PHASE 2: Evaluation of Intervention (Step 2 of Data Collection)

 Observation continued - Phase 2: During and Post-intervention

My observations also included the teachers‘ responses in the workshops. Field notes were taken to document what the needs of the teachers were, the feelings expressed, reactions and so forth. This was done so as to assert myself to the way in which the intervention could be tailored to suit the identified needs. In addition, observation also took place of the implementation of the teaching strategies in which the participating teachers had been trained. This included the usage of a video camera as an evaluative tool. During the process of the reviewing of the material, the teachers were asked to reflect on any challenges they may have experienced; and whether or not they felt they knew more about HIV and AIDS prevention education and how to teach it. For this purpose, a teacher questionnaire was completed by the researcher, based on the feedback provided by the teachers. This time with the teachers also granted me an opportunity to let them view the video- tape recording of them making use of the strategy and provide feedback whilst viewing it. Capturing their teaching in this way provided a developmental tool for the participants, from which they could learn. This will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 4 (please refer to Appendix 4 for a copy of the teacher questionnaire used).

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 Individual Interviews

The interview is one of the major sources of data collection in qualitative research; it is also one of the most difficult ones to get right. According to Valenzuela and Shrivastava (2006:3), interviews are useful for obtaining the story behind participants‘ experiences. The interviewer/researcher can pursue in-depth information around the topic being investigated. Interviews can also be useful as follow-up to and to further explore certain responses to questionnaires.

In this study, I used individual, phenomenological interviews to gain in-depth understanding of how the teachers had experienced the workshops/training and how this intervention had impacted on their teaching of HIV and AIDS. Van Manen (2002:1) states that this interview process needs to be disciplined by the fundamental question that prompted the need for the interview in the first place. In addition, he asserts that the researcher needs to carefully consider which interests the interview is to serve. Upon reflection, the researcher decided that the interviews needed to serve the interest of HIV and AIDS education; opening up the participants‘ feelings about and experiences of it. Cope (2003:9) elaborates on the aim of the phenomenological interview, stating that it is to understand the subjective nature of ―lived experience‖ from the perspective of those who, in fact, experience it. Furthermore, he explains that this can be accomplished by exploring the subjective meanings and explanations that individuals attribute to their experiences.

Due to the nature of this type of interviewing, only one primary, open-ended question was used, together with probes (as detailed below). A dictaphone was used to record the participants‘ responses, and these were then transcribed (please refer to Appendix 5 for transcriptions of the teacher interviews).

The primary question used, was:

―How do you feel about interactive teaching regarding HIV and AIDS

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Secondary questions were used for the purpose of prompting (probing) participants who were reluctant to provide feedback. These combined open-ended and yes/no questions and required the participants to elaborate on their responses. One of the key techniques in good interviewing is the use of probes. Patton (1990) identifies three types of probes:

1) detail-oriented probes

2) elaboration probes,

3) clarification probes.

During the interviewing process, the researcher made use of both detail-oriented and elaboration probes, in the following ways:

1. Detail-oriented probes. In our natural conversations, we ask each other questions to get more detail. These types of follow-up questions are designed to fill out the picture of whatever it is we are trying to understand. We easily ask the following when we are genuinely curious:

 Why do you say that?

 Do you have any other comments?

2. Elaboration probes. The elaboration probe is designed to encourage the interviewee to tell us more. We indicate our desire to know more by such things as gently nodding our head as the person talks, softly voicing 'un-huh' every so often, and sometimes by just remaining silent but attentive. We can also ask the interviewee to simply continue talking. The following elaboration questions may be asked:

 In what way?

 How did you find that kind of strategy/lesson?

 How do you find speaking about HIV and AIDS in your classroom now?

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 Reflective Journals

Both the participants and I kept reflective journals throughout the process of the workshops that were presented. I frequently checked that the participants were indeed writing in them and encouraged them to use them as regularly as possible. The participants were handed notebooks in which to record aspects pertaining to their experience of the workshops. Aspects included were: What I did; What I learnt; What I feel about what I have experienced; What I need to change, and so forth. In my own journal, I noted down my observations during the workshops: whether the participants reacted; whether a progression in knowledge had occurred; whether any biases/prejudices were noticeable; what adjustments can be made, etc.

The reflective journals and observations during the intervention served to guide the intervention used, strengthen the baseline data collected, pinpoint any further needs of the participants, and identify shifts in their thinking.

During the course of the developmental workshops, the teachers participated in an activity where they were requested to draw a picture or symbol that described how they felt about teaching HIV and AIDS in an interactive way. They were also encouraged to write something down which described the picture, and then feedback was given by each participant. With regard to the usage of drawings as a research method, Guillemin (2004:4) states that, methodologically, drawings are visual products and, at the same time, produce their own meanings. She also asserts that through the process of producing a drawing, the drawer is simultaneously constructing knowledge about the drawing itself.

―Drawings are about how people see the world in both its simplicities and complexities ... they are intricately bound with power relations and social experiences ...‖ (Guillemin, 2004:5).

It became evident that every teacher had his or her own, unique interpretation of how interactive teaching strategies could be used in with HIV and AIDS education. More detail will be provided in Chapter 4 (please refer to Appendix 6 for an example of one of the drawings produced).

74 3.4.3 Data Analysis

According to Mouton (1998:161), the term analysis means the resolution of a complex whole into its parts. The data analysed, originated from transcribed individual and focus group interviews, drawings, reflective journals and field notes. Omery (1983:61) states that this data must be reported in the natural language of the event, if the information is obtained from a natural setting. Data from these various sources were be analysed by using Tesch‘s descriptive open coding method (Cresswell, 1994:154-156) to identify emerging themes.

According to Babbie (2001:359), qualitative analysis refers to methods for examining social research data without converting it into a numerical format. It is the non- numerical assessment of observations made through participant observation, content analysis, in-depth interviews and other qualitative research techniques. Bless and Higson-Smith (2000:137) define the data analysis process as allowing the researcher to generalise the findings from the sample used in the research to the larger population in which the research is interested. According to Miles and Huberman (1994:432), data analysis is a continuous process that cannot be demarcated into interim, later and/or final analysis. In my study, this cyclical, continuous process required me to collect data at a baseline level, but also during the intervention that was introduced.