Focus group interviews

interview questions gave the researcher an opportunity to rehearse.

Another disadvantage is that the presence of the researcher may affect how the interviewees respond. The researcher had to create good rapport with the teachers to enable them to express themselves freely on their experiences and opinions about teaching students with visual impairment. This situation called for the researcher to be objective and professional so as to gain their trust (Gray, 2009).

Manual data entry can prolong the analysis process (Marshall, 2016). For this study, data was recorded using an audio recorder so that exact words could be captured. Descombe (2010: 193), however, warns that the audio-recorder can create an artificial situation, while tactless interviewing can be an invasion of privacy which can make people uncomfortable. Building trust and good rapport with participants was essential such that participants would be free to express their views.

3.2.3 Focus group interviews

Data from students was collected through focus group interviews. From the researcher’s experience, people with visual impairment generally believe that sighted people are not empathetic to their plight. It was imperative that the students with visual impairment themselves be given a chance to speak for themselves on how they felt about the way they were taught Mathematics and the problems they encountered in trying to learn Mathematics. This

was meant to find out how they interpret the opportunities they are accorded to learn Mathematics.

Creswell (2012: 218) describes a focus group interview as the process of collecting data through interviews with a group of people, about four to six. Descombe (2010: 177) identified the following as features of focus groups;

• There should be a focus to the session and discussion is based on experiences about which all participants have similar knowledge

• Particular emphasis is placed on the ‘interaction’ within the group as a means of eliciting information.

• The moderator’s role is to ‘facilitate’ the group rather than lead the discussion.

In this study, the focus was on opportunity to learn Mathematics, while particular emphasis was placed on interaction within the group, with participants interacting with each other on issues highlighted by the interviewer. Interaction was emphasised as a way of giving a voice to previously marginalised groups so as to empower them to express their concerns. According to Freitas, Oliveira, Jenkins and Popjoy (1998), the focus group is s more suitable when the objective is to understand how people consider an experience, idea or event. This is because the focus group meeting is effective in supplying information about how people think or how they feel or act. The study employed semi-structured focus group interview guides (Appendix 1). The interviewer was guided by literature in preparing the interview guides.

3.2.3.1 Advantages of focus group interviews

Freitas et al. (1998) observed that the focus group is more suitable for use with young or vulnerable participants who may feel uneasy to be isolated. Students with visual impairment are a vulnerable group so the focus group approach was an appropriate method for use with the group. Another advantage was that data could be collected in a short period of time and at low cost (Cohen et al., 2011: 436). The data that is collected is also rich, flexible and stimulating. It aids recall, is cumulative and can be elaborated by the speaker or by the other participants. The focus group also had the advantage that data could be collected in a short time and at low cost. The focus group was used after the lesson observations to confirm the observations noted.

3.2.3.2 Disadvantages of focus group interviews

Focus group discussions also have shortcomings. Dealing with a group of socially disadvantaged children might present problems of mistrust and the children can maintain a social distance, especially if they have not personally accepted their situation. Some may still be bitter about their disability and asking them to take part in an interview may be too much for them. Fortunately, during pilot testing of the interview instrument for teachers, one adult teacher with visual impairment had pointed this out so the researcher had time to review on how to soften the learners so that they could feel free to participate. Some learners might not be articulate enough to respond in English, so allowing them to use the mother language, Shona, could aid data collection.

In addition, Cohen et al., (2011) observe that another disadvantage could be non-participation by some members, and dominance by others. Such a scenario requires that the moderator be skilled in handling the group so as to give all participants a chance to speak out. If the conversations are audio-recorded, the interviewer could faul to recognise the voices of group members during transcription.

3.2.4 Observation

The study also employed lesson observations as the other method of collecting data as it is among the methods recommended for qualitative research. Observations were used as they provided evidence of how the opportunity to learn Mathematics was enacted by the teachers in the classroom, through noting how the teachers presented their lessons, the words and actions that they used, the questions that they asked, their treatment of learners’ responses and the tasks that they gave to the learners. Cohen et al., (2011) remark that observation provides detailed first-hand information and there is no need for special equipment or personnel. Observation involves looking at, and noting systematically, people, events, behaviours, settings, artefacts, routines (Marshall & Rossman, 1995; Simpson & Tuson, 2003). Through observation, the researcher got the opportunity to gather live data from naturally occurring social situations, to explore what people actually did (Cohen et. al., 2011; O’leary, 2005), and to learn from the experience so as to expand knowledge on the teaching and learning of Mathematics by visually impaired students. Any reader can learn from what transpired in the classrooms visited by listening to the voices of the participants from the recorded lessons.

