CHAPTER-III

METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY

3.1 INTRODUCTION
In the preceding chapter literature study about the status of inclusion education in
elementary schools at national and international level was discussed. It is the intention
of the researcher to further establish in quantifiable terms the level of inclusive
education. In this chapter the empirical research methodology used for the
investigation of status of inclusive education is described.
This chapter presents a discussion of the research design and methodology. According
to McMillan and Schumacher (2001) “research design describes the procedures on
how to conduct research including: when, from whom and under what conditions the
data will be obtained”. It also indicates how the research is set up explaining the
methods that will be used to collect data and the procedure in general for conducting
the study. In addition to that Mouton and Marais (2004) had defined research
methodology as:
• a study of a research process in all its broadness and complexity;
• the various methods and techniques that are employed;
• the rationale that underlines the use of such methods;
• the limitations of each technique;
• the role of assumptions and presuppositions in selecting methods and
techniques;
• the influence of methodological preferences on the types of data analysis
employed; and the subsequent interpretations of findings.
Methodology helps in exploring the research problem from various possible angles so
as to lead to the discovery of truth. The success of any research work depends mainly
upon the selection of appropriate methods and tools for the study. Research is
considered to be systematic and intensive process of carrying on an in depth method
of analysis. It intends to find out what exist at present in a particular context. This

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facilitates gathering data from a relatively large number of cases at a particular time.
The qualitative research design, sampling and the data collection strategies that were
used in this research are discussed in the present chapter.

3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN

The design of the research is the conceptual structure with which research is
conducted. It constitutes the blue print for the collection, measurement and analysis of
data. Research design is needed for the smooth sailing of various research operations,
thereby making research as efficient as possible. Selection of a particular design is
based upon the purpose and nature of research.
Best and Kahn(1985) have made scientific classification of educational research
which is wide and comprehensive and all researches are likely to fall under one of the
following three types or a combination of these types of research design:
 Historical research
 Descriptive research
 Experimental Research
For this study Qualitative descriptive research methodology was adopted. Qualitative
descriptive study may be described as the one which uses qualitative methods to
describe and discover non quantifiable relationships between existing variables.
Under qualitative descriptive research, survey method was used.
Descriptive survey research is concerned with the present status of the phenomenon.
Survey design was adopted for this phase because this phase was exploratory in
nature. It aims at finding out what is existing in the present social structure. In the
present study it was intended to study the status and implementation of inclusive
education in elementary schools. The views of various persons involved in imparting
inclusive education like administrators, principals, teachers and also the views of the
children having sensory and locomotors impairment and normal students of the
regular schools were investigated.
The researcher had used a qualitative research design to investigate the status and
implementation of inclusive education in the schools. According to Cloete (2002) a
qualitative approach is relevant to an investigation into inclusive education. The
approach had been used before for gathering information in special education. Due to
the uniqueness of learners having different categories of disabilities as well as within
them the approach allowed researchers to collect rich information that is why the

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researcher opted for the qualitative research design. The aim of the research is to
examine the status and implementation of inclusion of children having sensory and
locomotor impairment in elementary schools. Educators were given a platform to
explain the status of inclusive education in their school. They were also asked to
identify the barriers they experienced in implementing inclusive education in elementary
schools and the training needs which the educators felt were required to make inclusion
successful for children having sensory and locomotor impairment.

3.2.1 The research site

The researcher has selected Delhi and NCR inclusive elementary schools as the
learning site for research purposes.
The researcher selected these schools in particular because of their outstanding
academic results and an excellent management record. The main purpose behind
selecting these schools in particular by the investigator is to gain a deeper
understanding or insight into the implementation of the inclusive education in these
schools.

