Interviews and Focus Groups data

All focus groups and interviews have been recorded and transcribed with the exception of two, as the participants were not comfortable with being recorded. Thematic analysis has been chosen as an appropriate means to analyse the data and a phenomenological and critical approach was applied to the data collected. It is said that procedures for Thematic Analysis as a qualitative method only appeared in the 1990s (Braun, Clarke, & Terry, 2014). Braun et al. (2014) argue that Thematic Analysis should be considered, rather than a methodology, a method in its own right.

Considering theirs as a valid argument, this means that Thematic Analysis is a tool that can be used across different methodologies. Following the argument built by Braun and Clarke (2006), I too argue that Thematic Analysis is in itself a method that is independent of theory and epistemology, and for this reason can be applied across a range of philosophical approaches. That is to say, that Thematic Analysis, as intended and theorised by Braun and Clarke (2006) provides an analytical procedure to analyse data, without applying any theoretical framework as to how to collect the data itself.

144 One of the main criticisms of Thematic Analysis in qualitative research is the lack of sophistication (Braun & Clarke, 2006). In agreement with Braun et al. (2014), I too believe that this accusation is misleading, and it has its origin in a false equation between theoretical flexibility — provided by Thematic Analysis — and absence of theory altogether. Another common weakness ascribed to qualitative research is the lack of an accurate description of the procedures used to analyse the data (Tuckett, 2005). Braun and Clarke (2006) have, therefore, created a step by step procedure to code and analyse qualitative data. This procedure was applied to the research data in this thesis.

The data analysis represented a particularly complex process: the great amount of data collected, and the qualitative nature of this data were significant factors that affected the process of analysis. Furthermore, the importance of my position as a researcher became apparent once again at this stage. The way I analysed my data relies on the model provided by Braun et al. (2014). They describe a six-phase approach to conduct a thematic analysis. The phases they suggest are:

• Phase 1: Familiarizing Yourself With the Data

• Phase 2: Generating Initial Codes

• Phase 3: Searching for Themes

• Phase 4: Reviewing Potential Themes

• Phase 5: Defining and Naming Themes

• Phase 6: Producing the Report

I spent a lot of time reading the transcripts of the interviews and focus groups and listening and re-listening to the recordings of the interviews. I took notes in the margins

145 of my transcripts as well as on separate sheets of paper using different ink pens in different colours. At the outset, I was not searching for codes nor was I searching for the answers to my research questions. The goal I had was to gain a full picture of the data, while at the same time starting to consider possible implications. I did not select data based on my perspectives, nor did I move from a preconceived theory.

When I did begin to generate codes, I let the data speak for itself. I wanted to capture my participants’ voices and record the matters that were important to them. This was done with the aim of overcoming the possible downfall of letting my background affecting this process. For this reason, this phase required many revisions of the data.

Generating codes required many revisions. Especially, early codes needed to be revised. This was due to the fact that, as would become clear with the progress of the analysis, the notions of creativity, spirituality and freedom were deeply interconnected. To generate themes, I needed a visual aid. This was due to the amount of data being included and the complex array of connections encompassed within it.

For these reasons, I used mind-maps to keep track of the codes and to help myself to make connections between the themes emerging from the different data items. Each theme I found was referred to as a specific data item. This phase lasted a long time.

Themes were grouped together, and I had to make the decision to discard some of them because they were not relevant for this research or else to regroup them under a different bigger theme. Eventually, with the research questions in mind, the themes were organised so to address them.

146 6.10 Limitations of the study

This study attempts to convey the complex nature of Steiner Education from the perspectives of those who are directly involved with it. The idea is to observe how the philosophy which informs the educational practices in a Steiner school influences the teaching approach. The very nature of this study bears some limitations. The qualitative nature of this research and the relatively small sample cannot support the generalization of the findings. It can be argued, however, that although the findings cannot have a statistical significance — and therefore cannot be generalised due to the small sample of participants and the fact that participants from only one Steiner school were involved — the findings of this study can still inform other theories (Bryman, 2012). More issues may arise in this study in relation to reliability, validity, and the difficulty in replicating this kind of research due to the qualitative research methodology applied (Bryman, 2012; Flick, 2009; Robson, 2011).

Some considerations must be carried out in relation to the specific nature of the school which hosted this study because overlooking these factors could compromise further discussions. Currently, in the UK, there are 35 Steiner schools, of which 4 are public founded academies in England ("Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship," 2019)⁸. That means that in the UK Steiner Education belongs, in large part, to the private sector. It has been argued how this departed from Steiner’s original idea of Steiner Education, which was intended to be free and available for whoever was interested.

8 In this list are only counted those schools that are registered with the Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship.

147 The fees required for the school selected for the case study in this thesis — vary from kindergarten to high school — were, however, cheaper than the average costs of other schools in the same area. Some students were commuters — some of the them would travel up to one hour and a half each day to reach the school. The fact that Steiner schools are private schools presents different ramifications. First of all, the demographic of people approaching Steiner Education seems to belong to the middle and upper class and although the school where this research was conducted had in place a system of scholarships to help those families who could not afford the school fees, it was clear that the students in the school were, in the vast majority, coming from a middle-class background. This introduces another question — how important is the role of family in a child’s education and educational choices (Lareau, 1987;

Waldinger, 2006), and to what extent does this influence the environment created in Steiner schools and the approaches taken? It must be said now that exploring the influence of the family socio-economical background on the students school experience, results and satisfaction is not within the frame of this research, however, it will be important to bear in mind such aspects so that — if explored — they may shed additional light on the conclusions from this research.

Dahlin (2017a) supports a similar view on the problem while examining the research on Steiner Education. While commenting on studies conducted in the USA, he suggests that:

there are no attempts to measure the influence of students’ socio-economic status (SES) and other aspects of their family background, to ascertain to what extent the findings are specifically related to the Waldorf methods of education. This

148 tends to be lacking in most studies of this kind (Dahlin, 2017a,

p. 127).

This is certainly a problem which appears in the context of this study. It is nevertheless important to note that the teachers who took part in the study seemed to be aware of the important role that the families of the students have had on their participation at school and on the group dynamics assumed at the school. This was something that emerged clearly from the interviews.

Furthermore, the fact that only one parent was interviewed represents another limitation of this study, not only regarding the socio-economic status of the families that could not be explored, but also for what concerns the reasons for choosing a Steiner school for their children. From the data collected, it is not possible to draw conclusions about the reasons that moved these families to choose Steiner Education for their children rather than another educational model. It appears, from the observations taken during the research, that the whole community shared, to some extent, the same ethos and core values, but it cannot be said whether Steiner’s pedagogy was chosen for specific reasons or whether it is individual.

As mentioned earlier in the chapter, the nature of qualitative research broadly introduces certain issues to the data collected. In the context of this thesis, the means used to collect the data and my position as a researcher who was educated in a Steiner school has an impact on the data and how it has been analysed as well as on the research process as a whole. I tried to address these issues earlier in this thesis. In this chapter, some of the issues related to a qualitative study have been explained and

149 tackled, while in Chapter 1 I addressed the specific predicaments linked with my background and the path I undertook to find my role as a research within the school.

The immersive contact I had with the school allowed me to gain extraordinarily close insights into the school practices and the ways in which the teachers operate. The school in this study was extremely helpful and open to my being physically present there during my research period. I received great support from both the staff and pupils at the school. I was allowed to experience the school not as an outsider, but I was helped to be part of it and to engage in certain events and activities, which informed this study. This shows that I was able to maintain the trust of the participants and this led to strengthen the data that I gathered.

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