Ethical considerations

The British Educational Research Association‘s Revised Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research BERA (2011), which deals with gaining informed voluntary consent of participants, informed the ethical decisions taken into consideration during the research for this thesis. All the participants who took part in interviews or focus groups were informed about the study at the beginning of the data generation process. They were informed verbally of their right to withdraw from the research at any time, though none did, and their identities were anonymised both in terms of secure storage of data relating to them and within this writing. They received no incentive to take part and I am very

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grateful for their cooperation. Dealing with the issues of access and acceptance, informed consent, anonymity of participants and confidentiality in manner that conformed to BERA Guideline (2011) was a priority in this study. Getting participants‘ acceptance and protecting them from any possible mental or emotional harm were the main concerns (Fontana & Frey, 2005 ; Kvale & Brinkmann, 2009 ; Marshall & Rossman, 1999 ; Patton, 2002).

5.19.1 Access and Acceptance

Access and acceptance is an important issue that needs to be tackled in the initial stages of the research. It refers to the researcher gaining access to the site of the study and being accepted by the organization to conduct the field work required. The researcher usually needs an official permission from the authorities concerned. For this study, an official letter was obtained from the University of Huddersfield to be handed to the Libyan Embassy in London, which was forward to The Higher Education in Tripoli which in turns issued an authorized letter to take to the secretariat of education in the region where the research was conducted. This secretariat of education was responsible for the schools within the region and issued me with a letter to deliver to the schools where the study was conducted. The same letter was delivered to the Education Development centre and the inspection office.

5.19.2 Informed consent

Informed consent is consent received from the participant after he/she has been carefully and truthfully informed about the nature and the purpose of the research (Christians, 2008 ; Fontana & Frey, 2005). The researcher is obliged to explain the research processes thoroughly and the data he or she intends to collect and their explicit aims. For this study, and before the beginning of this research, the required information about the research was provided to the participants to seek their formal agreement to take part in the study. Their verbal consent was first proved when they accepted participating in the research. They were also notified that they were free to withdraw from the research at any point. If

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I handed them any consent to write, I think they would not have participated that time because of the tension and the reserve exacerbated by the conflict.

5.19.3 Confidentiality

This consideration deals with protecting the participant‘s right to privacy by promising confidentiality at the beginning of the research to ―gain trust and encourages participants to speak openly and honestly‖ (Simons, 2009, p. 106). It involves disguising the identity of participants to ensure that their privacy and anonymity are protected (Patton, 2002). The participants of the present study were assured that they will remain anonymous and that reporting the findings will not include their identification by names. Their names will also remain anonymous to ministry officials in the region. The participants were also informed that the data gathered will only be used for the purpose of the research and will not affect their status by any means. I also assured the participants that the study does not aim to judge them in any sense. I stopped recording upon their request and did not include any of the issues discussed separately in the notes or the interview transcription. I also respected their views when they referred to the conflict, the teachers and the administration and when they had that silence or reserve. I kept the recorded materials and my notes in files for each participant with anonymous names. I gave no detail about the participants to head teachers and the inspectors.

5.19.4 Protection from harm

This consideration refers to protecting participants from any harm including physical, emotional or any other type of harm (Babbie, 1998 ; Fontana & Frey, 2005). The researcher of this study considered all the possible consequences of the study on the participants. For instance, I did not refer to the teachers‘ problems in front of other teachers, inspectors and headteachers. I avoided interviews in the last class to let them leave on time. Making appointment was based on mutual agreement of the teachers and the researcher. At the same time, attempts were made to avoid the effect of the researcher as an authority. I gave them my contact detail for any possible help. For

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social and cultural restriction, I did not ask them to be interviewed with other teachers in other schools or places. Moreover, the participants were assured that the information provided would only be used for research purposes and no elements of data collected will be handed to any officials in educational offices under any conditions.

5.20 Stages of Data Analysis