main issues which the research was aiming to investigate. The covering letter sent to
teachers made it clear that their cooperation was asked for on a voluntary basis, that
their anonymity would be sustained and that all data collected would be used strictly
for the purposes of the present study.
The classroom observations were carried out after permission was granted
from the schools’ head teachers. As, according to Frankfort-Nachmias and Nachmias
(1992) the obligation to protect the anonymity of participants in a research is a vital
one, pseudonyms were used in all cases where reference is made to persons.
Moreover, all teachers were assured that the purpose of the observation was not to
pass evaluative judgments on them but to describe a particular situation as it really
occurred. For that reason, the observer did not take an active role during the lesson
and tried to pass as unnoticed as possible by sitting silently at the back and by not
interfering at all. Finally, the questions that were addressed during interviews aimed at
allowing teachers express their opinions and feelings and justify their practices rather
than checking their knowledge.
This chapter dealt with the methodology of the research under consideration.
Within this context, the methods for collecting and analyzing evidence were discussed
and a justification for the choice of the particular methods was provided. The
deficiencies of the methods used were also mentioned so that the reader becomes
aware of the limitations this study is subject to. Finally, there was a brief reference to
the ethical issues which were taken into consideration during all steps of the research
project. It is assumed that the information contained in this chapter will provide the
reader with valuable information before they proceed to the next chapter, which deals
with the presentation and analysis of results.
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