SAMPLING TECHNOQUE

A sample is a limited number of elements selected from a population to be representative of that population. The sampling of the secondary schools as well as the participants for my study was informed by the purposive preference in qualitative research. As advocated by Merriam (2009:77), purposeful sampling is “based on the assumption that the investigator wants to discover, understand, and gain insight and therefore must select a sample from which the most can be learned”. Cohen et al., (2007: 100) suggest that “researchers must take sampling decisions early in the overall planning of a piece of research as factors such as time, expense, accessibility frequently prevent researchers from gaining information from the whole population”. The sampling technique used in this study was called purposive sampling. It was used to select a sample of four principals, six district supervisors, six regional experts and four experts from the Ministry of Education. I chose the participants purposively because each of them was able to give me information on instructional leadership because of the positions they held within the education system.

111 3.5. DATA GATHERING PROCESS

The researcher used a number of methods to collect data, namely: semi-structured interviews, observations, and document analyses. The data gathering process took a period of eight weeks. This was done for triangulation purposes because triangulation techniques in the social sciences attempt to map out or explain more fully the richness and complexity of human behavior by studying it from more than one standpoint. In this study data that was triangulated came from the principals, education officials and from report documents. The data collection methods are explained in detail in the following sub-sections.

3.5.1. Semi-structured interviews

A semi-structured interview involves “a set of pre-set questions which initiate the discussion, followed by further questions which arise from the discussion” (Rule and John, 2011:65). In this study semi-structure interviews were used to provide access to what is ‘inside the person’s head,’ and as such it makes it possible to determine what a person knows, likes or dislikes and thinks. In this study, the researcher used interviewing as a data collecting instrument because the data required had to be based on experiences and feelings for the sake of a deep understanding. For that reason the researcher valued the contact with key players in the research field who could provide privileged information. It (interviewing) is also used to probe responses and investigate motives and feelings further. The researcher relied on the fact that with interviews, information can be obtained not only in terms of participants’ words, but also in terms of response on-verbal communication, such as tones of

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voices and facial expressions. This contributed to more complete and subtle meanings of the collected data.

The researcher used the face-to-face semi-structured interviews as one of the primary data collection tools and they provided an opportunity to communicate directly with the participants. They (interviews) also elicited rich information from the interviewees on the issue being researched; furthermore they allowed the researcher to capture individual perceptions and experiences. The interviews were conducted with the principals of secondary schools and the selected experts. The purpose of the interview questions was to investigate the role principals played in the instructional process and how it could be further strengthened.

The researcher avoided giving signs of approval or disapproval at the responses received, by allowing the participants to continue talking until they were done. One participant was interviewed each day in order not to interfere with the operation of the school and this was done in the afternoon. Interview questions (Appendix A) focused on the role of a principal as an instructional leader in the promotion of teaching and learning, which occurs in the classroom, were teachers and learners interact daily.

3.5.2. Observation

The researcher observed events using a structured time table. The researcher’s interest during the observation sessions was to find out whether instructional issues were given the necessary preference and attention they deserved and if other instructional issues such as time on task were respected.

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In this study, the researcher used observations to observe how the four principals of the selected secondary schools provide instructional leadership in areas like: curriculum development and implementation, lesson-planning and delivery of class work and assignments, extra-mural activities and experiments in the laboratory. In support, Cohen et al., (2007:398) argue that “observation offer an investigator the opportunity to gather ‘live’ data from the natural setting and allow the investigator to look directly at what is taking place in situ rather than relying on second-hand accounts’’. The observations were used to generate data that complemented data that was gathered from the interviews and from the analysis of documents on how principals provided instructional leadership in their schools. Furthermore, the researcher conducted observations during morning assemblies, staff briefing, staff meeting, parent meeting, school events like sport, practical lessons and examinations.

3.5.3. Document analysis

Documents are useful because they form an important element of the research project as they contain valuable information. Through the analysis method the researcher studied memos, briefings, circulars, and minutes of parents and staff meetings, from which information regarding significant instructional issues at the school could be gathered.

The documents consulted provided relevant and accurate information the study needed, which was in the form of minutes, rules and regulations.

The researcher also accessed recent policy documents such as Education Sector Review V (2012/13) and newspapers like General Education Quality Progress, which

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had articles about the official position of the government of Ethiopia and Ministry of Education regarding instructional issues in schools. The other reason why the researcher employed document analysis as one of the instruments for data collection was to verify information on the achievement of students and teachers performance collected by means of the other two data collection tools.

School principals and experts were very helpful as they provided documents like school vision and mission statement, school development plan, school internal policy guide, school rules and regulations, classroom observation instruments, minutes of meetings such as staff, management, parents and departmental meetings, master and class timetables and year calendar of activities (SNNPR Education guideline:2012/13).

3.5.4. Data analysis techniques

Nieuwenhuis (2010:100) understands qualitative data analysis to be “an ongoing and interactive process, implying that data collection, processing, analysis and reporting are intertwined, and not merely a number of successful steps”. He further argues that the process of data analysis “tries to establish how participants make meaning of a specific phenomenon by analyzing their perceptions, attitudes, understanding, knowledge, values, feelings and experiences in an attempt to approximate their construction of the phenomenon (Nieuwenhuis, 2010:100). I agree with this notion, hence I started with data analysis right from the beginning of the data collection process, to the end. Data gathering involves development of ideas and theories about the phenomenon being studied, even as the researcher makes contact with gatekeepers and sets up interviews. I read and carefully examined the data generated from the research tools.

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As a norm in qualitative studies, I kept all the original data for possible verification and to solicit feedback from the participants in the research.

I was aware of the need to sift, reduce, label, interpret and present the raw data that I generated from the field. The raw data I generated was then coded and sorted into categories in relation to the study goals. It was very important to triangulate data generated from the different data collection methods so as to try and find out to what extent the sets of data were similar or different. This helped me as a researcher to understand the phenomenon from different angles and, in doing so; I also strengthened the validity of the findings.