Sampling strategy.

Purposive sampling was employed that would facilitate addressing the research question with reference to the following criteria:

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 Participants were immersed in the Kuwait Arabic cultural and social context.

 Participants were exposed to Western cultural influences with respect to teaching and learning in the participant school.

 Participants were students or teachers involved with the A-level GCE Biology course.

The sampling of participants included these criteria in order to effectively capture the phenomenon. It was felt that A-level students in the sixteen to eighteen age ranges would demonstrate sufficient maturity and cultural exposure to not compromise the study. The A-level specification includes HSW embedded into the curriculum. The school population includes students who are mainly of Middle Eastern ethnicity, with a relatively small number of Kuwaiti nationals, participating in a UK curriculum. Few solid guidelines are given for sample size in qualitative research, but Marshall & Rossman (1995) maintain numbers of between ten and fifteen should be adequate enough to obtain saturation of data in order to credibly identify themes and patterns. The initial number of participants in this study is thirteen including two teaching staff.

Participant details

Participant Nationality Years in Kuwait

Gender Ethnicity First

Language

1 Student Kuwaiti 17 Female Arabic of Iranian origin Arabic

2 Student Syrian 17 Male Arabic of Syrian origin Arabic

3 Student British 9 Female Asian of Kashmir origin English

5 Student Kuwaiti 16 Male Arabic of Kuwaiti origin Arabic

6 Student Kuwaiti 16 Male Arabic of Kuwaiti origin Arabic

7 Student Egyptian 11 Male Arabic of Egyptian origin Arabic

8 Student Egyptian 9 Male Arabic of Egyptian origin Arabic

9 Staff British 10 Male Caucasian of English origin English

10 Student Kuwaiti 12 Female Caucasian of Irish origin English

11 Student Kuwaiti 17 Male Arabic of Kuwaiti origin Arabic

12 Student Kuwaiti 16 Male Arabic of Kuwaiti origin Arabic

13 Staff British 3 Male Caucasian of English origin English

All AS and A2 biology students attended the preliminary meeting (30 AS & 4 A2) – 34 + 2 staff.

First recruitment interview – 13 including 2 staff. Interviews phase I – 12 including 2 staff.

5.8 Sampling strategy

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In the first instance potential participants were gathered informally in the biology department during timetabled A-level teaching time. At this time the nature, aims, and objectives of the research study were introduced using a PowerPoint presentation covering the main points appearing on the potential Participant Information Sheet distributed. This information sheet is presented in appendix (5b). Time was devoted to questions, and those individuals who expressed an initial interest in taking part in the study were asked to take the information sheet home and read it carefully. Students were additionally asked to show the information sheet to their parents and discuss this with them. After one week potential participants were asked if they were still interested in the study. Only those individuals who expressed further interest were then given the Letter of Invitation to participate and attend the first recruitment interview. A copy of this letter is presented in appendix (5c). Those potential participants who returned signed copies of the Letter of Invitation were then notified of a scheduled appointment to attend the first recruitment interview. Prior to this interview, scheduled potential participants were vetted through the Deputy Head upper school to ensure that to the best of our knowledge they were not currently in crisis at home or at school (stable at the time of research and not dealing with stressful situations such as divorce of parents, death in the family or involvement with the juvenile justice system, involved with the school disciplinary procedures) and had a support system in place including parents / guardians and peers. The purpose of the first recruitment interview was to clarify the purpose, nature, and processes of the research; obtain participant and parental consent; explain confidentiality and methods of data storage and access; assign pseudonyms in place of real names; answer queries and establish a sense of rapport and trust. A copy of the parental and participant unsigned consent forms is presented in appendix (5d), together with copies of oaths of confidentiality signed by the principal researcher, Deputy Head, and independent peer reviewer presented in appendix (5e). A locking filing cabinet for hard copy interview transcripts was used, and a purposefully assigned laptop for storage of digital data including sound files, with access code activated was used.

119 5.9 Data analysis & findings.

The audio data files were transcribed to produce typed copies. Transcripts were read carefully several times and analysis made use of the constant comparative method in order to generate perceptual categories from the data, reflecting particular properties. An open colour coding system was applied reducing the data into visible themes expressing the nature of the phenomenon. Comments that seemed to speak to the research issue, i.e. indicated some form of tension, were coded into broad themes. The initial themes that emerged from the student data were broadly categorised as follows:

1. Cultural link & work attitude. (IT A)

2. Cultural link and sheltered community. Corruption. (IT B) 3. Cultural link and attitude to education. (IT C)

4. Cultural link and HSW. (IT D)

The initial themes that emerged from the staff data were broadly categorised as follows:

1. Reasons for being in Kuwait. 2. Reasons for being in teaching. 3. Frustrations of being in Kuwait.

4. Frustrations with the Edexcel biology course. 5. Ideology and school management issues.

6. Cultural issues relating to a perceived Arab mind set.

Each time a comment was made relating to these broad initial themes, the participant number and transcript page was recorded. The spread sheet for this preliminary categorisation of data appears in appendix (5j).

By using the frequency with which thematic comments occurred in the transcripts, i.e. the percentage of participants that made similar thematic comments, a list of comments emerged that resonated across the cohort. This more focused set of comments from teachers and students was amalgamated under revised thematic descriptors, and appears in appendix (5k). From this revised list emerged the four major overarching theme descriptors and sub themes in the summary spread sheet of the phase I data analysis in Table 5.1 below, namely:

5.9 Data analysis & findings

120 1. Exam performance driven.

2. Preference for information based learning. 3. Reaction to / perception of HSW.

4. Impact of religion.

A subjective judgment was made by the researcher to include in the final sub themes list only those comments that represent 40% and above of the participants. It was felt that this figure, even though it represents less than half of the cohort, is substantial and potentially significant given that the focus of the study is the experience of tension. It is within these descriptors that the experience of tension that resonates across the cohort seems to reside from the phase I analysis.

It was these emergent themes and sub themes in the phase I data that informed the phase II interview statements protocol, thereby facilitating more in depth discussion focused on the theme descriptors relating to the phenomenon of tension. The phase II preliminary analysis spreadsheet is presented in appendix (5m). The emergent themes and sub themes from the phase II interviews is presented in Table 5.2 below:

MAJOR THEME STUDENT ISSUES %

STUDENTS SUB THEME STAFF ISSUES % STAFF EXAM PERFORMANCE DRIVEN T1

Focus on need for subject & exam grades to go to university /

profession. Parental pressure. 90%

T1 ST1

Concern with unnecessary information. 40% T1 ST2 HSW compromising student achievement 100% PREFERENCE FOR INFORMATION BASED LEARNING T2

Used to information based learning.

40% T2 ST1

Students previously used to a more formal curriculum &

methodology of teaching & learning.

100%

Preference for fact rather than theory.

70%

T2 ST2

Inferred preference for “traditional” teaching.

40%

Learning factual information is easier.

60%

Cultural expectation of information based learning &

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REACTION TO /