Análisis de Datos y Discusión de Resultados

This section presents the research methodology that was employed for conducting this study. Research methodology refers to ‘a science of studying how research is done scientifically’ (Kothari, 2004). This section details out the process used to gain entry into the field, the sampling procedures used, the data production methods and tools.

4.3.1 Gaining entry into the field

According to Van Maanen and Knolb (1985) and Johl & Renganathan (2010, p. 42), ‘gaining access to the research field is very important and should be considered seriously’. It serves to negotiate environments, which are not familiar to the researcher, and social skills should be used effectively to successfully gain access (Wasserman & Jeffrey, 2007). Wasserman and Jeffrey (2007) further advanced that trust and acceptance should be gained to conduct the research within the environment, but this is not always an easy task as outsiders are often not welcomed if the research comprises questions that are quite sensitive to the organisation.

Gaining access to the field was one of the major challenges the researcher encountered when data collection started. Approval was sought from the MoE &

Human Resources to gain access to the selected schools to conduct the research but it took about four months to receive the permission from the Ministry to access

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the schools. The researcher had to revert to the Ministry on several occasions and finally access was granted to three schools of different levels, high, average and low levels (Appendix 2). In the Mauritian education system, the levels of schools are determined by the performance level of students. The high-level school also known as ‘star’ school is the high performing school and the ‘low’

level school is the low achieving school. In the average school, the projector was faulty. The researcher waited for two weeks for the interactive projector to be repaired but to no avail. Due to time limitation, the researcher had to remove the average school from the sample.

4.3.2 Sampling procedures

The researcher followed the steps in sample design and sampling procedures proposed by Kothari (2004) in his book Research methodology: Methods and techniques (p. 55-57) to carry out the sampling procedure. The researcher first tried to find the sample design. According to Kothari (2004), a sample design is

‘a definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given population’ (p. 55). Since the research approach used was qualitative, it was first decided to look for a finite universe or set of objects (Kothari, 2004, p. 56). The choice of the sampling unit was based on the geographical location of the schools. It was convenient for the researcher to access the two schools from work for data collection, as the distance from work to these two schools was relatively small.

The researcher then looked at the source list or the sampling frame, the size of sample and the parameters of interest, which will be detailed in the remainder of this section. Concerning this study, the sampling frame was government primary schools of different levels situated in different regions. The reason behind choosing three different schools was to get learners from different contexts, more precisely different socio-economic backgrounds that could be used to determine the access of the students to the technological devices at home or in their environment. Sandy Government School is located in an area where the socio-economic background of the families is average and the students’ performance is at average level. Before embarking on the research, a small survey was done on accessibility of students with technological devices. The majority of students replied that they did not have easy access to technology. This acted as a key

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indicator of the exposure to tools in the learners’ environment. Moreover, Violet Government School is situated in an urban area. This school is labelled as a ‘star’

school as the students are mainly high flyers. From a survey done, it was found that the students in Violet Government School were technology savvy as they were conversant with the use of tablets, laptops or other technological devices.

The reason for choosing different levels of schools was to analyse how learners of different levels of performance actually learnt through the digitised learning resources and why they were learning in the way that they did. Despite the main phenomenon of the study being learning, the levels of learners could actually help obtaining a deeper insight into the process of learning. Since the approach used for the research was qualitative, the sampling frame did not necessarily represent the whole population but rather provided in-depth analysis of the learning process.

Sampling is a process or technique of choosing a sub-group from a population to participate in the study; it is the process of selecting a number of individuals for a study in such a way that the individuals selected represent the large group from which they were selected (Ogula, 2005). There are two types of sampling designs, namely probability sampling and non-probability sampling (Kothari, 2004). Probability sampling design is used when ‘every item of the set of objects has an equal chance to be included in the sample’ (Kothari, 2004, p. 60). Another term that is commonly used to address probability sampling is ‘random sampling’

or ‘chance sampling’ (Kothari, 2004, p. 60). Non-probability sampling design refers to the sampling procedure where the samples are chosen for a purpose and which are representative of the whole (Kothari, 2004, p. 59). In non-probability sampling, samples are chosen in a way that does not allow for all subjects in the population equal chance (Etikan et al., 2016).

The sampling procedure adopted for the study was non-probability sampling.

Non- probability sampling ‘does not require any estimation of the probability of each item’ (Kothari, 2004, p. 59). Non-probability sampling can also be called

‘deliberate sampling, purposive sampling, or judgement sampling’ (Kothari, 2004, p. 59). In these types of sampling, the researcher deliberately chooses the

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sample based on specific goals. The sample chosen is a representation of learning among Grade 4 learners of different cognitive levels and levels of exposure to technology. To be more specific, the researcher chose purposive sampling for selecting the participants in the research.

Purposive sampling is often referred to as judgement sampling or non-random sampling and it is a deliberate choice of the participants on the research (Etikan, 2016). In purposive sampling, the researcher’s knowledge and experience were considered to select his participants in the sample. This type of sampling is very common in qualitative research as it helps to ‘select information-rich cases’ that better assist in answering the critical questions of the research (Etikan, 2006, p.

2-3). Compared to probability sampling techniques, purposive sampling demands relatively small samples but with rich information to analyse the phenomenon of the research.

The choice of the schools already being made on the socio-economic background and the academic level, the researcher had now to select one Grade 4 in each school. As clearly detailed out in Chapter 1, the Sankoré project started in all Grade 4 classes in Mauritian primary schools in 2012 and this was the main reason why Grade 4 learners were specifically selected. The researcher had to ensure that the interactive projector was present in the classes chosen for data collection and that the teachers and learners had enough exposure to the interactive projector. However, in Sandy Government School there were two sections of Grade 4 and in Violet Government School there were four sections of Grade 4 and the researcher had to decide which section to select for the research. The researcher asked the headmaster of both schools to guide me in the selection process. In both schools, the choice of the Grade 4 classes was based on the teachers’ experiences working in primary schools either with or without the aid of the interactive projector. Moreover, the teachers chosen worked had at least three years of experience working with Grade 4 learners, which meant that the teachers were conversant with the curriculum and pedagogy required to work with Grade 4 learners.

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Regarding the sample of participants, the class teacher assisted me in making the selection. The reason for asking the teacher to select the participants was that he knew the learners in his class. The researcher asked the teacher to select the learners according to their levels of learning. Hence, six learners of different levels were chosen in Grade 4 of the selected schools. Moreover, despite the fact that learners of different levels were chosen, yet the high flyer in Sandy Government School might differ from the high flyer of Violet Government School as the levels of these two schools varied. Sandy Government School was an average performing school and Violet Government School was a high performing school. Since, the researcher set out to discover and gain deep insight into the phenomenon, it was decided to select samples from whom the most could be learnt (Merriam, 1998).