Data-Gathering Techniques 1 Orientation

Three types of data gathering techniques were used to gather data for this study. A brief description of each technique and the number of respondents involved in each case are presented below.

4.5.2 Observation

Classroom observation was a particularly suitable technique for the collection of data because through its use the researcher was able to observe the research subjects’ behavior directly as well as making face to face interaction with them in a natural setting. These observations were deemed necessary in order to get the “feel” of the research subjects’ learning processes and skills in Science. Consequently, the researcher was able to obtain valuable data on activities and processes which the subjects were engaged in but were not consciously aware of.

Merriam (1998:94) states that observations, although highly subjective are “first hand encounters” with the phenomenon one is investigating and as such are a valuable research tool. Observation in the research setting is nevertheless planned intentionally to record behaviour as it happens.

Bogdan and Biklen (1992:53), and Hoepfl (1997:15) are in agreement that “the researcher can immerse himself in the research situation as a fully active participant (complete participant); he can engage in limited interaction with the research subjects during observation (participant observer); or he can observe subjects without their being aware of it (complete observer)”.The researcher therefore immersed himself in the research situation so that he could experience events personally.

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That was done in line with Glesne (1999:44-45) who describes participant observation as a process whereby the researcher becomes part of the research setting in order to observe firsthand the actions and interactions of the participants. She further asserts that researchers must decide for themselves how involved they will become in the setting i.e. whether their observation technique will be largely ‘observer’ or largely ‘participant’. She suggests that one might find oneself fulfilling different roles on this continuum at different times during the observation sessions.

In keeping with the aim of this study, the researcher was included in the description of the research methodology and was an active participant in the research. For example, in all the schools the researcher used to take care of learners while the educators were attending to other things (e.g. attending workshops or being absent)At one point the researcher found himself helping educators with marking learners’ work in Science. Helping in the classrooms as a researcher is in line with Woods (1986:39) claim that it is difficult to avoid being involved in some way in the life of the group in any long-tem research. So the researcher found himself participating somehow in classroom activities, and the learners treated him as one of their educators as he continuously visited their class.

Furthermore, the researcher decided what he was going to focus on during observation. This researcher decided to sit at the back of the class and observed the interactions between each educator and the learners during Science lessons. It was explained to each participant that the observation was for intentions of the inquiry only and that it would not be used for any other purpose.

What has been observed must be carefully recorded by means of extensive field notes. The researcher made abbreviated notes in a notebook that described the activities and interactions taking place (in the classrooms). He also wrote down certain direct quotations. These were later typed out in more detail as suggested by Glesne (1999:49-50). The researcher’s reflections and comments as participant observer were added during the transcribing process.

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According to Jorgensen (2000:45), the observation technique is a straight forward technique: by immersing himself in the subject being studied, the researcher is presumed to gain understanding, perhaps more deeply than could be obtained, for example, by questionnaire items.

Observations can be overt or covert; in covert observation the observer is not known by the people he/she observes and he/she does it in secrecy while in overt observation, the observer is known by the people he/she observes (Patton 1990:88). In this study the researcher used participant observation/overt where he basically observed lessons in progress. Thus, he interjected himself into an actual situation in an effort to draw out and document the subjects’ reactions. In doing so, the researcher was guided by the research question (see Chapter 1) so that the observation was not just haphazard but theoretically selective. This enabled him to become part of the group and interacted with them; it created an atmosphere in which he interacted freely with subjects in their class activities thereby developing mutual trust. This is because “if the researcher is to get an accurate and complete account of what deviants do, what their patterns of associations are, he must spend at least some time observing them in their natural habitat as they go about their ordinary activities” (Wisker 2001:85; Fontana and Frey, 1994: 370).This in turn enabled the participants to treat the researcher as “one of them” i.e. a real, historical individual with concrete, specific desires and interests” (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000:143). More than anything else, the purpose of the observation was to add rigour to the investigation when combined with the interviews (Ralenala, 2003:167).

The researcher used the observation technique as a supplementary method/data collection technique to the interview method. He used this method purposely to get a clear and direct establishment of facts from the learners and the classroom educators regarding the subject under study.

Furthermore, the lesson observation process aimed at helping the researcher to see the reality of ‘how’ effective teaching and learning in English is in a rural setting of Vlakfontein Circuit and how it influenced the educators’ and learners’ abilities to perform their tasks in Science. In the process of observation the researcher used structured form of observation, whereby he focused

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on the same features in all the classes and the lessons he observed. For this technique he designed questions which guided what he saw and heard (see Appendix 4) (Spradley, 1980:4). In the classroom observation, therefore, the researcher focused on establishing the language of learning and teaching used by educators in practice, learners’ possible participation in the teaching and learning process and how the use of English as the language of learning and teaching (LoLT) influenced learners’ abilities to learn Science concepts.

An attempt was made to observe educators on different days of the week to avoid observing activities that might have been repeated on the same day each week. All observations recorded was primarily descriptive in nature and was captured as field notes and used to identify any emerging patterns. Seven educators took part in the observations.

The following classroom situations were observed:

 The classroom environment: school buildings in general, number of learners, resources for learners so as to establish their effect on the teaching and learning of Science.

 Laboratory facilities: to establish their contribution in the learning of Science.

 Libraries: to look at their impact language wise on the part of learners.

 Classroom interactions i.e. educators’ English competence, learners’ English proficiency.

 Educators’ teaching style: educator’s pace, educator’s approach, link with prior knowledge.