3.9.1 Presentation
All the data collected is presented in this dissertation. Different data collection techniques may use different data presentation methods but before presentation data must be properly handled and managed. Data management involves properly handling and storing of data collected to avoid distortion and loss. According to Schwandt (1997) data management “is a designed structure for systematising, categorising, and filing materials to make them
89 efficiently retrievable and duplicable” (quoted in Guest et al. 2013, 275). Data from the lesson observation was presented as narrative descriptions. Thick descriptions of what was observed on individual teachers were provided. Presentations were made in a flowing manner. The lesson observation checklist was used to track and observe behaviours, including: planning and preparation, lesson presentation, achievement of objectives, classroom management, and assessment of pupils’ work. On interviews, some transcriptions of data recorded on audio tapes were done and the same data was presented in the form of narratives. Some direct quotations were also presented followed by thick descriptions. On document analysis, results were presented in prose form. Where themes and patterns emerged some thick description and analysis were done.
In short, the simple process to present data started with the editing process that is, checking for errors and omissions. After editing data it was arranged in groups or classes on the basis of similar characteristics. These characteristics were then analysed to come up with emerging themes and patterns. In this study, the classification of data was done according to attributes which were descriptive in nature.
3.9.2 Interpretation
I desisted from giving my own opinion in relation to the observed data. In the interpretation of data collected from the lesson observations, the shortcomings of teachers in their lesson delivery were juxtaposed with Kodály’s pedagogy which forms the theoretical framework. This was done to assess the gaps in knowledge in terms of the way music literacy is being taught in Zimbabwe with Kodály’s work taken as a model. This enabled me to come up with new dimensions and approaches to understanding the best way music literacy teaching should be done in relation to competency levels as required by the Music Syllabus. Interviews with
90 participants were interpreted not in terms of the personal opinions of the researcher. Shared viewpoints were treated as emerging patterns and themes were then presented as blocks of ideas to be analysed. On document analysis, common occurrences in every document were selected and then presented as the emerging major themes to be analysed. All teachers’ documents were analysed distinctively from others and thereafter, the researcher came up with patterns to be analysed.
In all these attempts, I instituted the idea of bracketing of my personal interests during data collection so as to distance him from pre-conceived ideas, in an attempt to remain as neutral as possible in interpreting data. I also conducted member check with the participants to check if his interpretations of their responses really represented their own perceptions and descriptions regarding the teaching and learning of music literacy.
3.9.3 Analysis
I used an inductive approach to analysis. This means starting from the known and progressing gradually to the unknown using the theoretical framework and literature review processes as guidelines. McMillian and Schumacher (2010) state that qualitative data analysis is primarily an inductive process of organising data into categories and identifying similar patterns among them. In this case, data analysis was determined by interpretation of raw data from the three data collecting procedures applied to come up with themes and patterns pertinent to this study. In simple terms, it was classified according to common attributes. The major blocks of data that came from such classifications were treated as emerging patterns and themes. From the identification of these themes, the data analysis was then done inductively in line with the grounded theory approach.
91 In a nutshell, qualitative data collection methods of lesson observations, administration of interviews and document analysis were emphatically employed with neutrality to avoid bias or the imposition of the researcher’s views. Data collected from lesson plan observations were read and presented in a narrative form as raw data. Data collected from interviews were reduced through the method of sorting and classifying the same views and opinions. Data from documents were read and major themes that emerged were presented in descriptive forms. In all cases, data analysis started with unique case orientation followed by an inductive analysis. Patton (2015) argues that inductive analysis allows meaningful dimensions to come from the patterns found in the case in question without presupposing in advance what those important dimensions will be. In my case, teachers of music literacy were my first units for analysis because they were the key players in this research study. This was followed by the classrooms because these were the venues where teaching took place, except for those lessons which were conducted outside the classrooms. The classroom set-up also contributes to child learning because that is the learning environment because a well-resourced classroom will not yield the same results with the one without resources. Themes and patterns that emerged from the data collected were looked for across case studies in line with the Kodály methodology (Grounded theory) which is the theoretical framework of this study.