Àrea 300 1. Reactor R-301

School Sampling

The limitations of time and the size of the research project led me to making a number of pragmatic decisions regarding the sample size and geographical location of the schools located in the research. The schools chosen for participation were all secondary schools in the Northland region, both state and state-integrated due to their requirement to implement and deliver the revised NZC. This decision was made because of the logistical difficulty of accessing schools beyond the region. In addition, the researcher‟s position as an educator within this region allows a good knowledge of the schools and population of the regionthough my own school was not included in my sampling frame.

The school selection for the interviews was narrowed down to three Northland secondary schools with differing demographic profiles. These schools have rolls ranging between 500 and 1500 students and hold socio-economic (decile) ratings of between five and seven. Two are also full secondary schools (Years 9-13) and the other Year 7-13. However, one of the schools is co-educational, another single sex

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and the other state-integrated. These sites were chosen due to their proximity to the researcher‟s home, the lack of conflicts of interest between the researcher and these schools, and their willingness to participate in this research. The principals were known to the researcher in a professional capacity and were contacted by phone to garner their participation in the study.

Due to the specialist nature of the knowledge required, it was not appropriate for random sampling to be used in this study. Therefore, purposive sampling was required in order to select participants with the necessary expertise and role to answer the research questions (Bryman, 2008). Middle leaders represent approximately twenty percent of staff in schools and this further narrows the field of potential participants. Participants within this sample were chosen randomly after indicating a willingness to participate, all were asked to complete the questionnaire beforehand.

The sample of schools for the questionnaire cast a much wider net. All state and state-integrated secondary and area schools in the Northland region were approached via email requesting their participation in the online questionnaire. This consisted of a total of 22 schools of which 12 replied in the affirmative. Based on the figure mentioned above, this allows for a possible sample of approximately 120 middle leaders based in roll figures generated in the schools‟ most recent ERO reports. The schools which indicated a willingness to participate range from, deciles 1-7, and with roll sizes varying from fewer than 100 students, to approximately 1500. A number of these schools were area schools which consist of students in Years 1- 13. However, only middle leaders involved in the secondary area were asked to participate in the research. The schools involved are generally representative of Northland schools in size and demographics.

Interview Sampling

The sample size for the interviews was determined by the size of the project and the limitations on time and labour. Considering the time required to transcribe the interviews and analyse the data, a pragmatic decision to limit the number of interviews to seven. The sample was chosen at random from the pool of Heads of Department/subject leaders and Deans who were willing to participate. It was initially

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envisaged that one Dean from each school and two subject leaders would be interviewed. However, eventually all of the participants were subject leaders while two also held pastoral responsibilities within their schools, this way their contribution to the research could be maximised.

Sampling for the interviews was done using both a purposive and a convenience sampling method. Purposive in that those chosen were selected according to their formal roles and convenience in the manner that the willingness to participate was ascertained through the school principals‟ and their representatives (Bryman, 2008). The roles of Head of Department/subject leader and Dean were chosen because of the expertise held by those in these roles which would best enable them to contribute to the discussion on curriculum implementation and middle leadership.

Questionnaire Sampling

The sample for the online questionnaire was chosen purposively with the participants all being middle leaders in secondary and area schools in the Northland region (D. Scott & Usher, 2004). Contact was made with principals of 22 local secondary schools and 12 replies were received. Following on from this, an email was sent to the principals with the survey link and they were asked to forward the details on to their heads of department/subject leaders and Deans. As already stated, the estimated sample size was 120 middle leaders. The survey remained open for five weeks, two of which were school holidays and little data were collected during this time, and a follow-up email was sent in order to boost the response rate (Bryman, 2008; D. Scott & Usher, 2004). In total 57 responses were received, approximately a 48% rate of response. This is a satisfactory response rate as the research is not aiming to be representative of the population of middle leaders, rather the results are intended to be indicative only (Bryman, 2008).

Little is known about the respondents to the questionnaire other than the demographic information included in the survey. No information such as school details or URL addresses was gathered about any of the participants in order to guarantee anonymity. This was done to encourage openness and honesty without fear of being identified (Bryman, 2008).

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