Mouton (2001:55) defines research design as a blueprint of how the researcher intends to conduct the study. In line with Mouton’s (2001) description, Henning et al. (2004:36) refers to research design as a reflection of the methodological requirements of the research question that determines the type of data that will be collected and how the data will be processed. In other words, a research design is a plan or structure that guides the researcher to obtain information or evidence to answer research question(s). A research design, according to Mouton (2001:55), focuses on the end product, the problem or research question and evidence to address the research question appropriately.
Research can follow different designs depending on the type of study and research question(s). For example, an empirical study may follow a different design from a non- empirical study (Mouton, 2001:57). As an empirical study, the present study follows the experimental, qualitative and ethnographic designs. The experimental design framework in this study is used to compare how teaching and learning occurred in science (from Grade 4 to Grade 6)) when conducted in the two media of instruction (English or isiXhosa).
According to De Vaus (1991:6) and Best & Kahn (1989:114), in an experimental design people are assigned randomly to the experimental and control groups in order to ensure that they are the same at the beginning of the study (e.g. in terms of prior knowledge, length of instruction, etc.). There is also some manipulation of the experimental group that does not occur in the control group (i.e. the experimental group is manipulated by imposing or withdrawing certain conditions (De Vaus, 1991:6).
In the context of this study, intervention or manipulation as part of experimentation was done in terms of supplying the learners with science materials that had been translated into isiXhosa, while the control groups were given materials written in English only. In
order to please the parents of the learners in the experimental groups who were concerned about their children who would be deprived of scientific terminology in English if they had to learn through the medium of isiXhosa, we also supplied these learners with science materials in English. The English workbooks, however, were not used by the teachers and learners in the classrooms, but they were only used as additional references. So the experimental group received science workbooks in both languages (English and isiXhosa). Although the supply of materials to the experimental group in both languages (instead of isiXhosa materials only) was a means of gaining access to the subjects of the study, I cannot, however, rule out the effects of this practice on the results of the study.
Secondly, the study followed one of the principles of experimental design by trying to involve subjects who were identical in terms of exposure to the language of instruction (isiXhosa) at the start of the research. Although it is a bit difficult to claim convincingly that the learners had exactly the same competence in isiXhosa due to individual differences relating to cognitive, social and emotional development and many other aspects related to classroom practices, the fact that they were all advancing from the Foundation Phase to the Intermediate Phase formed one of the selection criteria for their involvement in the study. Moreover, the learners were taught by different teachers in the previous phase, and teachers are also unique in terms of their teaching strategies and styles and interaction with learners, and that could indirectly influence the type of learners produced at the end of the learning programme. For example, some learners can be more motivated than others as a result of the kind of support and stimulation they receive from the teacher. These differences could affect the teaching and learning process either positively or negatively.
For the purpose of the study, I chose learners who were progressing from the Foundation Phase (Grades 1 – 3) to the Intermediate Phase (4 – 6). These learners learnt all the subjects through the medium of isiXhosa in the Foundation Phase. That is, all the learners (both in experimental and control groups) had been doing the same learning areas (Languages, Numeracy and Life skills) through their mother tongue (isiXhosa), and all of them had a reasonable oral proficiency in isiXhosa as their mother tongue. The
similarity between the two groups at the beginning of the study was based on the fact that all of them were from the Foundation Phase (Grade R – 3) where they were taught all the learning areas in the mother tongue (isiXhosa), and learnt English as an additional language. In other words, all learners would be taught other subjects through the medium of English for the first time in Grade 4, that marks the beginning of the Intermediate Phase (Grades 4 – 6).
