86 Interviews with teachers (qualitative);
Interviews with subject advisers (qualitative); and
Questionnaires with teachers (quantitative and qualitative).
3.4.1 The interview
The principal means of data collection was the interview. Henning (2004:79) describes interviews as ‘communicative events aimed at finding what participants think, know and feel’. Interviews are a means of producing relevant, valuable and analytically rich data (Barbour, 2008:114). Interviews were preferred as a way of collecting data because they allowed access to the experiences of teachers and subject advisers. The choice of using interviews to collect qualitative data was in line with the interpretivist paradigm. Wahyuni (2012:71) suggests that ‘to understand the social world from the experiences and subjective meanings that people attach to it, interpretivist researchers favour to interact and to have a dialogue with the studied participants’. They provided rich data that provided substantial material for building a significant analysis of the feelings, views and experiences of teachers and subject advisers.
The interview allowed me to unearth teachers’ experiences in the teaching of Accounting and their professional development experiences including their initial training and professional development activities. The interview enabled me to probe for clarification to a given response as well as for expansion where I felt I needed information on different aspects of a question. I used Nieuwenhuis’ (2007:89) three probing strategies in order to obtain the maximum data and to verify that what I heard was actually what the respondent meant. First, detail-oriented probes were used to ensure that I understood finer details of what the respondent was saying. Second, elaboration probes were used where I felt it necessary to hear more about what was being expressed. Third, clarification probes were used where I felt I needed clarity concerning what was being said where I needed to verify understanding of what was being communicated.
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Subject advisers of sampled districts were interviewed. Interviews with subject advisers were used to triangulate data received from teachers. Subject advisers are the primary source of support to teachers, particularly in terms of Accounting. Their opinions and experiences were key to the research study.
Interviews with subject advisers provided insight into the experiences subject advisers have with the teachers in their district including the kind of support teachers need, the support and professional development activities subject advisers provide, challenges teachers experience at their schools and in their classrooms, how teachers are able to cope with the curriculum and with curriculum transformation.
3.4.1.1 The interview schedule
An interview schedule ensures good use of limited interview time and helps to keep the discourse focused (Hoepfl, 1999:7). A semi-structured interview schedule, consisting of a list of open-ended questions based on the topic being researched, was used to collect data. This made it possible to ask all participants the same core questions with the opportunity to ask follow-up or probing questions that built on responses received (Brenner, 2006:362). Semi-structured schedules offer the value of using fixed questions, as in a structured interview, while allowing enough flexibility for the interviewee to speak freely about any topic raised during the interview (Wahyuni, 2012:74). Another strength of using semi-structured interviews is that it allowed questions to be explained or re-phrased where respondents were unclear about the wording.
3.4.2 The questionnaire
The questionnaire in this study is primarily a quantitative instrument but includes a qualitative element by including open-ended questions. Closed-questions restrict the respondent to choose from two or more fixed alternatives. They are fast to administer, easy to score and code, but may omit important options. Open-ended questions, on the other hand, provide a frame of reference for respondents’ answers. This type of question ensures a ‘richness and intensity of response’ (Burns & Burns, 2008:501). Open-ended questions invited a personal, honest comment from
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respondents in addition to selecting given options in the closed-questions. Open- ended questions were rewarding: they allowed respondents to voice their opinions and concerns about the phenomena being investigated in this study.
The purpose of the questionnaire was to elicit information or opinions of teachers about quality teaching and professional development, and how they experience these phenomena. The questionnaire was designed to facilitate teacher reflection on their beliefs about teaching Accounting and to provide information on the professional development activities they were engaged in.
The questionnaire was kept uncomplicated and user-friendly. In order to ensure clarity and logical sequencing, the questions were organised into six sections under section headings. The first section asked questions on biographical data. The second section elicited professional data regarding qualifications, how their initial training prepared them for teaching the subject and their views on, and experience of, professional development activities. The third section required reflection on their own teaching practice or methodologies used and what they believed was important for the teaching of Accounting. The fourth section obtained information concerning the nature of support they receive from various role players. The next section garnered responses about school environment and resources their learners had access to. The final section engaged teachers in deliberating on the performance of their learners and their views on the quality of their teaching. The Likert scale was used in different sections, which allowed me to measure standard responses.
The questionnaire was designed to elicit responses to the critical questions in this study. The questionnaire was translated into Afrikaans because many of the teachers from the rural districts were primarily Afrikaans-speaking.
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