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The purpose of this section is to explain the choice of suitable research methods to address the research focus and the content areas outlined above. The selection of research methods was based on qualitative and quantitative research approaches and comparative research designs, as well as the type of methods available within these broad approaches. According to Hatch and Lazartion (1991) cited in Zhang (2008) there is never a single best way to carry out research. Research approaches can be flexible according to the researcher’s preference in relation to the research focus.

4.3.1 Mixed methods research

Newby (2010) explained that mixed methods research (the combined use of quantitative and qualitative method in the same study) is becoming an increasingly popular approach in the fields of sociology, psychology, education and health science. Further, according to Cresswell and Plano Clarck (2007), the combination of both qualitative and quantitative approaches may provide a better understanding of research problems and complex phenomena than either approach alone.

Qualitative research is ‘any kind of research that produces findings not arrived at by means of statistical procedures or means of qualifications’ (Strauss and Corbin, 1990, p.17).

Qualitative methods produce detailed and non-quantitative accounts of small groups, seeking to interpret the meanings people make of their lives in natural settings, on the assumption that social interactions from integrated set of relationships are best understood by inductive procedures

(Payne and Payne, 2004, p.175). Qualitative methods in the current study include interviews and focus group discussions. Payne and Payne (2004) noted quantitative methods can cover different types of research:

Quantitative methods seek regularities in human lives, by separating the social world into empirical components called variables which can be represented numerically as frequencies or rate, whose associations with each other can be explored by statistical

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techniques, and accessed through researcher- introduced stimuli and systematic measurement

(Payne and Payne, 2004, p.180). In the current research it was important to be able to research and compare the views of different groups of stakeholders at different levels in two education systems both across and within groups. It was important, therefore, to design data collection tools that would enable quantification of similarity and difference. A number of bespoke questionnaires were therefore developed and trialled for each group separately, with responses to be entered on a pre-determined quantifiable format. The questionnaires also included open- ended questions where qualitative data could be analysed through thematic analysis. All the questions on the questionnaires related to areas identified as significant in the review of literature associated with multicultural education (see discussion of content areas above).

4.3.1.1 Questionnaires

As Cohen et al. (2007) commented, the researcher can select several types of

questionnaire, from highly structured to unstructured. ‘The larger the size of the sample, the more structured, closed and numerical the questionnaire may have to be, and the smaller the size of the sample, the structured, more open and word-based the

questionnaire may be’ (Cohen et al., 2007, p.320). There are several kinds of question and response modes in questionnaires. Oppenhein (1992) explained the importance of the closed question:

Closed questions prescribe the range of responses from which the respondent may choose. Highly structured, closed questions are useful in that they can generate

frequencies of response amenable to statistical treatment and analysis. They also enable comparisons to be made across groups in the sample

(Oppenheim, 1992, p.115). Closed questions are quick to complete and straight forward to code; open-ended

questions are useful to enable respondents to answer as much as they wish in the investigation of complex issues to which simple answer cannot to be provided. Open- ended questions enable respondents to write a free account to explain their ideas in their own terms (Cohen et al,2007).

Both closed and open-ended questions were used in the student and teacher questionnaires in this research.

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4.3.1.2 Construction of the student questionnaires

The student questionnaire was administered in Sinhala for Sri Lankan students, a preliminary version having initially been written in English (Appendix C, 4a). The questions were professionally translated into Sinhala. All the items were designed to address the content areas above.

The main body of the student questionnaires consisted of different types of questions. Questions from one to eight and question forty two required written responses. Questions from nine to thirty consisted of four point Likert scales (Always, Usually, Rarely, Never). Question forty two was an open-ended question to collect information about the way the school regarded students’ ethnic backgrounds. Questions forty three and forty four asked about students’ ethnic and religious backgrounds.

The data collection instruments were trialled in one school in England and Sri Lanka. The student sample of the pilot study consisted of five students from one school in Sri Lanka and five students from one school in England. The student sample according to the year of study is indicated in Table 4.10 in Appendix C. The gender wise distribution of the student sample is indicated in Table 4.11 in Appendix C. As a result a number of amendments were made. Table 4.12 in Appendix C shows these changes following the pilot study, and the reasons for this.

A revised version of the questionnaire was used in the main study. Table 4.13 below shows questions in the revised student questionnaire designed to achieve the objectives of the main study.

