All stages of data collection took place during the continuing policy changes of Brunei preschool education that were transforming the ECCE landscape. Figure 4.7 below shows the methodological structure of the research.
There are three phases to the data collection.
Phase one was the distribution of the questionnaire in March 2014. The research instrument consisted of a mixture of open-ended and close-ended questions, and it was sent to all government preschool teachers in Brunei to gain insights into their views of the phenomena of changes being introduced into their practice. For phase one of the study, I wrote to the Ministry of Education requesting assistance in distributing a memo to all 256 government preschool teachers in Brunei, as well as meeting those teachers at the assigned places throughout the four districts. The memo asked the teachers to come voluntarily to the designated school to answer a questionnaire; a task which, having gained their consent, would take from between 15 - 30 minutes of their time. I explained to them, both in writing and verbally, the research objectives and the purpose of this project. The response rate of 123 preschool teachers out of the 256 who were initially targeted was a catalyst towards moving from a wider population of teachers to a smaller focus of four teachers. This reorientation would allow the researcher to understand the change processes as they happened to Brunei’s preschool education; in particular a) updating or renewing the curriculum, b) rearranging of the classroom settings and c) the changes in teachers’ roles.
107 Figure 4.7. Methodology structure
Phase two of the study was conducted between March and early June 2014. I selected four government preschools, and the four teachers in the selected preschools became involved in my project, upon having received their informed consent. Then I asked the teachers to identify two children from their classes who would be fluent in conversing with me. Since four preschools had been selected, that added up to eight children in total. I then sent an information sheet and consent forms for the parents of the selected children through the teachers help. For phase two, four classroom observations in natural settings were conducted for each of the four preschool classes. Roberts-Holmes (2005) stated that observation is a popular choice that early childhood researchers
108 choose to gather real natural data. Field notes were also used at various stages during the research, including the early periods of observation, when I was refining the methods of gathering data. Note-taking was also employed later, when analysing and interpreting the data. This technique helped to provide detailed recorded observations of individuals and the context(s) in which they interact. Observation of naturally occurring classroom activities also involves looking at each teacher’s way of lesson/teaching implementation, and organisation of the class environment. Documentary analysis of material, including the Brunei preschool curriculum and teachers’ lesson plans, was also used to gather data. A digital camera was used to take snapshots of classroom observations. The purpose of the second data collection phase was to verify the information obtained from the first phase of the questionnaire.
Next, semi-structured interviews in the form of research discussions with key stakeholders: the government officers, preschool teachers and children, were carried out in order to gather more in-depth information relating to perspectives reflected in the questionnaire data. These interviews also helped to seek clarification of issues that might be noted in the process of classroom observations. Implementing semi-structured interviews as a guide to questioning provided both the interviewee, and myself as interviewer, with some form of natural discussions about the change events that are happening in Pra. The interview sessions were conducted at each participant’s convenience; with each session lasting for about thirty minutes. All the participants preferred to use the Malay, as opposed to English, language during their interviews. A digital voice recorder was used to obtain accurate answers and facilitate verbatim transcriptions; a procedure carried out by myself. All of the transcripts were in Malay and some parts that are sufficiently significant to be reported in this English language study were therefore translated into English. Research discussions with teachers focused on their views of the changes in pedagogy and how they implement, plan and organise: i) the teaching-learning environments, b) materials, c) their time d) the children and e) the adults. Discussions with children were used to elicit their learning experiences and to provide a relaxing and non-threatening environment in which to gather their opinions about their learning experiences. In addition to the discussions, children’s drawings were used to elicit information about their learning experiences.
109 The third phase of this study involved the research discussion that took place with two education officers; one from the Early Childhood Care and Education Unit and one from the Curriculum Development Department Unit. The discussions were conducted in September 2014 to obtain the officers’ views about the preschool practice and ways of supporting the teachers and children during the expected curriculum reforms. The reason for using the term ‘research discussion’ instead of ‘interview’ was to provide a relaxed and non-threatening environment for talking about the issues of preschool practice. The use of observation and research discussions/interviews has aided a better understanding of the teachers’ views on how they are managing the changes.