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124
Methodology rationale
Gersch (1996) suggests that without suitable
vehicles for children to express their beliefs,
Educational & Child Psychology Vol. 31 No. 1
Methodology
This research was undertaken as part of a
doctoral training programme in educational
psychology. The NG was situated within a
large dual-stream (Welsh and English
medium) school within a deprived area of
Wales. The NG had been established for a
significant period of time and followed the
classic NG variant.
The NG provision was an onsite facility
employing two full time members of staff
and was exclusively for children attending
the school. Children enrolled in the NG had
been identified as having additional learning
needs in the areas of social, emotional and
behavioural development. This vulnerable
group of children attended the provision for
either morning (Key Stage 2 [KS2]) or afternoon (Key Stage 1 [KS1]) sessions. The
children then spent the remainder of the
day in their mainstream class, with the
exception of one full day a week being allocated to their mainstream classroom. The
NG had been recognised by Estyn as an
outstanding feature of the schools provision
for learners with ALN (Estyn, 2010).
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Participants
The sample comprised of eight children
(two girls, six boys), six of whom were at the
time attending the NG provision and two
who had recently reintegrated back into
their mainstream classrooms. All of the
children were currently in KS2 aged between
7 and 11 years of age. The length of time that
the children had attended the NG varied,
ranging between one and three terms attendance. KS2 attendees were chosen on the
premise that this older cohort may be more
developmentally able to articulate their
thoughts and feelings (Horwitz et al., 2003).
Procedure
Bilingual information sheets and informed
consent forms were sent to the children,
their parents, and the school two weeks
before the FG was to be conducted. The
sheets and forms were also adapted for the
children to ensure they were as child friendly
as possible. These adaptations included
pictures of the researchers and symbolic
representations. It was hoped this would
help the children feel more familiar with the
researchers and aid understanding of what
participation would entail.
After written informed consent was
obtained, two researchers travelled to the
school to facilitate the FG. In an attempt to
build rapport with the participants and make
the FG as child-centred as possible the
researchers engaged in the daily routine of
the NG for a morning session prior to data
collection. The routine included the sharing
of breakfast and a circle time session.
The FG lasted for approximately one
hour. During the FG the NG staff vacated the
classroom in an attempt to avoid any
demand characteristics elicited by their presence. The children were made aware of
where they could find the staff if needed.
The researchers verbally verified the
childrens informed consent, anonymity
within the study, and their right to withdraw,
or not answer/contribute, at any time. The
children and the researchers sat in a circle
with the dictaphone recorder in the middle.
Educational & Child Psychology Vol. 31 No. 1
pre-formulated question.
The third question followed a circle time
format using a teddy, chosen by the children,
for all to contribute any other information
they wanted to share about how they thought
and felt about the NG. The children were
asked:
How does it make you feel being in the NG?
The teddy mascot provided a medium
through which most of the children were
able to share their thoughts and feelings.
Whilst the medium initially followed a circle
format in providing a clear structure for all
the children to contribute, they soon began
passing the teddy amongst themselves
during discussion. The teddy proved a useful
reminder that the children should try not to
talk over one another.
Following the process, the researchers
and children took part in a game chosen by
the children. The children were thanked for
their time and for sharing their thoughts.
The researchers then spent some time
looking at the childrens work which they
were eager to share. This activity, as well as
the distribution of stickers and formal
debrief sheets formed the child centred
debriefing process.
Results
The recording of the FG, including the
responses mediated by the researchers questions, the Post-it note responses which were
read aloud, and the constructions shared
during discussions following individual
responses, were transcribed and analysed
using thematic analysis based on the suggestions by Braun and Clarke (2006). The
researchers initially conducted the primary
analysis separately in order to increase the
validity of the themes identified. The separate primary analysis yielded largely consistent themes that subsequently formed the
primary theme map. Collaboratively the
researchers refined this map into a final
theme map (Figure 1). The broad themes
identified were the environment, learning,
self-regulatory behaviour and relationships.
129
Theme 1: Environment
Within this theme the subthemes of group
size, familiar and comfortable surroundings,
sharing breakfast and predictability were
identified. Sharing breakfast appeared to be
particularly salient in their responses. The
following are examples of statements said by
the children:
we have sercel (circle) time and relas sashon
(relax session).
its a small crowd.
we have sofers (sofas).
I feel good umm we dont have teachers like
Miss A and Miss B and they help us, and in
class (mainstream) I show off a bit because we
have more people and I fight for attention.
Theme 2: Learning
Within this theme the subthemes of scaffolding, rewards and recognition were identified. The following are examples of
statements within this theme:
so when you finish your work you can play
games or go on the laptop or something.
and then we can read, Miss A can read, and
we can have a little swap.
when we do work Miss A, Miss A will help us,
she wont just oh go and do this she helps us
out and stuff.
she tells us like she tells us stuff like, um you
do this, and like she like helps me figure it out,
like so, she tells us, she doesnt like just tell us
the answer, she makes it easier.
Theme 4: Relationships
Within this theme the subthemes of friendships, availability, feeling like a family,
belonging, predictability and trust were
identified. The following are examples of
statement within this theme:
ummmm its like a family and my friends in
here.
I like to come in here and talk to Miss A and
Miss B, because it helps me improve and stuff.
and get more friends so you dont feel alone.
Erm, I got loads of friends in ere, feels like
family
Discussion
The aims of the current pilot study were twofold. Firstly, the researchers sought to elicit
childrens constructions of their nurture
group experiences in order to contribute
their voices to the literature. Secondly, the
researchers sought to adhere to the principles and legislation underpinning EP practice in relation to eliciting and hearing the
voice of the child. In doing so, they feel that
a unique, child-centred methodology was
developed to ensure participant empowerment. Discussion will initially focus on the
research findings in relation to the
childrens constructions of their NG experiences followed by a discussion of the ways in
which the children were placed at the centre
of the research process.
Educational & Child Psychology Vol. 31 No. 1
Predictability
Belonging
Recognition
Learning
Trusting
Relationships
Feeling like
a Family
Rewards
Scaffolding
Friendships
Availability
Emotional
Control
Awareness
Coping
Strategies
Predictability
Sharing
Breakfast
Self-Regulatory
Behaviour
Familiar and
Comfortable
Surroundings
Environment
Behavioural
Control
Group Size
131
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