3.2.2 Population
A population is any group of individuals that has one or more characteristics in
common. The population of this study consisted of two hundred and twenty nine
elementary inclusive schools of Delhi and NCR region (source Directorate of
education).
3.2.3 Sampling
Given that the objective of this research was to examine the present status of inclusive
education, it was necessary to select a sample of inclusive school which were having
children with sensory and locomotor impairment. In this regard McMillan and
Schumacher (2001) maintain that qualitative researchers investigate in-depth small,
distinct groups as the researcher is concerned with understanding the social
phenomena from the research participants’ perspective.
McMillan and Schumacher (2001) further recommended purposeful sampling because
the samples that were selected were expected to be knowledgeable and informative
about the phenomena the researcher was making an attempt to investigate.
Makhado (2002) stresses the fact that it is important to select information- rich cases,
as this will help the researcher to address the purpose of the research. Thus for the

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purpose of this research a three stage sampling procedure was followed as shown in
Figure 3.1

•Selection of inclusive elementary schools

of Delhi and NCR
I stage •Selection thirty inclusive elementary
schools of Delhi and NCR
Purposive Sampling

•Selection of inclusive classes from Grade I to

VIII
•Selection of the principal of the inclusive
II Stage elementary school
•Selection of all the children having sensory
Purposive sampling and locomotor impairment from grade I to
VIII

III Stage
•Selection of six teachers from each school
Random Sampling teaching in inclusive classroom from grade I to
VIII

Figure 3.1 Details of stages of sampling

At the first stage the list of all the inclusive schools in Delhi and NCR was collected
from the directorate of education’s records. Purposive sampling was carried out, to
select the schools having children with locomotor and sensory impairment. Further
purposive sampling procedure was used to select thirty inclusive elementary schools
of Delhi and NCR in which children with locomotor and sensory impairment were
available. Out of these fifteen schools were from Delhi and another fifteen were from
NCR region. The school wise details of the sampling procedure is in Figure 3.2 At the
second stage, principals of the thirty selected schools and the children having sensory
and locomotor impairment from class I to VIII were selected purposefully.
In the third stage simple random sampling was done using lottery system for the
selection of six teachers teaching in inclusive classroom from class I to VIII form
each school.

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 Inclusive Schools of Delhi and NCR having children with sensory and locomotor
impairment

Selection of 30 Inclusive elementary Schools from Delhi and NCR having children with
sensory and locomotar impairment

Selection of 15 Inclusive elementary Schools Selection of 15 Inclusive elementary Schools

from Delhi having children with sensory and from NCR having children with sensory and
locomotor impairment locomotor impairment

All children Six teachers

Six teachers having from each All children
from each sensory and inclusive having
One One sensory and
principal inclusive locomotor school principal
school having impairment having locomotor
of each of each impairment
children with from grade children from grade I
inclusive sensory and I to VIII with inclusive
school school to VIII from
locomotor from each sensory and each inclusive
impairment inclusive locomotor school
school impairment

Figure 3.2 Details of School wise sampling

Several groups of people were engaged to procure information to achieve the

objectives of the study. The study targeted principals/administrators and at least six
educators from each school and all the children having sensory and locomotor
impairment from class I to VIII. The information acquired from these groups was
used for triangulation to establish the validity of the research findings, since the major
part of the study involved collection of qualitative data.

3.3 TOOLS OF DATA COLLECTION

Tools are the instruments that are employed to collect new facts or to explore new
fields. The selection of tools for a particular study largely depends upon various
considerations such as objectives of study, the time at the disposal of the researcher,
availability of the suitable tools and the personal competency of the researcher to
administer them. A variety of tools were used in this study to collect data. It is of vital
importance to select suitable instruments and tools according to the required situation

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for effective results. The researcher made an extensive search in libraries and on the
net to find a suitable standardized tool for the purpose of the present investigation.
According to the nature and specificity of the present study, the researcher was unable
to find relevant standardized tools to study the status of inclusive education at the
elementary level for children with sensory and locomotor impairment. Therefore, to
achieve the objectives of the study it was decided to develop appropriate tools for the
study to investigate the status of inclusive education and to examine the perception of
various persons directly involved in inclusive education. The tools were developed
and standardized by the researcher under the guidance of supervisors through
literature analysis and a pilot study was also conducted. The tools developed by the
researcher are mentioned in Figure 3.3

Questionnaire Focus
Observation
Group Checklist
Personnel Discussion
Interview
Schedule

Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis

Figure 3.3 Tools of the study

John W. Best (1992) commented that,” like the tools in the carpenter box, each is
appropriate in a given situation, to accomplish a particular purpose”. Each research
tool is appropriate in a given situation to accomplish a specific purpose. Each tool was
administered to a specific target group. The details about the tools and target groups
are given in the Table. 3.4

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 •Observation schedule for physical verification of
Observation Schedule children with special needs

•Amenities for children with visual Impairment in

physical environment
•Amenities for children with hearing Impairment in
Checklist physical environment
•Amenities for children with locomotor Impairment in
physical environment

•Perception of teachers of Inclusive schools teaching in

Semi structured Questionnaire Grade I to VIII

•Perception of children with sensory and locomotor

Focus Group Discussion impairment
•Perception of principal / Headmaster / Administrator
Personal Interview of Inclusive schools
•written, visual and physical material relevant to the
Document Analysis research study

Figure 3.4 Data collection tools and the targeted group

3.3.1 Observation schedule

Observations were undertaken in order to get answers to the research questions, by
observing educators in action teaching their learners. McMillan and Schumacher
(2001) indicate that the “…observational method relies on a researcher’s hearing and
seeing things and recording these observations, rather than relying on subject’s self-
report responses to questions or statements”. Engelbrecht et al. (2003) believed that,
“…observation is a major means of collecting data in qualitative research”. The
reason being, that it offers an original account of the situation under investigation.
One of the objectives of this study is to examine the status of children having sensory
and locomotor impairment in inclusive schools. Therefore it is relevant to use
observational method in order to get valid and reliable answers since it (observation)
expects the researcher to be part of the people at the research site, observing the
behaviour in the environment.

The researcher could not find any standardized tools for the physical verification of
the children having sensory and locomotor impairment. Therefore the researcher
designed this special tool for structured observation to provide systematic description
for the physical verification of children having sensory and locomotor impairment.
The observation schedule is attached as Appendix - A.

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On the basis of first hand experiences from the field, literature analysis, pilot study
and rigorous consultation with experts from the field, the observation schedule was
constructed. It consisted of the following components:
Components of observation Schedule:
1. Name of the Inclusive Elementary School
2. Class
3. Section
4. Children with Visual Impairment
5. Children with Hearing Impairment
6. Children with Locomotor Impairment
7. Total number of Children with special needs(CWSN)
The researcher was concerned with the physical verification of children having
sensory and locomotor impairment. Thus the registers were also observed for further
verification. A manual was attached with the observation schedule to identify the
categories of children having sensory and locomotor impairment considered under
each type of impairment. The details for collection of data under each category are
described in Figure 3.5.

Locomotar
Hearing Impairment(HI) Visual Impairment(VI)
Disability(LD)
• Mild :Between 26-40DB • Partially Sighted: A visual • Deformity of Limb
impairment that adversely affects a
student's educational performance
• Moderate :Between 41-60DB even when corrected to the extent • Dysfunction of joints of
possible. limb
• Severe :Between 60-70 DB
• Low Vision: vision between 20/70- • Polio
20/160 and cannot be corrected.
• Profound:Between 71-90 DB
• Paralysis
• Profound /LegallyBlind: vision
• Total Deafness:91 DB and between 20/200-20/400 is legally
above blind and 20/400-20/1000 is • Deformity of body
profound .

• Totally Blind: lack of light

perception .

Figure 3.5 Types of impairment

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3.3.2 Checklist
Checklist is an important tool in gathering facts for educational surveys. It draws the
attention of the observer to relevant factors and enables him to record the data quickly
and systematically. One of the important objectives of this research was to find the
physical barriers existing in the school which hinder the implementation of inclusive
education for children with sensory and locomotor impairment in the elementary
schools in its real sense. Thus, the checklist was used to get the information regarding
the amenities for children with sensory and locomotor impairment in physical
environment. These amenities were considered in three major components:
Part-A: Checklist of amenities for children with visual impairment in physical
environment
Part-B: Checklist of amenities for children with hearing impairment in physical
environment
Part-C: Checklist of amenities for children with locomotor impairment in
physical environment
Tool Main
Items
Components

Checklist of
amenities for
children with 21 Items
visual impairment
in physical
environment
Check List for
provisions in Checklist of
Physical amenities for
Environment children with 6 Items
hearing impairment
in physical
environment

Checklist of amenities
for children with
locomotor impairment 18 Items
in physical environment

Figure 3.6 Component and items wise details of the Checklist of amenities for
children with special needs in physical environment of school (CACPE)

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On the basis of first hand experiences from the field, literature analysis, pilot study
and rigorous consultation with experts the final draft of the Checklist of amenities for
children with special needs in physical environment of school (CACPE) was
constructed. The details of the components and their items of the Checklist of
amenities for children with special needs in physical environment of school (CACPE)
are mentioned in Figure [Link] checklist is attached as Appendix-B.