Thirdly, following the qualitative design which, according to Henning et al. (2004:5) is an inquiry that examines the qualities, characteristics or the properties of a phenomenon for better understanding and explanation, the study investigated the behaviour and practices of teachers and learners as they occurred naturally within the classroom settings. As teaching and learning are broad concepts that encompass many concepts and activities like the curriculum, teaching methodology, teaching and learning resources, the classroom environment, learning strategies, parental involvement, motivation, and many other activities, the qualitative research approach allowed me to make observations at different times and at different points in order to find out the extent to which these variables affected the teaching and learning process in science. In other words, I wanted to see all the activities and events (social, cultural and historical) occurring in the science classrooms (from Grade 4 – 6) in order to see their impact on teaching and learning. The classroom observations helped me to identify and understand underlying factors that impacted on effective teaching and learning of science in the Intermediate Phase.
The classroom observations also enabled me to get a clear picture and full understanding of what was happening in the science classrooms so that I could draw comparisons between the experimental and control groups in both schools from the teachers’ and learners’ perspectives. Through close interaction between myself as a researcher, and the subjects of the study (teachers, learners), I began to understand how the research subjects perceived and interpreted situations in which they lived. In other words, I was able to understand how teachers and learners made meanings of different classroom situations and activities, and how their interpretations impacted on the teaching and learning of science through the media of English and isiXhosa.
Burgess (1988:8) mentions flexibility as one of the features of qualitative research. Flexibility becomes evident as data collection and analysis occur simultaneously in qualitative research and, usually data collection is not hypothesis-driven, (i.e. not collected to support or reject hypotheses). In other words, researchers can modify their work as the collection and analysis of data proceeds to suit new situations.
As the study followed a three-year longitudinal design, I deemed the qualitative research design suitable in this case because of its flexibility. As I reflected on each research activity during data collection, sometimes there was a need for certain changes. The qualitative nature of the study allowed for such changes or modifications during the research process. For instance, some of the research activities that I planned did not work as I was doing my fieldwork, so I was able to engage in other activities relevant to the study. I tried, nevertheless, to adhere to the scheduled programmes and activities as much as I could, but due to certain circumstances beyond my control I had to adjust my research programme according to the situations I encountered. This meant, for example, that I had to reschedule other appointments (e.g. writing of tests, interviews, meetings), while I continued with observations in schools. Such adjustments were only possible because I followed a qualitative research approach that allowed for this flexibility.
According to Bogdan (1992: 120) a descriptive or qualitative approach encompasses portraits of the subjects, reconstruction of dialogue, description of physical setting, accounts of particular events and activities, and the observer’s behaviour. In this regard, Henning et al. (2004:6) talk about “thick description” in qualitative research which gives a full account of the phenomena, and interpretation of information which is based on other empirical information and theoretical framework on which the study is based. In the following sections of this chapter the descriptive nature of this approach is evident: how the research sites and subjects were selected and how data was collected (observations, interviews, informal conversations, document analysis, etc.). All the interactions that occurred between the researcher and her subjects are portrayed in words. Therefore, the study fits the descriptive nature of qualitative research as it describes the process of data
gathering, while the last chapter focuses on the outcomes or findings of the study. All the information is presented in most cases in the form of words rather than numbers.
Although the research followed mainly a qualitative design in terms of data collection and analysis, it has been necessary to use some quantitative measures in data analysis to a limited extent. Quantitative measurement involves using a certain type of instrument to obtain numerical values or to compare and analyze different variables that are summarized and reported as the results of the study (Bless & Higson-Smith, 2004; McMillan & Schumacher, 1989:241). In the context of this research, for example, I have made use of graphs to compare the academic achievement of learners in science over the three years of this study. Although the graphs have been described qualitatively, the numerical values of scores fall within quantitative data analysis. Thus Mouton (2002:166) asserts that quantitative analysis is valuable even in qualitative studies.
In short, the methods that have been used to collect data in this study have been influenced by three research designs (longitudinal, experimental and qualitative). For example, as stated above, experimentation in the form of teaching Science through the medium of isiXhosa with the control group taught in English only has been followed for three years (2003 – 2005). Also, on the basis of classroom observations, interviews and conversations that characterize qualitative research, the two groups (experimental and control) were compared in order to arrive at the conclusions reflected in Chapter 8.
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