1. Introduction

 

Basically, two major parts are included in this study. One of them is the extent of primary-school teachers’ training policy in Songjiang District (SJD), Shanghai, China. The second is the implementation of the primary-school teachers’ training policy. This chapter will introduce the field work of the study and introduce the data collection and data usage based on the research problems specified earlier in CHAPER ONE.

 

2. Area of the study

 

This study takes the actual conditions of primary-school teachers’ training in SJD as the object of empirical research. In recent years, economy in SJD is developing rapidly, while education development obviously lags behind. Shanghai is one of the municipalities with the most developed economy in China, but SJD became a district only after 1997. Merely ten years development is not enough to break the separation of rural and urban areas. The variation between rural and urban areas of primary-school teachers’ quality in SJD is representative to illustrate the comparison of primary-school teachers’ quality between east and west in China generally, thus I choose SJD for detailed analysis and comparison.

 

3. Research methods

 

This research combines case study, qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis ect. Documents, questionnaire and individual interviews are the main source of data which was relied upon in my study. These three methods are the most frequently used to assess the process of policy implementation. (Scheirer and Rezmovic, 1983). According to them, in implementation studies, about 40% used questionnaires and about two-thirds used interviews. (p.606) Data used in this research mainly composed of primary data and secondary data. The primary data are the main research data, which were obtained through interviews and questionnaires. As Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2007) stated, primary data is the trustworthy data which are collected specifically for the purpose of conducting a field study with an academic topic. So, the research project undertaken in this research will go around the investigation based on the conditions of primary-school teachers’ training in SJD. The key point in this research is that the data I collected are expected to reflect the situation as well as the implied policy of teachers’ training. In this research, all the investigative objectives are based on that consideration. The access to accurate data can guarantee the objectiveness of the whole research, and the result will be expected to be reliable.#p#分頁標題#e#

 

3.1 Documentary study

 

Documentary study is adopted to collect and analyze the present status and basic ways of primary-school teachers’ training. The following are studied in particular: the specific documents of primary-school teachers’ training policy in SJD; the present status of primary-school teachers training programme in SJD; the growth of primary-school teachers in SJD; the demand, assessment and evaluation of primary-school teachers’ quality (professionalization); the basic strategies of primary-school teachers’ training programme.

 

3.2 Questionnaire

 

Questionnaire is also adopted in this study. It refers to a research method of collecting data through written questions. The researcher made a questionnaire containing questions to be studied, and get it filled. Usually, questionnaires can be divided into three types:

 

3.2.1 Structured questionnaires

 

Structured questionnaires can also be called closed questionnaires, which mean to set limits on the answers beforehand, and testees are only allowed to make choices within the limits. The questions in structured questionnaires can be divided into yes/no questions, multiple choices, judging questions and marking questions. Yes/no questions mean to limits the answers to "yes” and “no”, or “agree” and “disagree” to let the testees choose one. Multiple choices mean to list the answers and let the testees choose one or more proper answers to mark on. Judging questions mean that there is a list of answers after each question to be rearranged according to its degree of importance. So it is also called arranging questions and serialization questions, which means to rearrange the order of the answers with figures. Marking questions mean that the testee is to mark "√” or “×” over the answers according to whether they agree or not. This is a method of using checklist. In details of the checklist, the testee answers by using the offered answers with choice.

 

3.2.2 Unstructured questionnaires

 

Unstructured questionnaires are also called open questionnaires. The questionnaires are composed of open questions without fixed answers. This kind of questionnaires list questions without possible answers, and testees are required to answer freely. In terms of question types, there are blank filling and essay questions.