3.3.3 Questionnaire
According to Van Rensburg, Landman and Bodenstein (1994) , ‘a questionnaire is a
set of questions dealing with some topic or related group of topics, given to a selected
group of individuals for the purpose of gathering data on a problem under
consideration.’ Churchill and Peter and Schnetler (1993) agree that the questionnaire
as a measuring instrument has the greatest influence on the reliability of research data.
They have recommended that the characteristics of measurement are best controlled
by the careful construction of the instrument.
For the present study the questionnaire was undertaken to achieve the objective of
finding the views, perception of educators regarding status of inclusive education in
their school.
According to Dane (1990) the length of individual questions, the number of response
options, as well as the format and wording of questions are determined by the
following:
• Choice of the subject to be researched.
• Aim of the research.
• Size of the research sample.
• Method of data collection.
• Analysis of the data.

A question may appear correct to the researcher when written down but can be
interpreted differently when asked to another person. There should be no hesitation in
changing a question several times before the final formulation keeping the original
purpose in mind. The following considerations were taken into account by the
researcher during the designing of the questionnaire for this investigation.

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 • Questionnaire design is an activity that should not take place in isolation. The
researcher consulted and sought advice from specialists and colleagues at all
times during the construction of the questionnaire.
• Questions to be taken up in the questionnaire were pre-tested on people to
eliminate possible errors.
• The researcher's avoided bias, ambiguity, prejudice and technical language in
the questions. The questions were as simple and straight-forward as possible.
The questionnaire consisted of two sections. Section-I required biographical
information about the educator which is mentioned as below:
• Name of the elementary School
• Teachers Name
• Gender
• Total Experience of teaching
• Educational Qualification

Section-II consisted of twenty seven items which were categorized into groups of
common themes in order to have a clear understanding and flow of information, the
detail description of the same is given in Table 3.1. The Questionnaire on Status of
Inclusion of Children with Special Needs (QSIC) is attached as Appendix- C.

Table 3.1 Components and questions wise detail of Questionnaire on Status of

Inclusion of Children with Special Needs (QSIC) for teachers

S. No Components Questions

1. Understanding about the concept of inclusive education and Q1 andQ3.

children with sensory and locomotor impairment
2. Views on implementation of inclusive education in Q2.
elementary schools
3. Awareness and implementation of the policies and regulations [Link] Q6.
in relevant to education of children with sensory and loco
motor impairment
4. Awareness about the organizations for obtaining support for Q5.
education of children with sensory and loco motor impairment
5. Admission and class allotment Q7.

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 6. Pre service Training Q8 and Q11
7. Management support Q9. and Q 10
8. Parental Support Q12.
9. Resource/special teacher [Link] Q14.
10. Classmates support Q15.
11. Competency in early identification of children with sensory Q16.
and locomotor impairment and intervention
12. Participation in events ,co-curricular activities Q17. And Q18.
13. Attitude towards children with sensory and locomotor [Link] Q20.
impairment
14. Curriculum Adaptations Q21A. Q21B,
Q21C, Q22. &
Q23.
15. Evaluation and assessment practises Q24A. & Q24B.
16. Collaboration with other organisation Q25.
17. Time Management Q26
18. Barriers in implementing inclusive education in elementary Q 27.
school

3.3.4 Focused group discussion schedule

The focused group discussion is one of the selected methods used in this study to
collect data. It is ‘… a strategy for obtaining a better understanding of a problem or an
assessment of a problem; concerning a new product, program or idea by discussing
with a purposefully sampled group of people rather than discussing with each person
individually.’ McMillan and Schumacher (2001) Krueger and Van Zyl (2002)
recommended that a focus group should consist of between six to ten participants in
order to get as many different opinions as possible. For the present study the focused
group discussion was undertaken to achieve the objective of finding the views and
perception of children with sensory and locomotor impairment regarding inclusive
education.
Hence the tool was administered to children with sensory and locomotor impairment
from each research site which were selected to participate in the study.
The final draft of the tool consisted of eight questions which were categorized into
groups of common themes in order to have a clear understanding and a flow of

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information as given in Table 3.2 The Focus group discussion schedule for children
with special needs (FGDS) is attached as Appendix E.