Table 4.13: Student questionnaire items mapped against research focus

Objective of the study Question of the student questionnaire

Background information

1. Student Age: 2. Male/female:

43. What is your ethnic group? 44. What is your religious background? What are some of the important issues associated

with schools of multicultural backgrounds in each country and what are the similarities and differences?

3. What language(s) do you usually speak at home? 5. What languages can you read?

6. What language do you read best?

7. If your first language is not English, which language do you feel most comfortable in for expressing complicated thoughts and ideas? 9. Students of all ethnic backgrounds feel safe in this school.

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11. There are signs and notices in my language around the school.

15. All students know what is in our school’s antiracist policy.

16. Students in this school are allowed to wear traditional clothes and hairstyles that are important in their own cultures.

19. I feel very comfortable at this school.

21. Do your class textbooks talk about people from different backgrounds?

22. Do the textbooks in class talk about people from your background in a positive way?

23. Does the range of topics covered in your lessons help you to understand people from different backgrounds?

29. Classroom routines are clearly organised and responsibilities are shared out fairly between all students.

31. When you first arrived at your school, did you feel very welcome?

34. If you have talked to a school counsellor, do you feel that she/he understood you as a person? 35. Have you ever complained to a teacher about being bullied because of your ethnic background? 36. If you have complained, was something done about it?

37. Do students from different backgrounds ever get into an argument or a fight?

38. If students from different backgrounds get into an argument or a fight do teachers sort it out fairly? 39. Does the school library have lots of books about people from different cultures?

40. Have you studied some of the history of your own culture?

41. Is any student in your school allowed to study any subject?

42. Is there anything else you would like to tell me about the way your school treats students’ ethnic backgrounds?

Do students of all ethnic backgrounds feel included in these schools and are relationships between them and with staff harmonious?

4. What language do you usually speak with your friends?

8. Are you involved in school activities and/or sport teams?

12. Our school concerts and other special events include all the cultures in the school

13. Sometimes the school has special events to celebrate festivals that are important to particular ethnic groups

14. Important festivals and special days of all the ethnic groups in this school are celebrated. 17. At lunch time all students are encouraged to eat their lunch together.

18. After lunch all students are encouraged to mix with other ethnic groups in their free time. 20. School assemblies are often about different cultures and races.

24. Do classroom displays include the work of students from different backgrounds?

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25. Can you tell from the bulletin boards around the school that students in your school come from a range of different ethnic backgrounds?

26. Students often work with partners or in a peer tutoring relationship

27. Students often work in co-operative learning groups

28. The teacher knows some expressions in the languages used by different students.

30. The teacher helps students to manage group work and share responsibilities.

31. When you first arrived at your school, did you feel very welcome?

32. Are your religious festivals celebrated in your school?

33. Have you ever talked to a school counsellor?

4.3.1.3 Construction of the teacher questionnaires

The teacher questionnaire was administered in Sinhala for Sri Lankan teachers, a preliminary version having initially been written in English (see Appendix C, 4b). The questions were professionally translated into Sinhala. All the items were designed to address the content areas above.

The main body of the teacher questionnaires consisted of different types of questions. Questions from a to e and twenty five, twenty six, twenty seven and twenty eight required written answers. Questions from one to twenty three consisted of four point Likert scales (Agree somewhat, Strongly disagree, Strongly disagree and Disagree somewhat). Question twenty four was multiple choices and related to opportunities of multicultural education training of teachers. Questions twenty nine and thirty asked about teachers’ ethnic and religious backgrounds.

As noted above, the questionnaire for the teachers, like the other data collection

instruments, was trialled during the pilot study.The teachers’ sample in the pilot consisted of three teachers from Sri Lanka and two teachers from England. Table 4.14 in Appendix C shows the subject wise specialise of the teachers. As a result of the pilot a number of amendments were made to the teacher questionnaire. Table 4.15 in Appendix C shows the summary of changes for main study questionnaire and the reasons for this. A revised version of the questionnaire was used in the main study. Table 4.16 below shows questions in the revised version mapped against the research focus.

Table 4.16: Teachers questionnaire items mapped against research focus

Objectives of the study Questions

Background information a. What is your age range?

b. What is your highest educational qualification?

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c. Which subject(s) do you teach?

d. Number of years of teaching experience? e. Which year groups do you teach?

f. Which minority ethnic groups of students do you have in your own classrooms?