Problemas: mímesis, semejanza y movimiento

Consistent with its critical hermeneutic and critical realist orientation, requiring closer scrutiny of studied phenomenon, this study was designed to use a case study method.

Bassey (1999:75) described a case study as the study of a singularity which is chosen because of its interest to the researcher. Robson (1993:40) defined a case study as the development of detailed knowledge about a single “case” or a small number of related

“cases”. He pointed out that the case study research method is of particular interest to a researcher wishing to gain a rich understanding of the context of the subject being researched. Janse van Rensburg (2001:16) concurred with Robson (ibid.) when she argued that the case study method enables a researcher to look at individual or small groups in a naturalistic setting, enabling the researcher to generate rich and detailed qualitative data on a phenomenon of interest. Furthermore Gillham (2005) argued that case study helps the researcher to understand what lies behind the observable aspects of the studied phenomenon, as is also the interest of critical realism. Case study method seeks to uncover the underlying reasons behind the observable aspects of phenomena under study (Scholz & Tietje, 2002; Gillham, 2005).

Bassey (1999) identified three categories of educational case studies as “theory seeking and theory testing case studies”, “storytelling and picture-drawing case studies”, and “evaluative or exploratory case studies” (Yin, 2003). Yin (1994) in a similar classification of case study methods, pointed out to the variations within case study research frameworks. He classified case studies into three categories, namely

“multiple case studies”, “qualitative or quantitative case studies” and “exploratory case studies” (Scholz & Tietje, 2002).

The case study method enables the researcher to “close in” on real life situations, in the case of this study, the heritage education practices and discourses shaping the way these education practices represented and use indigenous heritage constructs in selected contexts (Flyvbjerg, 2006: 235). Flyvbjerg (ibid.) further argued that the

advantage of the case study method is that it affords the researcher “proximity to reality” thereby allowing the researcher to gain a deeper and richer understanding of the phenomena being studied. Consistent with Flyvbjerg (2006), Nietzsche (1969) cited in Flyvbjerg (ibid.) claimed that case study method allows for a focus on “little things” which, when closely examined, reveal themselves to be pregnant with paradigms and discourses. Such a research method was critical for this study because it allows for what Marston (2004) referred to as a micro-analysis of social contexts, within which I sought to uncover the hidden discourses that shapes the way heritage education is practised in the wider context of post colonial southern Africa.

Patton (2002), Creswell (2008) and Yin (2009) further argue that the case study method allows for a closer and more detailed examination of desired phenomena in its natural setting. Bloor & Wood (2006:27) also claimed that “case study can capture the unique character of people and groups through their ability to generate detailed holistic data”. Drawing on Simmons (1996), Bloor and Wood (ibid.) also argue that case study has the capacity to reveal surprising discoveries.

Commenting on the use of case study method in qualitative research, Zainal (2007) argues that although case study method remains controversial (Flyvbjerg, 2006 also talks of the same contestations), it is widely recognised in many social science studies especially when in-depth explanations of a social behavior are sought.

The case study method was used in this study because of its ability to allow me to get closer and gain an in-depth understanding of heritage education practices in the case study sites (Stake, 1995; Connole, 1998; Welman & Kruger, 2002; Patton, 2002;

Bloor & Wood, 2006). The case study method also enabled me to get closer to written documents, and other materials within which discourses and ontologies shaping and influencing the way heritage education is constituted, are embedded. In sum, the case study method allowed me to focus on only one site amongst the many in each of the three countries covered in this study. This was important because in this study I was more concerned with depth of understanding than with covering more sites.

This study was therefore framed within an exploratory multiple case study design involving three country-based heritage education programmes. The three case

programmes are: education programmes at Albany Museum in South Africa, Supa Ngwao Museum in Botswana and Great Zimbabwe monument in Zimbabwe (Yin, 1994; Lloyd-Jones, 2003). In the next section I discuss why I chose to work with these three heritage education programmes.

