Methodology

Chapter Three

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

This part of the study outlines the procedures to be followed during the conduct of the study. It highlights the design and the location of the study. Methods to be used, sampling techniques, data collection instruments, analysis and measures of variables will be discussed.

3.2 Research design

This research will be guided by the Quasi-Experimental research design. This design is expected to maximise rigour and to yield valuable evidence on the intervention of teacher’s instructional practices on the teaching of ORF as it has higher degree of internal validity control. The non- equivalent comparison group design will be followed with Treatment and Comparison groups subjected to pre and post-test to maintain validity.

3.3 Methodology

This research will be guided by the mixed research methods. Both qualitative and quantitative methods will be used. It will be quantitative as data on pupils’ reading fluency will be collected by use of experimental methods, pre-test and post-test. A treatment on teacher’s instructional practices will be conducted after the pre-test of the sampled learners. A comparison group will be used to ascertain the effect of the intervention.

The researcher will organise and conduct three CPDs of two hours a day for three consecutive days in a central place for the teachers in the treatment group. The content to be covered will include how to plan reading texts and to include activities that develop ORF in the lesson plan. Teacher reading aloud to model the reading, children reading to one another in pairs, children reading after the teacher and children reading together with teacher form activities. In such reading, emphasis will be put on correct decoding of words, correct punctuation marks, phrasing of statements and the speed of reading all through repeated reading, choral and paired reading. Assessment of ORF during teaching will also be included. As children listen to teacher and their peers read, self-correction can be done. Teachers will be guided on how to model reading and to use a multidimensional fluency scale to assess ORF. Follow up support supervision will be done once every two weeks for a period three months. Only two teachers will be supported a day each lasting for two hours following the clinical supervision model. Thereafter, a post-test for both groups will be conducted to establish the effect of treatment that will include preparation, lesson presentation and assessment of prosody.

3.4 Study location

This study will be carried out in Kagadi T/C, Kagadi district in public primary schools. The Town Council has nine public primary schools and over twenty privately owned primary schools. This area is selected because no any research study on teacher’s instructional practices and pupils’ ORF has ever been done here. In addition to this, the level of reading fluency both in old and young is low despite interventions received to improve reading in general.

3.5 Population

This study will include all the teachers of P3 in the nine-government aided primary schools in Kagadi T/C. More to these are all the pupils in primary three classes in the T/C. Government aided schools have been selected as they use Runyoro-Rutooro as the medium of instruction. Private schools are adamant to this policy.

3.6 Sample size

Fox, Hunn and Mathers, (2009) and Singh & Masuku (2014), advise researchers to use a larger sample size to avoid errors in hypotheses. Based on the above, the sample size will be 264 participants from a population of 759 people as guided by the table for determining the sample size by Krejcie and Morgan (1970). It will include eight teachers and 256 pupils from the eight schools. For each school, 32 pupils of P3 class will be sampled in equal proportions of boys and girls. Treatment will be done in four schools while the other four will form the comparison group. Selection of treatment and comparison schools will be done by random sampling.

Summary of sample size                                                                                                               

Table (i) summary of sample size.

3.7 Sampling techniques

Schools to participate in this study will be selected by random sampling. After selecting the schools, teachers will be selected by purposive sampling. Sampling of children will depend on sex first. From each of the sex, random sampling will be used to select participants for both the treatment and comparison groups.

3.8 Data collection Instruments

Data of this study will be collected by using a number of tools or instruments. Pre-test and post test tools will be used with all learners in the sample. Document analysis will be used to collect data on preparation for teaching. Observation guide will aid in the collection of data from classroom teachers observed during teaching. For the authenticity of data to be collected, the researcher will administer these tools himself.

3.9 Measurement

A frequency Likert scale of five values will be used to measure teachers’ methodology and activities used in teaching. It will help to match what is expected to what is done. Each attribute in preparation will be matched with what the teacher has done. The Likert scale will then be used to ascertain where the practice falls according to standard. The instruments to be used to collect data will be measured to test for validity and reliability.

3.10 Validity

Test of instrument validity will be done through guidance of language/research experts. Their expertise in reviewing items will help me ascertain that the instrument measures what it is intended to measure.  The text to be used in pre and post testing will be checked for statements, phrasing, punctuation marks, intonation, stress and wording used. This will bring out content validity, the measure of the subject content (Gay, 2012). A recommendation of this team at a content validity value of 0.7 will be considered as valid (Grounder, 2012).

3.11 Reliability

The reliability of instruments will be measured through test and re-test method. A sample selected from centres not in the selected CC, will be used and the instrument tested and re-tested for a consistent score value of at least 0.7 (Amin, 2005). The passage (text) will be piloted by administering and re-administering it to help test for consistency. Adjustments will be done as need arises.

3.12 Data collection procedure

Data will be collected by use of pre-test and post-test from pupils. A pre-test will be administered to all learners sampled. A pre-training classroom teaching observation for teacher in the sample will be done. Teachers in the treatment group will be taken through CPDs on the methodology of teaching and assessing ORF. Clinical support supervision will be conducted as follow up to enhance skill development for teachers in the treatment group. At least each teacher will be supported twice a month for three months during the normal teaching of a reading lesson. Basically, the reading part of the lesson will be observed. Later a post test will be conducted to both groups and the mean difference noted. It will be used to establish the effect of treatment conducted. The researcher intends to carry out data collection by himself to avoid mismanagement of tools leading to faulty data.

In addition to pre-post-test, each learner will be assessed using a Multidimensional Fluency Scale to emphasise prosody.

3.13 Data presentation and analysis

Data collected will be edited, categorised, coded and computerised for preparations of tables and diagrams as guided by Ahuja (2001). Tables will be used to determine the distribution. Objective to establish the relationship between teacher’s instructional practices and the development of pupils’ ORF in Runyoro-Rutooro will be analysed using the difference method; post-test – pre-test (Fancher, 2010). Mean for treatment and comparison groups and standard deviation will be used to determine effect on performance on pre-post test results. The hypothesis there is relationship between teacher’s instructional practices and the teaching of ORF will be assessed by a t-test.

Objective to investigate teacher’s preparation practices to improve pupils’ ORF in Runyoro-Rutooro, data collected will be analysed using descriptive analysis.

The objective to establish how teachers, assess prosody to develop pupils’ ORF will also be analysed using descriptive analysis. This will be followed by making inferences and drawing conclusions.

3.14 Ethical considerations

The researcher will get an introduction letter from the school of Education, Kyambogo University. It will introduce him to district officials where the research is to be conducted.

Permission to conduct a study in these schools will be sought from the District Education Officer (DEO). This permission will introduce the researcher to the head teachers who in turn will introduce him to the teachers.

The researcher will seek consent from the sampled teachers by filling a consent form. One will be free to exit at will. Rule of confidentiality will be adhered to. Consent and assent for the pupils will be guided by their class teachers. Confidentiality will be maintained by use anonymous scripts but with identification signals understood by the researcher only (Clacherty and Donald, 2007). Both pre-test and post-test will be in Runyoro –Rutooro the local language and medium of instruction.