Data Gathering Strategies Introduction ]
As indicated earlier, teachers are often not conscious of how they have come to know about their school's gender equity needs. For many teachers, especially for those who have been working in gender equity reform over a period of time, particular data gathering strategies and their significance have become lost in the accumulated knowledge they have of the area. In addition, when it comes to school based research, many schools are modest about what they have done.
DOCUMENTATION
Teachers in this study were generally very articulate about gender equity and about the issues in their school. Though it was not probed in any depth in this study, there were indications that often the knowledge was held by the current school personnel and especially those being interviewed for the project. No doubt, much of the data linked to regular school programs and procedures and that which came from formal surveys could be readily accessed.
This was the case for one school which regularly undertakes and documents a gender audit across all learning areas. According to the principal, `I need the assessment data on computer so first of all I can see if there's any significant difference with respect to gender'. For this school, up-dating the computer information has become standard procedure and is a good example of data that are easy to access and document and that allow for `continued analysis of student performance in all learning areas on the basis of gender'.
An interesting example of data documentation and analysis comes from the same school. The spur for the documentation and analysis was the writing of a paper on a specific topic, which in turn became the catalyst for school action in a related area. As indicated:
I presented a paper to the New South Wales Women's Council, on anti-violence, and that's documented. But we also have developed it further now, because when we looked at our reading and literacy, we looked at student performance and we took our basic skills results .... we've reorganised our literacy program. Now we've started working with boys' literacy.
However, it often emerged that teachers may not have documented their data or their data gathering procedures. A comment made by one principal is of interest. Though she was able to describe in detail her own knowledge of playground usage, she reflected that,'... none of this is documented. I hate documentation!'. Teachers involved in more structured classroom research as teacher-researchers often express concern about the lack of time to record and document, especially with the increasing expectation that they also participate in school based decision making and planning.
A useful way of recording data, especially the day-to-day observations and reflections teachers make is through the use of a journal. Journal keeping is strongly advocated in action research and qualitative data gathering approaches as a way of documenting not only what is observed but also the ongoing thoughts and feelings about those observations. Ethnographers in the field often rely heavily on their journals and make quite detailed notes which, over time, help to build comprehensive pictures of their fieldwork.
Some of the teachers in this study, especially those who worked within an action research mode, talked about journals.
An interesting variation on the use of journals came from a teacher who used personal journals with his students. Apart from being a valuable data source for the teacher, it was primarily a very useful way of providing the students with an avenue of expressing whatever was on their minds. According to the teacher:
The kids all had a journal that they wrote in for the first twenty minutes of their English class. I have made it clear to them that basically I wouldn't be looking at them but that I would have to look now and again. As long as they could justify what they wrote I would accept it. That allowed them to write about things that might have otherwise stayed in their minds. It meant we have been able to `dig out' what was on their minds in that way and they now feel a bit more free about talking about some things.
The importance of documentation needs to be stressed. In the first instance, it is important that the data be declared so that they are available for all and can be revisited and subjected to ongoing critique. Secondly, documentation is essential as a basis for better understanding of gender in education and for more effective school planning. It is also important because of the greater emphasis individual systems and the Commonwealth are placing on school accountability and the need for hard data, especially data on student outcomes.
QUESTIONNAIRES
A sample of survey questionnaires is attached at the end of this section. It should be stressed the samples are intended only as suggestions that schools may wish to consider. Some may be able to be used in a range of contexts as they are, but in most cases they might require some modification. It is anticipated that in most cases the samples provided will serve to generate ideas about data gathering rather than provide a ready-made instrument for use across different settings.
It is recommended that schools carefully consider the appropriateness of the various examples for their own contexts and their own needs. It may be that other approaches described in this section may be more useful in generating the sort of data required. Guidelines for devising a questionnaire are provided at the end of this section for schools wishing to devise their own questionnaire.
DIVERSITY AND BALANCE
In this study, when probed about their gender data bases and how they knew, many principals and teachers revealed an extraordinarily intimate knowledge and understanding of gender in their schools. In addition, their accounts of how they gathered the information of what was happening at their school, revealed a wide range of data gathering strategies - from the simplest and most routine `listening' and `observing' through to more complex measurement `instruments'.
It needs to be stressed that all schools in the current study used multiple approaches to their data gathering. The point has already been made that the greater the perspectives brought to bear on understanding gender and its implications in a school setting the better, not only in terms of comprehensiveness of the data base, but also in terms of the range of informants who become involved in the process and any ensuing action.
In the reporting of the strategies, this range has been represented. Some of the strategies will be useful to schools starting out in their needs analyses; others will be useful for schools well down the track but looking for other ways of getting at persistent problem areas in their school. Though often an indication is given of year levels, many of the strategies can readily be adapted for use across year levels.
What follows are examples of data gathering strategies used by schools in this study. A strength of many of the examples given is that they integrate well with existing school practices and procedures. They are presented under the headings of: