Semi-structured interviews

Interviews, as a suitable method to study individuals’ perceptions and the ways individuals make sense of their personal experience, were used in the study (Barriball & While, 1994). The appropriateness of interviews lies in its advantage as a format in addressing the research questions and allowing both the verbal and non-verbal reactions of respondents to be recorded (Hiller & DiLuzio, 2004), which can enrich the meaning of what is expressed. It was the semi-structured interview that was specifically employed in the study. One advantage of the semi-structured interview is that it allows topics and themes closely related to the research questions to be asked (Rabionet, 2011). Another is that it provides respondents with more space to express themselves. Based on their responses, follow-up questions can be improvised (Rubin & Rubin, 2004). The respondents were selected through purposive sampling (Robinson, 2014) and convenience sampling (Etikan et al., 2016; see Appendix G for information about the respondents). The interview guides were carefully designed, revised and tailored to each group of respondents (Adams, 2015; see Appendix A for the semi-structured interviews guides). All the interviews were audio recorded with the respondents’ consent.

4.3.2.1 Semi-structured interviews with policy experts

While examining documents certainly contributed to my understanding of how national identity education and global identity education were intended in written forms, it could not be over-relied on given its obvious limitations. First, the evidence gathered from the documents was mediated by my interpretation and confined by my knowledge and experience of both contexts (Cohen et al., 2011). Second, the documents provided limited information on how policies were created. Therefore, with the aim of deeply exploring the philosophy and policy-making process underlying national identity education and global identity education, conducting interviews with policy experts was essential.

The difficulty of getting access to policy experts was never underestimated, since I was fully aware of what busy schedules they commonly have. Therefore, targeted respondents were selected by identifying the individuals either directly involved in, or indirectly consulted in, making education policies regarding national identity and global identity. Nevertheless, the study still encountered various difficulties in recruiting respondents in the Chinese context. The first two proposed individuals were unsuccessfully engaged; one was unable to be interviewed due to her retirement, and the other withdrew from the research without giving any reason after being provided with the interview guide. Finally, Wen (pseudonym), who had been leading the citizenship education course in the university where I pursued my bachelor’s and master’s degrees, agreed to participate in the study. As one of the most influential researchers in the fields of moral education and citizenship education in China, Wen had been consulted by the government in compiling related curriculum standards and textbooks, and was therefore identified as an appropriate respondent. Conversely, establishing contact with policy experts in Scotland was easier than I had expected. James (pseudonym), who is responsible for sustainability and citizenship in Education Scotland, was identified and contacted for consent to participate in the study by my second supervisor (Dr Alan Britton at the time). Grace (pseudonym), who works in a not-for-profit educational institution dedicated to supporting educators to deliver global citizenship education, was recommended by the head

teacher of St Andrews Primary School, and she readily consented to participate in the study.

To ensure equivalence, the interview questions prepared for policy experts in Mainland China and Scotland were generally the same, while remaining open to adjustment and localisation in terms of the wording of questions and the specific topics arising from fieldwork in the case schools. The interview guides were provided to respondents in advance to review and prepare in case of discomfort. The respondents were also informed that they had a great deal of leeway in how to reply and that they could raise any topics they thought were relevant. In arranging the interviews, I adapted myself to the preferences of the respondents. The interviews were conducted in a public park and offices in the respondents’ workplaces, offering the respondents a sense of comfort and convenience (Herzog, 2005). These locations were deemed appropriate as interruptions could be managed or minimised. With the generous cooperation of the respondents, each interview lasted about one and a half hours, which was much longer than I had expected.

In each interview, prior to the formal questions listed on the interview guides, some basic information was provided by both the respondent and me, including education background and current study or working experience; this was a way of warming up and building trust (Jacob & Furgerson, 2012). Although the interviews aimed to determine how education policies regarding national identity and global identity were created, the respondents’ personal standpoints were explored as well. The rationale for doing so was that the respondents’ interpretations of related policies were shaped by their backgrounds and experience.

Since the study is situated in the field of comparative education, comparisons should also be made between the ways in which the data was generated. The way in which Wen responded to the questions and phrased his answers, which can be found in Chapter Five, was distinct from the ways that James and Grace responded. The conversations with James and Grace were more straightforward, while Wen commonly beat around the bush without providing direct answers to the questions. This reflected his personal way of communication, while to a

certain extent it might also indicate that some of the research topics were sensitive in Mainland China. He was probably choosing to express his personal point of view in a way that made him feel safe and comfortable. I by no means thought the richness of the information was sacrificed as a result, since the way he responded in the interview provided valuable data beyond what words could generate.

4.3.2.2 Semi-structured interviews with teachers

The examination of related documents and the interviews with policy experts generated valuable information, but relying exclusively on these methods would privilege a top-down view of education that fails to engage with the actual teaching and learning context (Cohen et al., 2011). Since teachers are likely to exert significant influence on students, there is a great possibility that the educational practices at the school and classroom levels may differ from official intentions. Although the role of school education in developing children’s national identity has widely been discussed (Canessa, 2004; Jaskułowski et al., 2018; Van Peer, 2006), the specific influence that teachers’ perceptions and practice might exert is far from clear. Therefore, it was deemed necessary to interview teachers to explore how national identity education and global identity education are implemented in Phoenix Primary School and St Andrews Primary School. To be more specific, the objective of the interviews was to explore teachers’ perceptions of national identity and global identity, as well as their corresponding educational practices.

To access knowledgeable experts (Tongco, 2007), purposive sampling was used to select the people who were either responsible for managing the schools or who had related teaching experience of national identity and global identity. As deputy head teacher of Phoenix Primary School, Yongshan (pseudonym) volunteered without being asked as an appropriate respondent to be interviewed given her experience in managing the school. In addition, bearing the selection criteria of respondents in mind, she assigned 19 teachers to me directly, which she stated would be convenient and efficient for both of us. However, I am fully aware that having teachers assigned to me in this way ran the risk of sacrificing

other teachers’ voices being heard, which may pose a threat to variability of the data generated from the interviews with teachers (Acharya et al., 2013). Therefore, the findings generated from the data should not be generalised beyond the sample of teachers. In St Andrews Primary School, access to respondents followed similar procedures, but involved much more time and effort. It is noteworthy that the school was comparably small in scale. Teaching and supporting staff members had close contact with students and were therefore all assumed to be influential in constructing students’ social identities. Under the arrangement of Alisa (pseudonym), who was the head teacher of St Andrews Primary School, five more teachers who had expressed interest in my research agreed to participate in the study.

For the two schools, the prepared interview questions exploring teachers’ perceptions and practice of national identity and global identity were generally the same. Some questions were slightly revised to meet local needs or added to in order to clarify issues arising from school observations. Prior to the interviews, the respondents were provided with the interview guides and informed that the actual questions may vary. In Phoenix Primary School, as explained in Section 4.2.3, a detailed interview schedule indicating respondents, locations and time of interviews was assigned to me directly before the commencement of the fieldwork. All I had to prepare was to familiarise myself with the different rooms to avoid getting lost on campus. Since no specific interview locations were pre-determined in St Andrews Primary School, I was asked to wait in the visitor room in advance of each interview.

The interviews with the (deputy) head teachers were conducted first in both schools. The advantage of doing this was that a general understanding of the schools could be achieved and then applied to guide the further fieldwork on campus. On average, the interviews with the (deputy) head teachers lasted one and a half hours, while those with teachers took less than 40 minutes due to the teachers’ busy class schedules. In Phoenix Primary School, the length of some teachers’ interviews was curtailed because I had to make it to my next scheduled interviews in different buildings. In St Andrews Primary School, some interviews with teachers took less time than expected as well, partly because teachers

arrived late due to class issues. However, the quality of the interviews was not sacrificed. The teachers provided invaluable insights in the limited time and were consulted for further information after the interviews when we met on campus.

The interviews with teachers were slightly different from those with the policy experts because teachers may never have been involved in academic studies, either as researchers or subjects (Leech, 2002); consequently, some may have felt nervous. Instead of imposing the world of academia upon teachers, it is important to make them feel at ease (Fontana & Frey, 1994). Taking this into consideration, the interviews were carefully conducted with the aim of empowering teachers. First, through re-clarifying myself as a novice researcher who was interested in the educational philosophy and practices of the schools, a good rapport was established and maintained (Rabionet, 2011). As a way of building trust, teachers in Phoenix Primary School were also informed that I was a former student of the school. Second, the importance of clarity in questioning was fully acknowledged (Patton, 2015). In addition to adjusting questions according to the schools’ situations and the subjects that each teacher taught (specifically at Phoenix Primary School), plain language was used in framing the questions with the aim of being comprehensible to the teachers (Kvale, 2007). Furthermore, teachers were provided with encouraging words to express their opinions as much as they could within the time allowed without being interrupted.