4.2.1 Selecting the case study heritage education programmes

Careful selection of data-rich cases, as pointed out by Flyvbjerg (2006) and supported by Yin (2009) and Hamilton (2011) is a very important aspect of the case study method. In this study I used purposive sampling to select the three case study programmes. According to Marshall (1996), purposive (also known as strategic or judgmental) sampling is the most common sampling technique in qualitative research.

It entails that the researcher actively selects the “most productive” sample to answer the research questions (Marshall, 1996: 523; Nachmias & Nachmias, 1996). Leedy and Ormrod (2005) also talked of purposive sampling as identifying knowledgeable and informative participants. Such careful and strategic selection of data-rich cases was made possible by the contextual profiling process that I undertook as an integral part of this study (Marshall, ibid.; see Section 4.3.1). Flyvbjerg (2006: 229) stated that a strategic approach to selection of cases allows for identification of “typical” cases with potential to reveal more information about the situation studied. Marshall (1996:

523) as already highlighted above, called these typical cases “the most productive samples”.

Purposive sampling is often based on a framework of variables developed from the researcher's knowledge of the study area or phenomenon, the available literature and evidence from initial research processes such as contextual profiling in the case of this study (Marshall, 1996; Flyvbjerg, 2006).The selection of heritage education programmes at Great Zimbabwe Monument, Supa Ngwao Museum in Botswana and that of Albany Museum in Grahamstown, South Africa was therefore based on the following criteria. Firstly, the heritage education programme at Great Zimbabwe is well established dating back to pre-independence, and works with visitor school groups and the general public in the country. According to the senior education officer of the programme, approximately 8000 school learners visit Great Zimbabwe monument every year, making it one of the busiest heritage education programme in the country (Haruzivishe, J. personal communication, September 9, 2010). The

monument itself, a declared World Heritage site, is also typical of how tensions between local communities and state institutions play out (Frederikse, 1990; Ndoro, 2005; Fontein, 2006; Chirikure & Pwiti, 2008), making it a data rich site in relation to the focus of this study.

Secondly the heritage education programme at Albany Museum, the second oldest museum in South Africa (established in 1855) is also well established, was pioneered in 1939 and receives between 10 000 - 16 000 learners every year (Education at Albany Museum, 2009: 2). The education programmes also run a mobile museum service to formerly marginalised farm and rural areas, making it a potentially rich case study for exploring issues of heritage construct inclusivity, notwithstanding that all its programmes are being transformed to align with South Africa’s social transformation and inclusivity agenda, and associated curriculum changes (see Chapter Five). The Albany Museum case study also provided me with a chance to work with school teachers. Through the museum’s education programme and its links to formal education I was able to reach twelve senior phase teachers and engaged them within four generative workshops (see Section 4.2.3).

The third heritage education case study was that of Supa Ngwao Museum in Botswana, where an exciting heritage education initiative (Mapoka photo cultural project) aimed at educating school children about local Kalanga cultural practices, is being run (Zazu, 2010; see Chapter 7). This project, though small, illustrates attempts by the post colonial government of Botswana, drawing from the country’s vision 2016 and the National Policy on Culture of 2001, to increase recognition and representation of local cultures in both heritage management and education practices (Republic of Botswana, 2001b). Thus, given the focus of this study, Supa Ngwao Museum education programme was also considered a data rich case.

Other than the three education programmes being the “most productive” or “typical”

cases, to borrow Marshall (1996) and Flyvbjerg’s (2006) terminology, with the potential to reveal valuable information regarding discourses shaping heritage education practices in post colonial southern Africa, these cases were also chosen because of their convenience (Berg, 2004; Gillham, 2005; Creswell, 2008). Marshall (1996:523) argued that “there is an element of convenience sampling in many

qualitative studies”. He further pointed out that convenience sampling is the least costly to the researcher. Albany Museum is within reach from Rhodes University where I conducted this study, Great Zimbabwe monument is also easily accessible from the city of Kwekwe where I stay when in Zimbabwe, and Supa Ngwao Museum was the nearest museum in Botswana from Kwekwe. It was important to consider convenience as resources allocated to this study were limited (see Section 9.1.1.2).

The selection of the three case sites was therefore undertaken using both purposive and convenience sampling strategies.