Methodological Approach Discussion

Introduction

This chapter will provide the methodological approach used this study, in order to meet the research objectives and finally, the general aim of the study. In this regard, this chapter will purpose to provide a vivid justification, as well as critical discussion of the appropriate approaches taken, in addition to the methods adopted. Notably this chapter will discuss all the issues connected to the methods and approaches utilized and this will also include the advantages and also the limitation of each of them. Of significance, is also the fact that it will provide a significant understanding of the ontological, as well as epistemological issues on how these methodological approaches relate to the experience of the researcher on this study. Overall, this chapter will start by providing the research design, followed by the sampling technique. Thereafter, it will provide the understanding of how interview was conducted on the participants and then the research instruments used. Following this, this chapter will provide the ethical considerations that were adhered to in this study and finally, a conclusion, which summarizes the content of the chapter.

3.2 Research design

This study adopted the use of a case study in 3 Kuwaiti Kindergarten schools that are located in Mubarak-Al-Kabeer governorate in Kuwait. According to Yin (2003), he establishes the essence of case studies, and notes that case studies, when used as a research method, and he also provides a twofold definition, which purposes to cover its scope, as well as its features that consequently distinguishes it from different other methods. In this regard, Yin (2003) makes it clear that a case study is an empirical inquiry, which purposes to investigate a contemporary phenomenon in depth, and also within a real-world context. Based on this definition, Yin (2003) indicates that case studies constitute an all-encompassing research method, thus covering the logic of design, techniques of data collection, as well as the specific approaches to the analysis.

The author notes that case studies focus on rigour, reliability, as well as validity of data, yet he encourages the researcher to consider whether a given case study should be regarded as most appropriate method that can aid in answering and meeting the objectives of a project. In his last edition, Yin (2003) goes ahead to defend case studies research and note that they offer an integral, and also rigorous methodology by providing a practical and readable structure. However, the author also makes it clear that case studies also pose a challenging endeavour, which hinges upon the expertise, as well as the skills of the researcher. He also makes it clear that the biggest disadvantage of using case studies it that case studies involve external vs internal validity, and in this regard, it is evident that the researcher may fail to have control over some significant variables, and also events. Therefore, it is evident that the researcher may not be able to control them. This then requires the researcher to have significant content that the findings of his or her study may apply to similar cases. In addition, Yin (2003) also makes it clear that case studies have a problem with construct validity. This has been a significant source of criticism, owing to potential investigator subjectivity. However, Yin (2003) proposed three significant remedies that can aid in remedying this. The first is by utilizing multiple sources of evidence, by establishing various evidences, and by establishing a draft of a case study report that aid in reviewing key informants. Notably, internal validity is concerned with causal or explanatory cases, and of significant to note is that fact that this problem in case studies is often dealt with, by use of pattern-matching that has been aforementioned.

Other than using case studies, this study will use interviews, in order to get the opinion of the participants regarding the subject matter (Smith, 2015). Overall, this study primarily focused on the management of problematic behaviours in pre-school in four Kuwait Kindergarten schools. This then implies that the study focused on the social point of view. In order to meet the objectives of the study, and ultimately its aim, this study also adopted the use of secondary data, which was derived from scholarly books, as well as journals and even websites. Furthermore, the primary data that was used in this study was derived from the actual research process. It is also of significance to take note of the fact that this study purposed to conduct a pilot study, in order to aid in rectifying some notable errors that may have been identified before conducting the actual research study (Silverman, 2016).

3.3 Sampling

This study had a total of 9 participants, and this included 3 principals, 3 teachers, as well as 3 heads of departments (supervisors) in three Kindergarten schools that are located in Mubarak-Al-Kabeer governorate in Kuwait. The educational qualifications of the participants were bachelor’s degree, as well as diploma in education. In addition, the researcher selected the participants, having different ages, long-term experiences, and also randomly, in order to prevent any form of biasness. This is as presented in the figure below:

3.4 Interview

This study also utilized semi-structured interviews that took place through skype and directly with the 9 participants. The participants were given enough opportunity to provide detailed information regarding the subject of the study and in this regard, they were able to expound on certain aspects, which this study might not have covered. Each interview with each participant took two days, in order to provide ample time, such that the participants can be able to provide their heart felt opinions without any hurry. It is evident that six of the participants were interviewed through face-to-face interaction, whereas the remaining three of them were interviewed through skype, as they were unavailable at the time when they were to have a face-to-face interview with the researcher.