 

3.2.3 Integrated questionnaires

 

This kind of questionnaire is composed mainly of closed questions and several open questions added when necessary. That is to say, the researcher list what he/she is clear about as closed questions, and what he/she is not yet clear as open questions. There cannot be too many open questions. The investigation showed that some open questions may be changed into closed questions after the process of collecting materials, and this is a skill frequently used in designing questions.#p#分頁標題#e#

 

The process of designing questionnaires is the process of collecting materials, designing questions and making questionnaires according to the research purpose and assumed range. This procedure includes the following steps: First, make clear the research purpose, collect materials needed according to the research purpose and assumed range, and choose research objects. Second, list the framework of the problem to be studied, and make clear the information to be searched and choose the questionnaire type. Third, draw up the questions according to the subject, and list the title and specific items in different parts. Fourth, consult with experts and staff involved for advice, and revise the items. Fifth, make a pretesting. Take suitable samples from the whole for the pretesting, check whether the expressions, items and content can be understood by the testees, and work out the credibility and validity. Finally, make a second revision. Improve the content of items and the arrangement of question order according to the results of pretesting, and print it out.

 

The questionnaire employed in this study is integrated questionnaire, which is completed according to the above steps, and is scientific and effective. At the same time, although questionnaires are required to be concise, convenient and economic, they also have demand on testees and are subjective. Therefore, in the researching process, I combined interviews with questionnaires. Questionnaires can help outline the general conditions of teacher training, while interviews can go deep and make clear the implicit problems on teacher training. These two methods complement each other, and bring out the best in each other, which is more favorable for studying teacher training and make the research results more scientific.

 

3.3 Individual interviews

 

This method collects materials through face to face questions and answers between the researcher and the testees, in order to know the testee's attitudes and suggestions on a certain problem. The key of using this method is to choose the interviewees and result analysis.

 

Interviews can be divided into individual interviews and group interviews, general interviews and depth interviews, interviews as the major means of collecting materials and interviews as supplementary means of collecting materials. Bailey (1986: p.241-242) argues that interviews are not only flexible, but also have a high response rate, with all questions brought up answered.

 

3.3.1 The general process of individual interviews

 

Get well prepared before the interview, develop research design and draw up the outline. The research design should include: the purpose and steps of the interview, questions to be asked, and the arrangement of question orders and the choice of interviewees. The process of the interview: calling on, establishing harmonious relationship, formal interview and saying goodbye.#p#分頁標題#e#

 

3.3.2 Skills in individual interviews

 

The interviewer should be fit in terms of age, knowledge level and moral character, etc. In the practice of the interview, attention should be paid to analysis on the reason why interviewees are unwilling to cooperate so that the real problem can be discovered.

 

The interviewer should be familiar with interview skills, such as choice of appropriate interview environment, creating pleasant interview atmosphere, use of repetition, proper use of note, skillful dealing with embarrassing questions and questions involved with privacy, and further exploration in the interviewee’s answer, etc.

 

For this study, it helps to go further in knowing the problems of primary school teacher training in SJD and the real thoughts of the interviewee, and serves as a good way in collecting first hand materials for this study.

 

4. Research design

 

Research design is the guideline to conduct this study. I followed a case study design suggested by Yin (2003) to formulate my research strategy. In conducting this study, I chose six primary-schools in SJD: two them are rural primary-schools (JIUTING Primary-school and XINBIN Primary-school), two are urban primary-schools (ZHONGSHAN Primary-school and XINQIAO Primary-school), two are schools of nine-year compulsory education (MINLE Primary-school and DAGANG Primary-school). EBoSJD controls these schools; the teachers involved in my study come from these schools which are all public schools with the same structures and located in SJD. Though the training time is varied, the teachers shared common feelings about the training policy implementation. The overall goals are not only to study the policy implementation, but to compare the different implementation situations of this policy between rural context and urban context. The two nine-year compulsory education schools in fact are the same as urban schools, but their peculiar systems.

 

In order to get a whole picture of the education conditions in primary-schools in SJD, knowing teachers’ real thoughts on school running, teacher training and teaching itself, and expanding the study of teacher training, I developed a simple questionnaire on the basis of related researches. The service years of these target teachers were respectively one year, three years, five years, five to ten years, and over ten years. This questionnaire is composed of three parts (22 questions):

 

l related background knowledge;

 

l schools and government’s concern on teachers and teachers’ self-training;

 

l advice on school work and teacher training.

