought was responsible for dropout and drop-in; and their views on the possibility of children returning to and completing school.

Although some qualitative researchers disagree with the idea of preparing questions in advance, and emphasise the possibility of exploratory and unstructured data collection, Mason (2002) argues that it is actually not entirely possible to gather data in a wholly unstructured way through the qualitative interview, since the decisions and judgments the researcher makes give some form of structure and purpose to the data-generating process.

4.4.1.3 Validity and Reliability of the Interview Guide

To ensure the validity and reliability of the guides, I developed interview themes and questions based on the research questions. Additionally, I gave the interview guides to two researchers who had used interviews during their own research to review and offer feedback. My supervisors also read them and made helpful comments. I tested the appropriate guide with a couple of children in a pilot study in Winneba in May 2008, which revealed that the questions could be easily understood. A comparison of responses with the research questions revealed that the interview guide was reliable and generated the kind of data I sought.