3.3.4.1 Analysis of survey data
Before survey data were analysed to address the research questions, the researcher adopted Creswell’s (2005), procedures for preparing and organising the data for analysis: scoring the data, creating a codebook, determining the code to use, and inputting the coded data into SPSS 18. After the preparation and organisation of the survey data, the researcher conducted descriptive statistics analysis in order to examine tendencies in the data regarding various aspects of residents’ professional learning experiences.
3.3.4.2 Analysis of interview data
Interview data were analysed using the framework developed by Miles and Huberman (1994) for phenomenological research. Following this framework, the data analysis comprised three major phases: data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing and verification (Herbers, 1998). In the data reduction phase, all raw qualitative data were organised and reduced to manageable scale through the production of summaries and abstracts, coding and writing memos. In doing so, the researcher made data intelligible in terms of the phenomenon of learning to teach during the TRP ("Analyzing Qualitative Data," 2006). The data were then displayed to provide a collection of organised, compressed information from which the researcher identified features and drew relevant conclusions. Information at this level was presented in diagrams, charts, or a matrix of words, to identify systematic patterns and interrelationships. The final phase of data analysis involved the researcher generating the meaning of the analysed data and assessing their
implications for the three key research questions ("Analyzing Qualitative Data," 2006).
Applying Miles and Herbers (1998) framework, the researcher employed the following specific procedures for the analysis of interview data. After all the audio recordings of interviews were formatted, a preliminary exploratory analysis was carried out by the researcher. The researcher decided that verbatim transcription of all data was unnecessary. As an alternative, the researcher first listened to all the interview recordings once to obtain a general sense of the data as a whole. While listening, the researcher wrote memos in a separate sheet, which comprised the identification of relevant ideas and concepts. Then, to begin the coding process, the researcher listened for the second time to the interviews one by one, labelling the audio segments with codes, which were either the actual words of the Resident or phrased in standard educational terms (for example, statements like “control the kids
in the classroom”, “manage the class”, “handle different behaviours in the class”
were termed as “classroom management”). In doing so, the researcher selected specific data to code for common themes. This stage of coding culminated in the researcher producing a table summarising all the codes of each resident’s response to each interview question. An example showing a segment of the table of codes for one resident is presented in Table 3.1.
The researcher then examined the table of codes for each interview question for the group of residents to identify overlap and redundancy. The collapsed and reduced codes provided a small number of shared-themes. The themes represented the pattern of residents’ responses to each question, with the most frequently mentioned evidence cited to support them. Typically five to seven themes were produced from the codes of the 12 residents’ responses to each interview question. To prepare for reporting the findings from the interview data analysis, the researcher listed in a table all of the themes for each question, and recorded the number, and percentage of participants mentioning each theme. Table 3.2 shows the themes derived from the participants’ responses to the question: what do you expect to learn
Table 3.1: Example of Codes for Data Motivation Previous teaching experiences Expectations Prospective teacher Ability to teach - job security - learn by doing - practical - no teaching experiences - art therapy workshop for two years - to be best prepared as possible - gain confidence and experiences - classroom and behaviour management - curriculum - instrumental tools - organised - approachable - creative - conduct Interesting and engaging class - low level of confidence in lesson planning and classroom management
Table 3.2: Residents’ Learning Expectations during the TRP
Expectations Number of participants (N1)
classroom management 7
learn to be a good teacher 6
subject matters 4
gaining confidence 2
teaching skills and strategies 3
curriculum 2
programming and planning 2
3.3.4.3 Analysis of interview data for case studies
Two detailed case studies were established using the interview data collected from two residents who were interviewed four times each during the study. The researcher used the detailed analysis of these two case studies to address the second research question. The case studies were each selected as an exemplary representation of different learning paths and outcomes of the larger group of residents.
It should be noted that in this research project the researcher used the case study as a way of presenting qualitative data to address the research problem, rather
than as a method in traditional qualitative research design. The purpose of the two case studies was to describe the particular cases in detail. These cases were particularistic and contextual, and they provided representative accounts of learning responses to the TRP. The richness and depth of information offered by the case studies provides an illustrative description of a Resident’s learning journey. Capturing as many variables as possible, these two case studies identified how a complex set of circumstances during the TRP came together to produce a particular manifestation of learning to teach.
3.3.4.4 Four-staged transformative framework for analysis
In this study residents’ self-reported learning experiences were classified as either informative or transformative. The framework adopted for the analysis of the data from the two case studies was based on a review of studies of transformative learning that indicated the evidence should lead to the development of a common pattern, or process leading to a transformative learning outcome. The analysis was guided by the four-stage transformative framework, which is described below. The framework was employed to determine whether or not the resident’s professional learning experiences during the TRP demonstrated the characteristics of a transformative learning process. The four stage transformative framework represents a distillation of the early work of Mezirow (1991), who identified ten phases that characterise how an individual experiences the process of transformative learning. The phases start from a disorienting dilemma and move through to critical self-
examination, exploration of new possibilities of new roles, relationships and actions, provisional trying of new roles, building of self-confidence in new roles and finally integrating changes into one’s life. Herbers (1998) later condensed Mezirow’s ten
phases into four: a disorienting dilemma, critical reflection, rational discourse and
action. Herbers’s distillation of Mezirow’s ten phases also have parallels in
Cranton’s (1994) four-staged “Learner Empowerment” of transformative learning and King’s (2002) four-staged journey of transformation. It also resonates with Larrivee’s (2000) three-fold structure for understanding the development of a critically reflective teacher. According to Glisczinski (2005, p. 40), what these studies had in common were trends that pointed to a consistent “process of action, critical reflection, and renewed action, which is informed, reformed, tempered, and redirected by experiences and expanding awareness”.
Table 3.3 presents a summary of the terms and description used by these researchers. Drawing on these studies, the researcher has adopted a framework that emphasises a four-staged development process to examine the transformative learning experiences of pre-service teachers. The terms and concepts developed by Mezirow (1990) and summarised in Table 3.3 were retained for the analysis procedure and were used in subsequent analysis and discussions presented in Chapters Five and Six.
Guided by this four stage transformative learning framework, the researcher screened the interview data, and each of the two case studies for evidence of these stages. The framework provided a guideline for determining whether, and to what extent, the professional learning experiences of the participants demonstrated perspective or action change, that is, whether the residents’ attitudes about learning and teaching changed, or not (perspective transformation-attitudes, beliefs and understandings), and whether their approaches to learning and teaching changed (action transformation-behaviour practice).
Table 3.3: Transformative Learning Framework
Stage Herbers (1998)
Cranton (1994) King (2002) Mezirow (1991)
1 Disorienting dilemma Initial learner empowerment Fear and uncertainty 1. A disorienting dilemma 2. Self- examination with feelings
of fear, anger, guilt or shame 2 Critical reflection Learner critical self-reflection Testing and exploring 3. A critical assessment of assumptions
4. Recognition that one’s discontent and the process of transformation are shared 5. Exploration of options for new
roles, relationships and actions 3 Rational discourse Transformative learning Affirming and connecting
6. Planning a course of action 7. Acquiring knowledge and skills
for implementing one’s plans 8. Provisional trying of new roles 9. Building competence and self-
confidence in new roles and relationships 4 Action Increased empowerment and autonomy New perspectives
10. Reintegration into one’s life on the basis of conditions dictated by one’s new perspective