Table 3.2 Components and questions of Focus group discussion schedule for
children with special needs (FGDS)

S. No Components Questions

1. Support for the process of Inclusion Q1.

2. Participation in events Q2. & Q3.

3. Attitude towards children with sensory and Q4. & Q5.

locomotor impairment

4. Curriculum Adaptations Q6A, Q6B. , Q6C. & Q7.

5. Evaluation and assessment practises Q8A. & Q8B.

6. Barriers experienced in the inclusive Q9

schools

3.3.5 Personal Interview

The tool was constructed after reviewing the tools of administrator as suggested in
the, ‘Index for developing inclusive schools’ policy document of department of
education of groups with special needs NCERT (2013). For the present study the
personal interview was undertaken to achieve the objective of finding the views and
perception of principals regarding status of inclusive education in their school.

The tool consisted of twenty questions which were categorized into groups of
common components in order to have a clear understanding and flow of information.
The detail description of the same is given in Table 3.3. The Interview Schedule on
Status of Inclusion of Children with Special Needs (ISSIC) is attached as Appendix-D.

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Table 3.3 Components and questions wise detail of Interview schedule on status
of inclusion of children with special needs (ISSIC) for school principal

S. No Components Questions
1. Understanding about the concept of inclusive education and Q1. &Q3.
children with sensory and locomotar impairment
2. Views on implementation of inclusive education in Q2.
elementary schools
3. Awareness and implementation of the policies and Q4. & Q6.
regulations in relevant to education of children with
sensory and loco motor impairment

4. Awareness about the organizations for obtaining support Q5.

for education of children with sensory and loco motor
impairment
5. Admission and class allotment Q7.
6. Pre service Training Q8 & Q11
7. Management support Q9. & Q 10
8. Parental Support Q12.
9. Resource/special teacher Q13. & Q14.
10. Competency of teachers in early identification of children Q15.
with sensory and locomotor impairment and intervention
11. Curriculum Adaptations Q16. & Q17.
12. Collaboration with other organisation Q18.
13. Time Management Q19.

14. Barriers in implementing inclusive education in elementary Q20.

school

3.3.6 Document Analysis

McMillan and Schumacher (2001) explain documents as, ‘records of past events that
are written or printed; they may be anecdotal notes, letters, diaries, tax records and
receipts, maps, journals, newspapers and official minutes.’ Merriam and Engelbrecht
et al. (2003) used documents as an umbrella term to refer to a wide range of visual,
written and physical material relevant to the research study. Given the objective of

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this study was to examine the status of inclusive education in the classroom, the
researcher required to understand how they managed inclusion in the past. The
researcher therefore interpreted the facts from the documents in order to provide the
explanations of the past, and clarified the collective educational meaning that may be
underlying current issues and practices. The documents which were analysed are
mentioned below:

• Documents collected during fieldwork included curriculum frameworks,

• Policy documents on inclusion,
• Index for developing inclusive schools
• Books
• Departmental circulars,
• Registers-attendance, special class
• Students records
• Draft guidelines for the implementation of inclusive education: 2002

3.4 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF THE TOOLS

The qualitative researcher as the person who collects data is accountable for the
results of the research findings. These findings should, however, be credible and
trustworthy so that they may be applied in the field and be useful to the people who
read the research findings. Khumalo (2000) stressed that, ‘to establish the
trustworthiness of the data in qualitative research it is important that the researcher
should use different procedures.’ The two concepts that are established in the notion
of trustworthiness are reliability and validity. Validity and reliability are particularly
important in educational research because most of the measurements attempted in this
area are obtained directly.

3.4.1 Validity of the tools

Ary, Jacobs and Razavieh, Best and Kahn, (2001) describe validity as “… the extent
to which an instrument or procedure measures what it is suppose to measure”. In
essence reality is multidimensional, ever-changing and in a sense subjective therefore
it could be difficult to ensure validity.
Smit (2002) is of the opinion that the validity of qualitative research lies in its internal
validity rather than its external validity. By internal validity, the above author refers to

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internal logical relationships that have to do with goals, reasons, and meaning. It deals
with how the study’s findings match reality. According to Makhado (2002) internal
validity addresses the following questions:
• Do researchers actually observe what they think they observe?
• Do researchers actually hear the meanings that they think they hear?
However, the strength of this research lies in its internal validity. The validation
process of developed tools was done systematically.
1. The researcher identified various components for the relevant tools.
2. Items were developed with reference to the components.
3. The tools were circulated among experts for their comments and suggestions.
4. The suggestions given by experts were incorporated in the respective tools.
5. The validity of the interview was done by comparing the interviewee’s response
with other source of data.
6. The items in the checklist were phased in such a way that they were
discriminative in quality.
7. Best (1977) is of the opinion that the validity of observational measurements are
improved when observation are made at frequent intervals by the same observer
.Thus the researcher did observation in the selected school frequently during a
span of six months.
8. The pilot study was done to enhance the validity of all the tools, some items
were changed, some items were rephrased and some repositioned. However, no
statistical analysis was entertained to prove the validity and reliability of the
tool.
9. Video and tape recording, photographing while administering the personal
interview and focus group discussion was done wherever possible.
Thus it can be observed that the validity of each tool is inbuilt and therefore reveals
the context and purpose for which it was designed. In other words, each research tool
possessed the content validity. The tools validity was again confirmed by making
each tool appraise critically by the principal of concerned elementary schools as well
as the supervisor and expert of the field.

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3.4.2 Triangulation Method
To ensure the application of the above concepts the researcher has included
triangulation. Triangulation refers to the use of more than one approach to the
investigation of a research question in order to enhance confidence in the ensuing
findings. According to Sethosa (2001) “… triangulation refers to the use of multiple
methods in the collection of data in order to compensate for the limitations of each
method”. In the present study data triangulation comprising of gathering data from
different stakeholders was done along with it methodological ,between method
involving various tools and combined use of qualitative and quantitative research
methods was undertaken to arrive at convergent findings was undertaken. The method
of triangulation was used in establishing validity of the tools like.
1. Checklist for physical verification of children with sensory and locomotor
impairment
2. Personal interview schedule on status of inclusion of children with special
needs for principals.
3. Observation schedule for physical verification of children with special needs
4. Focus group discussion schedule for children with special needs
5. Questionnaire on status of inclusion of children with special needs for teachers.
6. Pilot testing and other relevant documents to enhance the credibility of her
interpretations.
The triangulation method involved the following process:
1. The inclusion of different sources of data collection in a research increases the
validity of the study results.
2. Observation of empirical data from many angles by using the technique of
interview, observation and experiences of the cases.
3. The tape recorder and the transcripts had important implications for reliability
and accuracy.
4. Cross checking of the data gathered through various techniques.
5. By asking parallel questions to ascertain clear response.
6. Frequent observations.

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3.4.3 Reliability of the tools
Reliability is a statistical concept and relates to consistency and dependability of
obtaining the same relative answer while measuring phenomena that have not
changed. Silverman (2002) defines reliability as “… the degree to which the finding is
independent of accidental circumstances of the research”. In addition to that reliability
as Sethosa (2001) puts it “… is the degree of consistency with which the instrument
or procedure measures whatever it is supposed to measure.”

3.4.4 Pilot testing

Dane (1990) opinions that, “A pilot study is an abbreviated version of a research
project in which the researcher practises or tests the procedures to be used in the
subsequent full-scale project”. The pilot study is a preliminary or "trial run"
investigation using similar subjects as in the final survey. Kidder and Judd (1986)
maintain that,” the basic purpose of a pilot study is to determine how the design of the
subsequent project can be improved and to identify flaws in the measuring
instrument.” A pilot study gives the researcher an idea of what the method will
actually look like in operation and what effects it is likely to have, in other words, by
generating many of the practical problems by changing procedures, instructions and
questions.
For the purpose of this study the researcher conducted a pilot run at a very successful
and renowned inclusive elementary school located in east Delhi. The above school
had implemented inclusive education. Educators at the pilot school had experience in
implementing inclusive education in their classrooms.
The researcher selected first to eighth class children with sensory and locomotar
impairment, six educators and principal of the school. The six educators in the pilot
school were trained and qualified. The purpose of the pilot study was to determine the
way the tools would be comprehended by the populations to be surveyed. No
quantitative analysis of the data was carried out.
The respondents were encouraged to make comments and suggestions about specific
items in the questionnaire. The feedback from the respondents, the observations made
by the researcher as well as suggestions given by experts were taken into
consideration when drawing up the final draft of the tools.
Plug, Meyer, Louw and Gouws (1991) list some of the purposes of the pilot study.
These were also the aims of the researcher in this study:

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 • Pilot study provides the researcher ideas, approaches and clues not foreseen
prior to the study.
• Certain areas which the researcher had not covered were [Link] Questions
about different strategies and methods in teaching inclusive classroom were
added to the interview schedule.
• Treatment errors were greatly reduced because unforeseen problems revealed in
the pilot study resulted in redesigning the main study.
• Items and instructions that were misinterpreted were reformulated.
• It permitted a thorough check of the planned statistical and analytical
procedures, thus allowing an appraisal of their adequacy in treating the data.
• The researcher saved major expenditures in terms of time and money on aspects
of the research, which would have been unnecessary.
• The researcher was able to establish the approximate time required to complete
the questionnaire.
It is thus evident that pilot testing is of value, as Marshall and Rossman (2001)
emphasized that “… questions have to be pilot tested on a small group to determine
the usefulness and reliability of the information before it is administered to a larger
group of respondents.”

3.5 ADMINISTRATION OF THE TOOLS

The researcher administered the tools in thirty inclusive schools in Delhi and NCR.
The researcher personally administered the tools to selected respondents i.e.
principals, educators, children with sensory and locomotor impairment and collected
them after completion.
The observation of the inclusive school for physical verification of children with
sensory and locomotor impairment was conducted by the researcher herself using
Observation schedule for physical verification of children with special needs. The
observer herself observed each section of class I to VIII in each school and verified
the total number of children with sensory and locomotor impairment. Moreover the
register was consulted for further verification of the students.
The verification of inclusive school in terms of amenities for children with locomotor
impairment in physical environment was done by the researcher herself using
checklist of amenities for children with special needs in physical environment of
school (CACPE)

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The children with sensory and locomotor impairment from first to eighth class were
identified and the researcher herself took their focus group discussion after taking
permission from the authority. The group discussion of the focussed group students
was held in one of the classroom in all the schools, as the students unanimously chose
it because they felt it was conducive for all of them. For the focus group discussion
chairs were arranged in such a way that the participants were facing each other and
also allowing the interviewer to make eye contact with all of them during the
interview. The children with sensory and locomotor impairment were briefed about
the procedure before the interview started. They were asked to be open and truthful
about their experience in inclusive education as their input was of significance to the
research. The researcher took the help of the class teachers and special/resource
teacher in this process. This method of administration facilitated the process and the
response rate.
In each elementary school Questionnaire on status of inclusion of children with
special needs was administered to at least six teachers of first to eighth class who were
teaching children with sensory and locomotor impairment. The prior permission from
the authority was taken to administer the tools to the teachers. The educators were
informed about the objective of the tool and were requested to provide their inputs
about what they lack as educators, availability of facilities and their competencies
were of importance to the research.
The different strategies and methodologies that educators feel could be of value to
promote the implementation of inclusive education, especially in the classroom, was
highly appreciated. Educators were made aware that they are valuable participants so
they have to air their views confidently and honestly. Even though the questions were
carefully selected and phrased in advance, they were semi-structured and open-ended
allowing for probing and clarification where necessary.

The venue for the personnel interview for principal was the Principal’s office in each
school. Interview schedule on status of inclusion of children with special needs
(ISSIC) was used to conduct interview of principal, during the interview notes were
taken by the researcher. The interview questions were similar for all the participants
except when there was a need for the question to be rephrased for the sake of
clarification.

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3.6 CONCLUSION
In the present chapter the research design, applied for the empirical investigation, was
discussed. The observation schedule, checklist, questionnaire, interview guide, focus
group discussion, documents as research instruments were comprehensively described
and the procedure of their administration was discussed in detail. However, valid
reliable and adequate the data may be, it does not serve the worthwhile purpose unless
it is carefully edited and systematically analysed, intelligently interpreted and
rationally concluded. The method used for this purpose is called statistics. The
statistical treatment is the next important step after data collection .The data which
was collected using the methods explained in chapter three was consolidated and
quantified and is furnished in the following chapter.

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