 

Besides, it is necessary to state that the design of this outline is to give a general range of the real interview instead of listing fixed questions for the interview, because interviews are lasting flexible interactions, and specific questions to be asked and they how to ask are depending on the scene and the content. The interview is generally carried out centering the following issues:#p#分頁標題#e#

 

l The amount of teachers’ spare time and the conditions of their self-training;

 

l Teacher training offered by the authorities and its degree of satisfaction;

 

l The confusions teachers are confronting within their way of development;

 

l Types of teacher training needed;

 

l Willingness to accept new training opportunities offered by the authorities;

 

l The necessity of teachers going for in-service training.

 

5. Data collection

 

The purpose of data collection is to answer these questions below:

 

l Before implementing, whether there are some objectives or tasks that are formulated for the policy implementation? If there have some, will these objectives and tasks be changed during the process of policy implementation? Why?

 

l Whether the implementers of the primary-school policy understand the objectives and tasks of this policy? How about the recipients (teachers)?

 

l Whether the policy implementation is supported by Authorities of all levels? How about the primary schools?

 

l Whether the policy setting is friendly for policy implementation? Identifying other factors which are related to the policy implementation. Other topics relevant to this study.

 

These questions and topics above are covered in the questionnaires and interviews, which formulated the data collection and mainly come from many studies of policy implementation suggested by other scholars, such as Hargrove (1975), Zaltman et. al. (1977), Beyer & Trice (1978) and Mazamanian and Sabatier (1983).

 

Data collected from questionnaires were calculated in terms of percentage to work out the support rate of testees for these questions. The support rate illustrated the prevalence of the problem. As for the face to face questions, I also made necessary adjustment and transferred them into written form to make specific analysis. The combination of these three methods guaranteed the authenticity of the research materials, and provided empirical basis for further study on specific conditions of primary-school teachers’ training in SJD.

 

6. Population and Sampling

 

According to James Sorg (1983), implementers of a policy are classified into three types: the first is decision-makers, the second is implementing managers and the third is street-level bureaucrats. Decision-makers are responsible for the overall policies that would be implemented in certain times. Implementing managers refer to bureaucrats in relative higher level, which are responsible for the coordination, cooperation and distributing resources and so on. Street-level bureaucrats are also called front-line managers, who are responsible for the specific actions of implementing; they face the target group directly.#p#分頁標題#e#

 

In China, the structure of education organizations is divided into three levels: the national level, the province level, the local level. The national MOE regulates national principles of primary-school teachers’ training policy; in province level, the provincial MOE regulates its own training policy in accordance with its own conditions, but basically following the principles formulated by the national MOE. These two levels’ MOE are all decision-makers definitely. The local MOE is usually implementing managers which coordinate the higher level and the lower level. In SJD, the Education Bureau is the implementing managers, and 45 schools in this District are street-level bureaucrats, and teachers are target group of the policy implementation.

 

In this study, interviews I conducted are with implementing managers, street-level bureaucrats and target teachers. That is, two officers in EBOSJD, two headmasters of primary-schools (one from the urban primary school and the other from the rural), four teachers who have experience participating teachers’ training programme (also two from urban, two from rural).

 

There are 13 primary-schools (5 for urban and 8 for rural) and 15 nine-year compulsory education schools in SJD. As I mentioned above, compulsory education schools in SJD are all located in urban. Thus, there are 8 rural primary-schools and 20 urban schools in fact. I use a 20% sampling to choose rural schools and urban schools. Therefore, I chose 2 rural schools and 4 urban schools for this study.

 

Questionnaire is formulated in Chinese to ensure these target teachers could better understand with questions, which is issued to the target teachers in April 2010. The way I access to the target group is with the help of one of my family elders who used to work in the EBOSJD. With her assistance and recommendation, I was able to accomplish the investigation.

