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This study used different research instruments for triangulation. Payne and Payne (2004:23) suggest that “Triangulation is a special case of ‘methodological pluralism’, a perspective that argues for an end to disputes about ‘the best method’ and the use of the ‘most suitable method’ for the tasks in hand”. Multiple methods were adopted for

53 purposes of triangulation (Denzin & Lincoln, 1994). The data collection instruments included the observations, focus group discussions, and individual interviews. These activities were organized and integrated through role-play. The role play invited learners into becoming ‘researchers’ as a mechanism to increase their sense of agency. All interviews, focus group discussions and role plays were conducted, recorded and transcribed in isiXhosa and later translated into English. The research instruments used are as follows:

a) Observations

Rath (1991:157) suggests that “observation of behaviour is a common sense of collecting data and it is a primary tool of scientific inquiry. Observation means to see something of attitude, behaviour, occurrences of events in social phenomena”. I applied observation method in this study “to record behaviour as it occurs” and to gain data “independent of a respondent’s willingness to report apart from ability” (Ibid:157). Observation method was employed and became helpful to explore how learners describe the SNP in their schools. This method was useful to observe Grade 4 learners’ day to day experiences of the School Nutrition Programme.

The disadvantage of the observation is that “it is often difficult to get access to the place where the units are to be observed” (Rath, 1991:156-157). The pilot studies that preceded the main study helped me to respond to this disadvantage. Moreover, access to collect data in these schools from the Grade 4 learners was also obtained from the schools’ principals and SGBs. Another disadvantage of the observation is that “some

54 occurrences that people may be able to report, very rarely if ever, are accessible to direct observation” (ibid).

Observations in this study played a very crucial role because they took place in the natural field setting instead of a location designated for the purpose of interviewing. Moreover, this study considered observations as a research tool because observational data represents a firsthand encounter with the phenomenon of interest rather than a second hand account of the world obtained in an interview (Merriam, 1998:94). Therefore, observation was crucial for this study in that it acquired data from a natural setting whereby I observed and listened to the learners during the feeding process, attempting to obtain firsthand experience. Through observations I had an opportunity to get data through her eyes, asking questions, and listening directly to the natural occurrence to get the data from first hand occurrence.

On feeding days I observed the whole process of feeding. These included observing the menu served, the number of days used for feeding, the time used for feeding, how children were served food, where they were served and ate food, how many food servers were responsible for feeding, the interaction between learners and learners, interaction between learners and teachers, and also interaction between learners and the servers. Food handling, food safety procedures during both preparation and service of meals were observed. The time spent in preparation for feeding, and times spent for feeding were also recorded. I further observed the availability of resources to prepare food for the SNP in these schools. The observations were intended to identify the

55 possible consequences of the availability and unavailability of these resources. Observations were also applied carefully in order to validate the data reported by the respondents during research.

The next instrument used was the role play.

b) Role Play

“Role play as a term describes a range of activities characterized by involving participants in ‘as-if’ or ‘simulated’ actions and circumstance” (Yardley-Matwiejczuk, 1997:1).There were eight role plays performed for this study with four role plays performed in each school. Each role play was made up of two learners.

On the first day of the research I started engaging with a Grade 4 class. I started by introducing myself and stated the purpose for her visit to the learners. The learners, in response, introduced themselves. I asked the learners to volunteer to participate in the study as researchers. I then chose four learners out of all the volunteer learners in each school. I chose these four learners to be the final learners to participate in the study as case studies. These four learners who volunteered chose their friends to participate as researchers. They claimed that they chose those they felt comfortable to discuss the SNP with. Those who were chosen as friends were also willing to participate in the study. Then I chose four learners from this group of learners.

The group of researchers was given general guidelines on how to get information from their friends about the SNP in their school. For example, they asked what their friends

56 liked and did not like about the SNP, and why. Also they asked their friends to tell everything about the school feeding in their schools, i.e., does it help them and how, or it does not help them and why. They also asked them what would they like to be changed/improved and why.

After realizing that the learners were struggling and taking too long to do research, I changed the approach which was driven by a set of questions to a general conversation about the feeding scheme in school. Learners had to share their experiences of the feeding scheme in their schools.

The role play was done to try a new method to obtain data on experiences of learners of the SNP in their schools. That is, to try to create a more child friendly environment by letting learners interact with each other without my interference, and to prepare learners to be able to share their SNP experiences in my presence individually. All the role plays were conducted in the learners’ mother tongue, isiXhosa. All eight Grade 4 learners participated willingly during the role plays. They talked openly about the SNP with other learners in my presence. The role plays took place in a separate classroom with the participants and I. The next research instrument used was the interview.

c) Individual Interviews

“The purpose of the interview is to secure certain information from the subject, which is known only to himself and cannot be gathered from any other source, and laboratory study of verbal behaviour under given circumstances” (Rath, 1991:160). Interviews were

57 used in this study in order to “yield rich insights into the Grade 4 learners “day to day experiences, their opinions, aspirations, attitudes and feelings” of the SNP (May, 1997:109). The interviews were useful “to corroborate data emerging from other data sources”, such as observations, role play, and focus group discussions (Maree, 2007:87).