The researcher assumed the role of non-participant observer as the method ensures the collection of data without influencing the procedure in the lesson. Tuckman (1994) reports that the critical aspect of observation is looking, taking in as much as you can, without influencing what you are looking at. In support, Creswell (2012) regards a non-participant observer as an observer who visits a site and records notes without getting involved in the activities of the participants. Yin (2011) further supports the use of observation by commenting that what one sees with one’s own eyes and perceives with one’s own senses is not filtered by what others might have reported or what the author of some document might have seen.

To capture the proceedings in the lessons, the researcher developed an observation check-list by adapting the Massachussents Education evaluation form and that from the Gadsden State (Appendix 2). Some items on the checklist were constructed basing on the literature reviewed and the research questions. For instance, items that dealt with ‘reviewing previous lesson’, ‘linking today’s lesson with the previous lesson’ and ‘using appropriate examples’, were linked to literature on when an opportunity becomes an opportunity as depicted by Gresalfi, Barnes and Cross (2011). The check list assessed the following the broard areas; organisation of the classroom, presentation of the lesson, interaction and content knowledge, on a three point scale. The researcher took note of the frequency of specific types of behaviours, acts or events, using the structured observation schedule or check list so that only details pertaining to the study were recorded.

Observation was also useful for investigating non-verbal aspects such as inaudible whispers, pause and changes in tone of voice or changes in facial expressions in the form of comments

opportunities to learn Mathematics were provided. Proceedings in the lesson were captured through audio recording as this allowed the researcher to concentrate on noting other non- verbal cues among the students as well as capture accurate verbal data. The observation method helped to corroborate data from interviews and focus group interviews.

3.2.4.1 Advantages of observation

Direct observation allows the researcher to put behaviour in a context and thereby understand it better. Actual patterns of behaviour can be observed during lesson observation. Naturalistic observation is often used to generate new ideas. Because it gives the researcher the opportunity to study the total situation, it often suggests avenues of enquiry not thought of before (Mcleod, 2015).

3.2.4.2 Disadvantages of observation

The lack of control in observing a natural setting may render the observation less useful. This is coupled with difficulties in measurement problems with small samples, difficulties of gaining access and negotiating entry and, difficulties in maintaining anonymity (Bailey 1994, in Cohen et al, 2011 :47). To counter this situation, the observer used the issue of small samples to advantage since observation of almost all students in the class was possible due to their small numbers. In addition, the observer was a well known figure in the community so there was no problem in gaining access. However, the problem of maintaining anonymity remained unresolved as the sites used are unique and of public interest. Furthermore, people rarely act or behave the same when they know they are being observed.

3.3 THE PILOT STUDY

In conducting a pilot study, the researcher would be trying to assess the feasibility of the study and to pre-test the research instruments that would have been prepared for the study (Baker, 2002, Tiejlingen & Hundley, 2001). Gilbert (2016: 1) states one advantage of a pilot study as that it might give advance warning about where the main research project could fail, or whether the proposed methods or instruments are inappropriate or too complicated. It enables the researcher to identify unclear and ambiguous questions which are then corrected or replaced. For this study, the interview questions for teachers and the focus group questions were pilot tested using two teachers, one who is visually impaired and another who is sighted.

The two teachers had experience in teaching both the sighted and visually impaired students. The visually impaired teacher doubled up as a ‘visually impaired student’ since she has been a student also, and as a teacher of the visually impaired. Individual interviews were held with the teachers, while the teacher with visual impairment helped panel beat the focus group questions for students. This helped to expose the weaknesses of the two instruments and appropriate measures were taken to improve the questions.

3.4 THE POPULATION

The population for this study comprised all students with visual impairment in Masvingo province and the teachers teaching Mathematics. Best and Khan (2006) define a population as a group of individuals that have one or more characteristics in common that are of interest to