The primary sources of data for this study were a questionnaire, and three in-depth, semi-structured interviews. The generation of data followed four phases, over a two-year span. The four phases include; phase one—questionnaire, phase two— first interview, phase three—second interview, and phase four—third interview. These are described in more detail in Table 1.
The duration of each phase ranged from two to eight weeks. In total, data generation for this study covered 20 weeks of fieldwork, over a two-year period. Table 1 contains a summary of the four phases of this study, including the main objective of each phase.
97 Table 1: Study Phases and Objectives
Phases Time of Implementation Objectives
One:
Questionnaire (n=42)
November 2007 To obtain demographic data about the participants, their self-perceptions about their ITE, and their sense of preparedness at the end of their ITE.
Two:
First Interview (n=11)
February/March 2008 To examine the BSTs sense of preparedness at the beginning of their teaching careers, and their self- perceptions about the kind of support they received, or would want at the beginning of their teaching careers.
Three: Second Interview (n=11)
September/October 2008 To explore BSTs experiences during the first year of their teaching careers, and their self-perceptions about the type of induction support they receive during the first year of their teaching careers.
Four:
Third Interview (n=11)
October 2009 To explore BSTs experiences during the second year of their teaching careers, and the self-perceptions about kind of guidance and support they received during the second year of their teaching careers.
The following sections describe in more detail the methods used to obtain data in each phase, and the processes involved in each of the data generation methods.
3.8.1 The Questionnaire
A structured questionnaire (Appendix H) was administered in the first phase of this study to explore the final-year pre-service secondary teachers‘ self- perceptions about their ITE programmes and their sense of preparedness at the end of their ITE. The questionnaire was used to generate information about the aspects of teaching for which the final-year pre-service secondary teachers felt that their respective teacher education courses had adequately prepared them for, and the aspects of teaching they felt were inadequately covered during their ITE. Specific questions were included to obtain demographic data about the final-year pre-service secondary teachers, such as their gender, age and highest level of education before pursuing teacher education, and the reasons why they chose to pursue teaching as a career. The questionnaire also contained a Likert scale
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comprising of 20 items which was developed to identify the final-year pre-service secondary teachers‘ perceptions and knowledge about different aspects of teaching.
The questionnaire design was based on the questionnaire used by Anthony et al. (2007) for New Zealand beginning secondary teachers, but was modified to suit the context and objectives of this study, to ensure content validity. The questionnaire was piloted with Solomon Island teachers who were studying at the University of Waikato at the time the questionnaire was designed. Their feedback enabled me to modify the questionnaire to ensure clarity and focus. I also received feedback on the draft questionnaire, which led to modifications that aided the validity and quality of the final copy of the questionnaire, before it was printed and administered.
A colleague from the SOE-SICHE administered the questionnaire, as I was not able to do it in person due to financial constraints. She signed a consent form (Appendix K) before she administered the questionnaire on my behalf.
3.8.2 Semi-structured interviews
Interviews were conducted in phases two, three and four of this study, as shown in Table 1. The semi-structured interview method was preferred over structured interview to allow for breadth and depth of understanding of BSTs self- perceptions and experiences. Questions asked in the interviews were based on the literature relating to beginning teachers‘ experiences on being and becoming a new teacher in the first year (Anthony et al., 2007a, p. 53; 2007b; Kane & Fontaine, 2008; Timperley et al., 2007). The interview questions were open-ended to allow for an interactive dialogue during each interview. The questions were organised according to specific aspects of the BSTs ITE, induction, and teaching experiences to ensure that the questions asked encompassed key aspects of this study.
Interview schedules were prepared in advance for each of the three interviews (Appendix N, O, P). Questions for the first interview (Appendix N) were focused on beginning teachers‘ responses to the questionnaire, to confirm their responses,
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and to allow them to expand on their responses to questions in the questionnaire. Questions were also asked in relation to the beginning teachers‘ initial experiences as a beginning teacher at their respective schools, their sense of preparedness as a beginning teacher, their views about their ITE programme, their confidence in applying various teaching skills and strategies, their initial induction experiences, and what future plans they might have for their teaching career paths, based on their initial experiences.
