Interviews

Before conducting any interviews I sent an official letter outlining the purpose of the re- search and my intention to interview selected participants to the chairman of the school’s governing body. After obtaining written permission to conduct interviews, I then contacted the principal of the school to facilitate the process. The principal sent consent forms to par- ents of Grades 6 and 7 students. After parents returned the signed consent forms I

requested that the principal make arrangements for the interviews. Each interview took be- tween thirty minutes and an hour. I interviewed teachers, students, the administrator and the member of the governing body in the school. Parents were interviewed at locations of their choice. I interviewed four students in Grades 6 and 7. Each of the students had been attending the BCMS for at least three years. These four students consisted of two students from Grade 6 (one male and one female) as well as two students from Grade 7 (one male and one female). Students in Grades 6 and 7 were considered to be more mature, and there- fore able to offer insight during the in-depth interview process. Two boys and two girls were selected to collect the viewpoints of both genders. Three male parents who had been involved with the schools for at least three years were interviewed for this study, because it was easier for the researcher to make arrangements with these fathers. The interviews in- cluded two Islamic and one non-Muslim educators, the most senior teachers at the school. A member of the administration was selected to give his viewpoints from the administra- tive perspectives. Each participant was asked to sign a consent form consistent with the rules and regulations of the Graduate School of Durham University for conducting empiri- cal research and interviewing participants.

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In this study the data collected through in-depth interviews helped capture participants’ viewpoints as they perceived Islamic education’s compatibility within the context of Cana- dian multicultural policy and practice. For example, what are the challenges and

opportunities in implementing Islamic education in Canada? How are Islamic schools bal- ancing conformity to Canadian multiculturalism while preserving the identities and values of Muslim children? All interviews were conducted in English, and tape-recorded.

In order to increase the validity and reliability of the study, school documents, policies and curricular guidelines for the Islamic program were reviewed and analysed. In-depth interviews of this nature should be considered a form of conversation with a specific goal to help uncover the participant’s views, and respects how the participant frames and struc- tures the answers (Marshal & Rossman, 1999:108).

In conducting GT studies, data collection is usually, but not exclusively, by interviews (Allen 2003). Interviews reflect on the information given to a researcher about issues rele- vant to his specific research study (Perakyla, 2005: 869). Qualitative research methods often use interviews which may reveal some aspects about the topic of study that would be otherwise unknown, such as people’s subjective experiences and attitudes (Bell, Bryman & Teevan, 2009; Charmaz, 2006; Perakyla, 2005). Furthermore, interviewing is a very con- venient method of data collection as it helps the researcher to overcome challenges such as distance and time, where past experiences and events can be studied through interviews with people who witnessed or experienced events (Perakyla, 2005:869).

The conversational nature of interviews helps in explaining a specific topic in depth (Charmaz, 2006; Marshal & Rossman, 1999). Participants share their own interpretation of their experiences with the interviewer (Charmaz, 2006). That is the case especially when the participants have in-depth experiences about which the interviewer is interested in the details (Charmaz, 2006). The interviewer can ask questions about experiences that are not often shared in normal day-to-day situations (Charmaz, 2006). In such interviews, the in- terviewer’s role is to be a good listener, to encourage the participants to respond to, and reflect on, their experiences (Charmaz, 2006). The interview method fits grounded theory research because it helps the researcher to prepare a few broad, open-ended questions that encourage intensive discussion and help uncover unexpected statements and stories (Charmaz, 2006). The combination of effective questions and interview technique deter- mines how well the researcher balances open-ended questions and answers with focused, significant statements (Charmaz, 2006: 28). Furthermore, the interview method allows the

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researcher to follow up on ideas, ask for explanations, steer the conversation to focus on the topic, and investigate motives and feelings (Robin & Robin, 1995). It also enables the researcher to clarify any confusion, fill information gaps, and encourage hesitant partici- pants to offer more information (Robin & Robin, 1995).

The process of conducting an interview reflects on what both the interviewer and the in- terviewee bring to the conversation, including impressions and perceptions during the interview and the relationship formed through it (Charmaz, 2006: 28). It is helpful to be aware of the participant’s perceptions towards the researcher, and how the past identities of participants and researchers may influence the character and content of the interaction. Both the past, and the present experiences inform participants’ implicit questions, negotia- tions, and discussion throughout the process. Research participants evaluate the

interviewer, assess the situation, and reflect on their present assessments and prior knowl- edge. Interviewers learn how deep to go and when to seek further explanations as they become sensitive to their participants’ concerns (Charmaz, 2006).

Naturally, there will be differences between the researcher and participants in some as- pects such as race, gender, age and ideologies, and such differences may have some impact on the interview. Therefore, the researcher should be flexible (Charmaz, 2006:28).

The researcher begins his study with an observation of a topic and as he starts analyzing data, goes back to the participants with more focused questions (Charmaz, 2006). Intensive interviews fit grounded theory methods very well because as Charmaz (2006) remarks, “both grounded theory methods and intensive interviewing are open-ended yet directed, shaped yet emergent, and paced yet flexible approaches” (p.28).

The interview method provides researchers with the opportunity to generate data and to analyse them (Charmaz, 2006:28). It further helps researchers to follow leads and to enable participants to give their viewpoints freely and openly (Charmaz, 2006). For GT, data col- lected through the means of interviews can create greater reliability than data collected by other methods (Allen, 2003) because in a face-to-face situation an interviewer can tell whether the respondent is the appropriate person to answer specific questions (Allen, 2003). Also, the analysis of data collected through interviews leads to an interpretive ap- proach in qualitative research, while in GT it leads to the formation of a theory to explain the phenomenon under study (Allen, 2003).

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