 

Table 3- 1 Number of people involved as population Samples in this study[12]

 

Unit: in person

 

IntervieweesQuestionnaire Total

 

Decision-makers0-0

 

Implementation-managers

 

(Officers of EBOSJD)2-2

 

Street-level bureaucrats

 

(Headmasters of schools)2-2

 

Target group

 

(Teachers)4150154

 

Total 8150158

 

Questionnaire investigation was carried out among the chosen six schools. 150 questionnaires were distributed, among which 146 effective ones were collected. The effective rate was 97.3%. The response rate on questionnaire survey of 97.3% is relative high because the peculiar method of investigation. In Chinese schools, there is an established convention to have a meeting about teaching affairs every two weeks. This is when the teachers gather together. When I went to the schools to investigate, I chose the day when they had this meeting and handed out the questionnaires to teachers before it started. I asked them to take a few minutes to finish the questionnaires and gathered them back right after they finished. This is the major reason for the high response rate.#p#分頁標題#e#

 

The documents I collected are including materials on teacher training from EBOSJD, teacher training institutions and schools. Written materials on backbone teacher training plan, mentorship, employment contract, education management rules and school management regulations, etc, are also included. Specifically speaking, they are listed as follows:

 

l Teacher training plan in the tenth-five years by Songjiang Education Bureau (2001);

 

l Cadre training plan in the tenth-five years by Songjiang Education Bureau (2001);

 

l Work plan of Songjiang education in the tenth-five years and assumptions of development goals in 2010 (2001);

 

l Credit management rules on project research in the tenth-five years for primary school teachers in Songjiang District (2001);

 

l Teachers’ professional ethics in Songjiang District (2003);

 

l Implementation opinions on self-training centers in Songjiang District (2003);

 

l Implementation opinions on strengthening pre-post training of new teachers (2006);

 

l The green grass project of Songjiang District (2006);

 

l Teacher training house for teachers’ quality in Songjiang District (2006);

 

7. Reliability and Validity

 

Evidence that can be trusted was called reliable data, and if someone conducts the same experiment, the results would be the same. Evidence that is reliable and relevant to the question being investigated was called valid data. That is, reliability measures something consistently, while validity measures something that claims to measure. The former refers to how consistent a measuring device is; the latter refers to whether a study is able to scientifically answer the questions it is intended to answer.

 

In order to guarantee validity, this study employs more than one method of data collection. I well-found these questions to make them correspond to the real situation. During the questionnaire the truth sometimes is possible to be distorted or simply misrepresented. In order to avoid distortion of the investigation, I combine the questionnaire results with individual interviews. Data accessed from the two research methods can guarantee the objectiveness of the whole research. Also, I collect relevant documents which can enhance the accuracy of this study. In order to guarantee reliability, I recheck my measurement tools again and again, taking account of other useful research and redefining my own instruments. Therefore, the data will be expected to be reliable.

 

8. Advantages and disadvantages of the survey

 

This research mainly adopted questionnaire investigation and individual interviews, and they each have their advantages and disadvantages.#p#分頁標題#e#

 

The questionnaire investigation is simple and easy to handle, authentic and effective. However, it also has its disadvantages: first, the testees may be unwilling or unable to offer necessary information. For example, concerning about attitudes or motives, the testees may be not clear about their motives (such as when choosing a certain commodity or making a certain decision). Therefore, the information they offered may be not accurate. If the questions involve with their privacy, the testees may be unwilling to answer. Besides, closed questions may limit the range of the testees’ choice, and the validity of some information may be reduced, such as information concerning about beliefs and feelings. Finally, the expression is also worth weighing. It is very difficult to construct a good questionnaire. Despite this, sample questionnaire investigation is still the most frequent method of collecting original data.

 

Interviews are authentic, comprehensive and effective, but also have disadvantages, such as being time-consuming and labor-consuming, and inconvenient for large-scale of investigation. Because of difference in life background and lack of understanding of the interviewees’ life style (the interviewee may choose from the interviewer’s questions), there might be prejudice and mistakes. Due to the age gap, the interviewer cannot make clear the interviewee’s preference and needs. The content of the interview cannot be taken down completely without recording. The interviewer is critically demanded in terms of related qualities, and needs certain training to do the job well. Besides, the interview is often influenced by the environment, etc.