Teacher Learning in a Community of Practice: A Case Study of ...

workshop sessions would have proved counterproductive. At a later stage in the project
when I did broach the idea ofvideo recordings, while few teachers expressed mild
reservations, most teachers agreed to the suggestion.
My role in this learning community was interesting and challenging. I was allowed to
enter this learning community ofteachers with openness that at times felt like full
participation, but I was frequently 'reminded' that I was an outsider. A
'suspicious'/questioning look by a teacher, a reference to a past event that I did not know
about, an expression I could not understand, a teacher's anxiety about meeting
examination deadlines, or even a teacher's joy in anticipation ofthe school vacation
(during which time I was writing up research data), acutely placed my assumption of 'full
membership' under question.
4.5.4 Sampling
Sampling is the process of selecting research participants. In quantitative research, the
validity ofthe research depends on how rigorous the sampling procedures are. The
present qualitative research employed the system of 'purposive' sampling (Lincoln and
Guba 1985). The researcher targets subjects likely to yield the richest data for the
research question under study. 'Contextual and tacit knowledge combines to assist the
researcher to direct the sampling accordingly' (Jessop 1997:64). Similarly, Patton (1980)
advises that in sampling, we must ensure that 'informants' are 'information rich'.
Delamont (2002) describes opportunity sampling as the process ofseizing the chances of
a setting or respondent when the opportunity arises. She further notes that honesty and
reflexivity are crucial in sampling and that it is important to document how the sampling
had taken place and the effect on the data collected. She argues that a sensitive discussion
ofhow a snowballed sample responded to certain questions is more important than
anxiety about whether it represents the population.
... there are no rules for sample size in qualitative inquiry. Sample size depends on what
you want to know, the purpose ofthe inquiry, what's at stake, what will be useful, what will
have credibility, and what can be done with the available time and resources (Patton 1980:
184).
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