Research ethics

This research follows ethical procedures in the social sciences and adheres to those laid down for doctoral projects at the University of Exeter, and standard practices approved by the British Research Ethics Association (BREA). Prior to commencing this study, I applied for and received the necessary ethical approval and permission from the University, followed by approval and permission from the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia. Following this initial permission, I approached participants and conducted the research in an ethically aware way: participants in the study were provided with information about the nature of the research, along with a consent form to be signed by those who agree to take part in the interview or who agree that the researcher may examine their profile in their schools. Participants had the right to withdraw their information and stop their participation at any given time. Copies of the relevant permissions and forms are given in Appendices G-I.

Confidentiality is another major issue in ethical research according to Wiles et al. (2008) who stressed that researchers should ensure and preserve confidentiality as an ethical consideration in their research. I therefore informed the participants about the ethical consideration needed for their participation in the study. After being introduced to the study and its goals, they signed an informed consent form, where they also learned that they would be given pseudonyms to ensure anonymity and confidentiality. In the same form, the participants were also asked

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to consent to take part in the study, informed about the tape-recording of the interview and the focus group data collection methods. They were free to withdraw at any point. Interviews and focus group were audio-recorded with permission from the participants. At the end of their participation all participants were thanked, and all had the chance to raise any issues or ideas with regards to the study, or any other concerns, through my email contact, which was provided. Throughout, every effort was made to ensure that the participants felt comfortable in terms of the timetable and setting of the research. The attempt to ensure a safe and open environment was facilitated through participants’ familiarity with the researcher, the setting and the advanced notice given of the topic. Creswell (2014) also raises the importance of informing participants about the risks and benefits of the research to participants. Given the top-down structures of education currently in place in Saudi Arabia, some participants may have had concerns that their comments on teacher leadership would be considered subversive. To avoid self-censorship, it was important that participants understood my desire for the development of teacher leadership roles and the connection of this to the overall development of education in Saudi Arabia. The opportunity that this presented for them to make their voices heard, supported by scientific research, was made clear. The advantage of knowing this, I believe, allowed participants to frame and contextualise their constructive comments, mitigating any perceived risk to themselves whilst emphasising the potential benefit.

4.8 Summary

The qualitative nature of the three data collection methods described above has garnered in-depth data that meets the scope of the research questions. The interpretivist assumptions and all the related ontological, epistemological and

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methodological assumptions underpinning the research have been considered, and managed accordingly. A description of the data analysis procedures has been also provided, together with accounts of the necessary validation and ethical considerations, which are important to ensure a robust methodological approach. Appendices providing examples of the processes involved have been indicated in the relevant sections.

Making clear the design of this research and how it has been carried out ensures that the findings can be regarded as credible. The methodology adopted has been justified and has shaped the responses gathered from participants to make sure they are appropriate to addressing the research aims and informing the subsequent recommendations. The following chapter presents the data revealed by the above analysis procedures and discusses the findings in relation to the research questions that guide this study.

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Chapter Five: Research Findings

The previous chapter has dealt with the research design and data analysis process. The purpose of the current chapter is to present and analyse the research findings. The sections will be organized according to the themes that have been identified in the data, and their relation to the research questions outlined in Chapter One. In turn, the questions establish the participants’ conceptions of, practice of, obstructions to and desire for teacher leadership roles, producing an overall image of dedicated but under-trained professionals, who see multiple benefits to leadership roles and their own capacity to perform them, but whose opportunities and experience are limited.

Following the collection and analysis process discussed in Chapter Four, the themes are coordinated from the three data sets, where these triangulate and support each other through themes identified within all of them. The themes were emergent as I avoided pre-determined categories for them. Figures and tables are used below to illustrate the themes that appeared in the findings related to each question. For each of the themes identified, a table is given, along with related sub-themes and examples from the responses. The chapter presents each of the themes separately, to facilitate understanding the data gathered, but links between themes are noted, especially where these relate to aspects of theoretical and conceptual framework. Presenting these in-depth descriptions of the different themes of teacher leadership, professional practice and the Saudi context, as reported by participants, prepares the ground for the next chapter, in which a detailed discussion of the themes takes place, establishing connections to existing literature and the thesis’ theoretical framework.

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