The aims of this dissertation are to ascertain whether there are problems with the school
boards, if so, where do these problems lie, and how can it be determined what they are in order to find possible solutions. Solutions were needed so that transformation could be effected. I had to interact with individual school governing bodies and other role-players involved in school
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governance, in order to meet these aims. I also had to look at the work of other authors in this field to see what type of practices they experienced. My analysis of school governing body practices would give me reasons why they act in the way they do. In other words what meanings would they ascribe for their actions? I knew that something was amiss but had to determine what it was. I had to understand the meanings that they attached to their experiences, and then bring about transformation. Depending on what their experiences were, I needed empowerment and then in deliberation with the governors and other role players, determine what kind of empowerment they needed. This takes me into the interpretive paradigm. The interpretive paradigm is concerned with understanding the daily issues that people face, as well as meanings they give and of course how they interpret them. The two pivotal issues in
interpretive inquiry are: the self-understanding of the individual which forms the basis of all social interpretation and human consciousness which remains transparent. Therefore
interpretive inquiry stresses the notion that analysis involves more than observation. The fundamental point, according to Fay (1975:74) is to reach self-understanding of the person acting in the situation, analysing and understanding his or her reasons for their actions. In other words actions have to be explained not merely observed. Fay (1975:71) argues the interpretive approach to social science comprises action concepts – “doings” as opposed to “happenings.”
Interpretive inquiry rejects the claim that all events we want to explain are of the same logical type in terms of the view that human actions belong to a different logical category from all other events in the world. For interpretive inquiry an understanding of human beings and society is logically different from an understanding of the natural world (Fay, 1975:74).
Therefore, in an interpretive paradigm education policy research can be described as
“qualitative” where use is made of “narrative knowledge, archival knowledge or observational knowledge.” Research that involves human practices, in this case the study of school boards, are difficult to quantify. Unlike positivism, you cannot pin it down with “prediction.” Research results are presented in narrative, hermeneutic or qualitative form. In opposition to positivist inquiry, interpretive inquiry “view(s) the human being as a subject of knowledge principally capable of reflection, (potential) rationality, discursive communication, and social interaction (Kelchtermans & Schratz, 1994:244). This is what drew me to critical theory, the fact that it is not just a matter of understanding and explaining but critiquing and transforming. The fact that critical theory is reflective, emancipatory and advocates change inspired me. Whilst positivists rely on the experimental which is essentially quantitative, critical theory depends on the explanatory, practical and normative. In other words, the qualitative. Research based on positivist inquiry uses research methodology which sees meanings as separate from people’s subjective interpretations, consciousness and intentions. Research discourse in the positivist
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tradition draws on neutral, objective, or statistical language, which includes, for instance, widespread use of questionnaire-driven surveys (Kelchtermans & Schratz, 1994:244). Critical inquiry was therefore, best suited to my research since critical inquiry contends that positivist and interpretive inquiries, at best only describe or explain the social world, and that critical inquiry provides resources both to criticise and change the social world. For critical inquiry “…
the truth or falsity of (its) theories will be partially determined by whether they are in fact translated into action” Fay (1975:95). It thus made sense to use critical inquiry as an approach to my study. The goal of critical theory is to transform, to change. The goal of my study is also to transform, to change, and to empower. It is clear that positivism would not have worked in this study because it undermines the human element. Positivism looks for pre-determined meanings which cannot work in this case. In my study I needed to explain the different
interests and expectations of the stakeholders involved in school governance. Each group had a story to tell and it was my responsibility to analyse each story with reference to interpretive theory. I needed to get to the deeper meanings of what stakeholders were saying and writing in their questionnaires. Attitudes, and the way replies were given also helped me construct and interpret meaning. In this way interpretive inquiry which collapses into critical inquiry explains, analyses, and elucidates meanings. So I used critical theory which is a form of self-reflective knowledge involving understanding and theoretical explanations to understand and transform society. In this study, I use critical theory but draw on interpretivism.
3.8 Conclusion
The education department of the SDA church has provided clear guidelines on how the schools should be governed and who should serve on the boards. The church will definitely profit from taking a look at the SASA, and then incorporate into the high school and primary school constitution those elements that do not clash with the philosophy, ideals and standards of SDA education. However, to determine the nature and extent of the problems with the school boards, I needed to understand, interpret, explain and critique. Critical theory is thus ideally suited to achieve this.
Chapter 4 will deal with the SDA system of education in detail, and then discuss the constitution proposed by the SASA and how it is linked to the constitutions of the SDA schools. I will also discuss the church’s policies with reference to the school boards and determine how the SASA affects governance in SDA schools, if there is any impact at all. I will use a semi-structured interview to determine the extent of problems experienced by the
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boards. In the process I shall also interview the staff and some parents to determine their perceptions of the school board. Finally, I shall be able to analyse the problems and determine what can be done to solve the problems.
58 CHAPTER 4
DATA SOURCE: EXPLORING EXISTING PROBLEMS WITHIN SEVENTH-DAY