I acknowledged that the interview method had its own advantages and disadvantages as a method to collect data. The interviews were used in this study because of their advantages that “there are certain events which are not open to observation, and which are known to nobody else, except the respondent himself, interview is the only technique to be used to study those events” (Rath,1991:176-177). Another advantage of it is that “questions not readily grasped by the interviewee can be paraphrased, or repeated with proper emphasis and explanations when necessary” (ibid). The interviews were used for its advantage for I to be able to explain the question to the respondents if not well understood.

The limitations of the interviews were that “the interviewee also may suffer from faulty perception, weak memory, lack of insight and inability to articulate. Therefore interviewing data lack validity and there are many gaps and distortions in the data” (Rath, 1991:176-177). Also “there is no source of direct observation or empirical verification of what the respondent says” (ibid). To respond to these limitations of the interviews I used different data collection techniques to get data which could not possibly be obtained through interviews. Observations were also part of the data collection technique to observe some of the data given by the respondents during the

58 interviews. The role play and the focus group discussions which were used as research techniques were also advantageous for the interview because the respondents could help one another to think and interact. Semi-structured interviews were used in this study during individual interviews with Grade 4 learners.

Semi-structured interview is a type of interview which is used “to gain a detailed picture of a participant’s beliefs about, or perceptions or accounts of, a particular topic” (De Vos, 2002:302). Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore Grade 4 learners’ day to day descriptions of the SNP. Four Grade 4 learners were interviewed individually in each school. These interviews were useful to obtain these learners’ “views, opinions, attitudes and experiences” of the SNP (Becker & Bryman, 2004: 268). To obtain data through this type of interview open ended questions were used as a guide rather than dictating the interview (De Vos, 2002: 302).

These interviews took place in the two selected schools in separate classrooms. There were eight individual interviews conducted for the entire study. There were four individual interviews conducted in each school. All the learners who participated in the interviews also participated in the role plays and focus group discussions. The purpose of interviewing the learners individually was to validate data gained during the role play session. It was also to have time with each learner to gain data which the learners may not have revealed in the presence of others.

The interviews took place in the morning during free periods when there was no teaching and learning taking place in the classrooms. The interviews were conducted in

59 the respondents’ mother tongue, isiXhosa. The use of the respondents’ own language was crucial to make it easy for the respondents and I to understand each other effectively without the information being interpreted and translated. The use of isiXhosa made the communication simple between the respondents and I. The next research instrument used was the focus group discussion.

d) Focus Group Discussions (FGDs)

A focus group is a “commonly used type of interview which consists of between four and eight respondents who are interviewed together” (Bless & Higson-Smith, 2000:110). Four Grade 4 learners were used during the focus group discussions in this study. The respondents were young children and therefore the focus group discussions were preferable to allow them to help one another to think through the topic. I identified this method as one of the best methods to minimize chances of young children feeling intimidated by me.

Moreover, I chose focus group discussions based on their advantages. Firstly, “they provide an opportunity to observe a large amount of interaction on a topic over a short period of time” (Bloor et al. in Becker & Bryman, 2004:285). This method saved me time by interviewing a group of four Grade 4 learners together. Another advantage is that “focus group discussions encouraged people to theorize, elaborate and possibly think about a topic for the first time” (ibid). The focus group discussions allowed learners to share and explore their day to day experiences of the SNP by responding to only one general question about the SNP. Focus group discussions were also useful for learners by giving them an opportunity to reflect and help one another understand the question.

60 Becker and Bryman (2004:285) further explain the criticism of the focus group discussions stating that “since focus group discussions do not usually involve individuals who have been randomly elected, the results produced are not generalisable to the population” The findings of the study will not be generalized, therefore the limitations of the focus group discussions could not interfere with the interest of this study.

The group that participated in the study was all in one setting and did not require travelling to get to the research site. The FGDs were conducted at the participant’s schools. There were two focus group discussions performed for this study. Each school performed one focus group discussion. Because there were only four learners per school selected to participate as case studies in the study, to make a focus group discussion all those four learners were involved in one group discussion in each school. Focus group discussions were conducted with learners and they became useful in helping learners to assist one another to think together and bring out ideas and memories of their experiences of the SNP. This group of learners was asked to relate and share their experiences of the SNP together. These interviews took place in the two selected schools in the separate classrooms. They took place in the morning during free periods when there was no teaching and learning taking place in the classrooms. The interviews were conducted in the respondents’ and my language, isiXhosa. The use of the respondents’ own language was crucial to make it easy for the respondents and I to

61 understand each other effectively without the information being interpreted and translated.