Ethical considerations

3.9.1 Access to participants

I had access to the case study participants for one hour a week for the purpose of teaching a class entitled Creative English Writing. I did not teach any of these students for their normal English classes. I had the support of my school principal in involving students or staff to participate in my study. The principal was provided with a copy of the thesis proposal before it was submitted to the university so that he could not only be fully informed about the proposed research but also so that he could review it and make suggestions for any changes if he felt that the school, students

or staff were being disadvantaged in any way through this research. After reading the proposal, there were no changes he wished to make.

3.9.2 Potential harm to participants

This research did not expose participants to any significant risk. To allow for the possibility that students may make negative comments during the course of the research about people, the school or the education system, participants were reassured that any comments made would be treated confidentially. Students were asked before completing the survey to not refer to any people by name but rather to use terms such as Teacher A etc if necessary.

The translator used to clarify written comments on the student survey, was asked to sign a form in which he acknowledged that he may hear or read comments that may be negative, but that he would respect the

confidentiality of all students and not pass on any comments of any nature or information to anyone but myself. This was also agreed to by the teacher who was the contact person for parents and who translated the informed consent letters into Malay.

3.9.3 Participants’ right to decline to participate and right to withdraw There were no repercussions for any students or teachers not participating in the study. Information sheets about the research contained information regarding participants’ right not to participate in the research and also their right to withdraw from the study before the end of the data collection

period. Consent forms clearly outlined what activities participants were involved in and how much of their time was required.

3.9.4 Surveys

The case study group had a local young person, unattached to the school, individually going over completed surveys with students. This possibly gave students more freedom to respond frankly than having a teacher assisting them. The translator used a mixture of English and Malay for asking questions and responding to answers as suited the needs of each student, which enabled clear information to be gained from each question in the survey even when a student had poor English skills. They were

given time to discuss any changes they wished to make to any of their answers or to provide more details if necessary.

3.9.5 Use of information

This research has been used to write a thesis for completion of a Master of Education degree. As a employee of CfBT, the thesis and its findings has also been made available to CfBt in Brunei as part of their ongoing collaboration with the Ministry of Education to improve English education in this country. It may be presented at appropriate academic conferences or published in academic journals.

3.9.6 Conflict of interest

Although I was the teacher of the case study students for the journal writing programme, I found that no conflicts of interest arose during this research. Collection of data did take up some time that was scheduled as student lesson time but this was minimal and was approved by the school principal. Most research activities were conducted in my own time and did not conflict with my duties as a teacher. Normal classroom accountability ensured that all students in my journal writing programme, although participants in research, were fully supported in their learning.

3.9.7 Informed consent

Students from the Cohort Group and the Case Study received letters to take home to parents/caregivers outlining the research and clearly stating that their children were under no obligation to participate in the study. This letter was written in Malay and provided contact details for the researcher and a Malaysian teaching colleague so that any questions or concerns could be addressed. Parents had several days to return the consent form so they had adequate opportunity to read it, make contact if necessary and make their decision freely.

All teachers were informed of the research at a staff meeting with the opportunity to ask questions and an information sheet about the research was handed out to staff. It was ensured that English teachers asked to administer the survey did not feel obligated to take part due to friendship or collegial ties.

3.9.8 Confidentiality

Participants were assured that they would all remain anonymous as they are not named in the thesis and no information is included that may identify them. Particular care was taken with members of the case study group to ensure their information remained confidential and that they cannot be identified through any comments made by them or about them that are contained within the thesis. All paperwork related to the research, apart from the students’ dialogue journals, was kept securely in a locked container so that there was no access to student assessments,

questionnaires or interviews by anyone except the researcher.

3.9.9 Social and cultural sensitivity

As a New Zealander conducting research in another country with a very different cultural, religious and social background, care was taken so as to not cause offense or misunderstanding particularly due to language

difficulties and to not jeopardise professional relationships with staff or students. Information sheets, surveys and forms were written in both Malay and English or fully translated orally so that all participants had full understanding of the research being conducted at all times. A local staff colleague provided written translations and advice on any cultural and social considerations that arose during the course of the research.

Chapter 3 has outlined the methodology behind this study. The division of the analysis into two phases enabled a primary school ESL context to be first established through the investigation of the Cohort Group. This background enabled the subsequent Case Study to be examined from a more knowledgeable perspective, with the larger sample size also increasing the validity and reliability of findings. The mixed methods iterative approach involved the investigation of many possible

relationships between a range of data, and provided several findings which appear pertinent to literature and research discussed within this thesis.