The second interview focused on questions relating to the BSTs‘ experiences during the first year of teaching, including their induction experiences, and the kind of support they received as beginning teachers from their respective schools. The interview schedule (Appendix O) was focused on the BSTs‘ teaching experiences, professional learning experiences, induction and professional development experiences, their self-perceptions about their preparedness to teach, and their commitment to the teaching profession based on their experiences during their first year of teaching. Questions asked were based on responses from the first interview, as well as on the literature referred to earlier.
The third interview focused on the BSTs‘ experiences as beginning teachers during the second year of teaching. The purpose of this third interview was to generate information from the BSTs about their induction, and professional learning experiences. The interview schedule (Appendix P) for this final interview was more individualised, and focused on the BSTs responses in the first two interviews. The questions asked them to relate to how they had developed professionally as a teacher since they started teaching in 2008, and the changes they may have noticed in the way they approached their teaching roles. The questionnaire also contained questions relating to their induction experiences during the second year, and their perceptions of their future plans in the teaching profession.
3.8.3 Conducting the interviews
Dates and times for each of the three interviews were negotiated with the BSTs. The principals were also informed about my visit to their school a month before each phase of fieldwork began. This was done via email to schools that had access
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to email, via telephone to schools that had access to telephone, and by hand- delivered mail to schools that did not have email or telephone access. The interviews were conducted at the BSTs‘ respective schools at a time suited to the BSTs teaching time tables to ensure their convenience and safety. The 11 BSTs participated in all three face-to-face interviews. Each of the interviews lasted between 50 and 60 minutes.
The interview schedules were written in English, but the BSTs were given the option to be interviewed in either English, or Solomon Islands Pidgin, a neo- Melanesian lingua franca commonly used in schools, and at the workplace in the Solomon Islands. All of the participants preferred to be interviewed in Solomon Islands Pidgin as they were not comfortable with conversing in English. Interviewing in Solomon Islands Pidgin meant that I was placing myself at the same level as the BSTs, as in the Solomon Islands context English is commonly regarded as an elite language used mainly by academics, and senior officials in the government hierarchies (Leve, 2004). However, English is the medium of instruction in the Solomon Islands schools, including SOE-SICHE, so it may be they also felt that my English would be better than theirs. I therefore decided to use Solomon Islands Pidgin in the interviews. This was important in the interview process as it enabled the BSTs to feel at ease and able to interact freely and participate fully in the conversations.
Before each interview was conducted the 11 participants were asked for their permission to be recorded, and all agreed. At the end of each interview they were also given the opportunity to add further comments to any of the questions asked. All the interviews were recorded using a digital voice recorder, downloaded to a laptop computer, and later transcribed.
3.8.4 Transcribing the interviews
Each of the three interviews was transcribed individually for each participant. This was a labour-intensive process, as it involved the dual task of transcribing and then translating the interviews into English. This was carefully done to ensure the meaning of what the BSTs said in Solomon Islands Pidgin was maintained in the English version of the interview transcripts. It took more than two hours to
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transcribe each interview. Additional time was spent after each interview was transcribed to review the transcripts by listening to the interviews again and checking through each transcript. This was done to lessen the number of errors in the translation of the interviews, and to minimise researcher bias. The interview transcripts were given back to each BST for further comments and validation after each interview, before the transcripts were further analysed. The BSTs were happy to read the English version of their interview transcripts. This was done during each phase of the fieldwork in the Solomon Islands before I returned to New Zealand. The participants were generally satisfied with each of their interview transcripts and signed them off with very few changes.
The following section discusses the processes involved in analysing the data that were generated through the questionnaire and interviews.