Focus-group interview

This section discusses the two focus-group interviews that were conducted with some Grade 12 learners from the school council and debate clubs in two of the four selected schools. A focus- group is a form of interview with between six and twelve participants (Check & Schutt, 2012:205) where a researcher asks the group to take turns to answer a set of questions related to the study. This method of data collection is used to collect vital information simultaneously, in a short time from members of the population who are experts on a specific topic (ERCC, 2010:18; Quinlan, 2011:289; Scott & Garner, 2013:229). Sagoe (2012:2) advances that the principle underlying use of focus-groups is that group activities assist people in the exploration and clarification of their views in a manner that is not easily accessible in an individual interview. Lam, Lee and McNaught (2012:16) emphasise that focus-group interviews are interactive in nature; are capable of soliciting a vast and wide range of information; and allow consideration of extreme individual ideas, but should not allow any participant to dominate the discussion. Furthermore, ambiguity can be eliminated since the facilitator has the opportunity to ask for clarification where necessary.

Lam et al. (2012:16) also comment that focus-group interviews create an opportunity for exploring a topic in detail and provide additional evidence concerning why people think in a particular way by capturing examples, stories and feelings of the participants.

In this study, the researcher used the focus-group interviews of learners from the highest and lowest performing schools in order to collect descriptions of their lived experiences within their schools on learner performance and teaching. This is in line with the argument by ERCC (2010:18) that focus-groups play a significant role in collecting data regarding what is really taking place, the reason for what is happening, the feelings of the participants concerning the situation, as well as the existence of particular possibilities for exchange. Scott and Garner (2013:99) observe that, focus-groups have the potential to provide numerous lessons from the similar and contradictory viewpoints, practices that are common and collective norms of the participants on a given topic.

Quinlan (2011:289) argues that focus-groups are used in cases where the researcher intends to direct the attention of the participants’ focus on a specific phenomenon, thereby generating insight into that phenomenon. The use of the focus-group interview is appropriate in this study because focus-groups allow for investigation of complicated, deep, personal perspectives that are rich and detailed (Scott and Garner (2013:99). Focus-group interviews with some Grade 12s from among members of the school council and debate club were considered to be a valuable technique for learning about the lived experiences on learner performance and teaching because the learners are directly affected by any kind of school activity and so they are capable of giving a clear insight into the phenomena. This is confirmed by ACAPS (2012:14) with the assertion that focus-group discussions are useful where one needs to identify cultural norms and comprehend issues that affect a group or part of a group within the affected population. This suggests that the selected participants can easily talk about learner performance and teaching in respect of the various school cultures because they are affected by the phenomenon.

The use of focus-group among the selected Grade 12 learners is important in providing additional information on the challenges surrounding learner performance and teaching in public secondary schools as there appears to be limited information about it (MESVTEE, 2014:9). Berg

and Lune (2012:172) suggest using focus groups to study a new topic or the one which may not have a lot of information.

Phenomenological researchers are advised to avoid being biased on a phenomenon by putting aside their personal beliefs, feelings and preconceptions (Creswell, 2012:477). Focus-groups allowed the researcher to learn from a collection of participants several feelings, beliefs and preconceptions which the researcher interpreted to gain insight into the phenomenon. Englander (2012:15) argues that apart from emphasising examination of what a phenomenon looks like from a personal perspective, phenomenologists also seek to know how a phenomenon is interpreted from an inter-subjective point of view. Therefore, collective discussion can generate multiple opinions which can create confidence in the findings of the research and at the same time increase the validity of the research.

The researcher was of the view that the focus-group interviews would bring out many points relating to the lived experiences of the learners and could be used to interpret the possible reasons for poor performance among learners in public secondary schools.

3.4.2.3.1 Organisation of the focus-group interviews

As already mentioned, the researcher purposively selected Grade 12s from among the school council and debate clubs, because the researcher was of the view that they have the potential to inform the study because of the duration of their stay and diverse involvement in many matters of the school. The focus-group interview guide (Appendix J1), like the head teachers’ and teachers’ interview guides, was divided into four major parts which the researcher used to draw as many responses relating to the subject matter as possible. The researcher ensured that the participants were at ease and none of them felt out of place in the discussion.