3.5 Research instruments

Notably, this research used qualitative research, based on the fact that it allows the researcher to use interviews, thus making it most reliable for this study. It is significant to note that the interviews will as well allow the researcher to get the opinion of the participants, therefore, deriving their thoughts, as well as opinions regarding the subject of the research. In addition, this study used semi-structured interviews, which is good enough in capturing the required data for the study without deviating, and also provides significant room for further explanations on a given subject (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). Moreover, it is evident that semi-structured interviews provides the participants with the opportunity of coming up with other significant subjects, which if taken note of, would provide great significance to this study. In line with the interviews, this study used recording tapes, in order to record the conversations between the researcher and the participants. Notably, this aids in capturing all the information provided by the participants in the study. In line with the qualitative research, this study adopted the use of case studies, which focus on rigour, reliability, as well as validity of data (Merriam & Grenier, 2019).

3.6 Research procedure

Upon the approval of the ethical form, the researcher visited the Mubarak-Al-Kabeer governorate, in order to obtain a sheet that permitted the access to the three Kindergarten schools. The researcher then started the interviews by introducing himself in each of the schools or via skype for each of the participants, with the aim of explaining the purpose of the research. Furthermore, the researcher demonstrated the interview questions to the participants, and then printed them out, whilst attaching them with the consent forms, as well as the information sheet. The participants were told prior to the interview that it was to be recorded, and immediately the research would be finished, all the records would be destroyed, in order to preserve their privacy, on various sensitive data information. The participants were then given ample time to make a decision on whether they wanted to participate in the study or not, which all of them noted that they were willing and ready to participate in it. Thereafter, the interviews were conducted and upon finishing, the participants were appreciated for having participated in the interview and were assured that the data they had provided were to be kept safe, in order to prevent the access of any third party. Evidently, the records were translated in the English language, as some of the participants communicated in their local/native language, and the transcripts were then uploaded in the researcher’s laptop and protected with a password. Moreover, it should be noted that after the analysis of the data were conducted, the records were all destroyed.

3.7 Ethical considerations

This study took into consideration, all the ethical underpinnings, which are in line with the international ethical standards, in order for it to run smoothly (Wiles, 2012). In this regard, firstly, the researcher purposed to seek the approval of the 3 Kuwaiti Kindergarten schools that are located in Mubarak-Al-Kabeer governorate in Kuwait. This was to enable the researcher to access the participants and interview them. Moreover, the approval was for the institutions to acknowledge their activity and engagement with the staff and leaders in the schools. Secondly, the participants were treated with utmost regard, and in taking this into consideration, it implied that only the researcher was supposed to access them on the subject of this study and no any other third party, who might claim to be also involved in the study (Merriam & Grenier, 2019). In line with this, the content of the responses, which the participants provided were as well treated with utmost confidentiality, and in this regard, the immediately the participants had finished with the interview, the recorded taped were taken for data analysis, and immediately after the analysis was finished, they were discarded, for the major reason that they were not supposed to fall into the hands of any third party (Flick, 2018).

Thirdly, it is evident that this study ensured the anonymity of the participants involved, and in order to facilitate this, the semi-structured interviews did not require the participants to give their personal details. Finally, it is evident that the participants were granted a significant opportunity of withdrawing from the study whenever they felt like. Notably, this implied that the researcher did not force any of the participants to participate in this study. In line with this, it also implied that in an instance where any of the participants wished to withdraw from the study, yet he or she had provided some responses in the interview questions, they would be discarded with an immediate effect (Flick, 2018). This purposed to enhance the anonymity concept, as well as confidentiality. Overall, having taken all these issues into considerations, it is evident that the researcher was able to meet all the guidelines on ethics, thereby, implying that this study purposes to follow the right path, and in this regard, it would be accepted for other studies.

3.8 Conclusion

This chapter provides the methodological approach used in conducting the research. It is evident that the researcher used a case study approach, as proposed by Yin (2003), in order to provide the reliability, as well as validity of the data. In addition, this study also used semi-structured questionnaires, in order to get the opinion of the participants on the subject of the study. Generally, it should be noted that this study adhered to the international ethical standards, in order to make the study run smoothly. This chapter aids in meeting the objectives of the study and in facilitating the next chapter, which is the discussion and analysis chapter. This is owing to the fact that through the methodological techniques and approaches used in this chapter, the researcher will be able to interview the researcher and therefore, the following chapter will be able to discuss and analyze the study findings.

Reference

• Flick, U. (2018). An introduction to qualitative research. Sage Publications Limited.
• Merriam, S. B., & Grenier, R. S. (Eds.). (2019). Qualitative research in practice: Examples for discussion and analysis. Jossey-Bass.
• Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2015). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. John Wiley & Sons.
• Silverman, D. (Ed.). (2016). Qualitative research. Sage.
• Smith, J. A. (Ed.). (2015). Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. Sage.
• Wiles, R. (2012) What are qualitative research ethics? , A&C Black.
• Yin, R.K. (2003). Case study research design and methods third edition. Applied social research methods series, 5.