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Interview ProtocolName: PART ONE: Demographics1) How long have you lived in
_________ ? NOTES:
Some individuals might be reluctant to talk about their family...and questions
about marriage and dependent children should be asked very carefully.
If the informant is very uncomfortable with these questions return to
them later in the interview. These questions help establish family patterns of
educational achievement as well as mobility.
If we know where their children have gone to school, we are more likely
to be able to ascertain where and when they have moved and for what reason. PART TWO: Narrative Interview
EDUCATIONAL
BACKGROUND The
following questions are designed to be positive...we do not want the interview
participant to feel ashamed or embarrassed about their educational experiences.
We do, however, want to determine what kinds of obstacles they may have
faced in completing or continuing their education.
Throughout the rest of the interview, listen carefully for comments
regarding reasons the individual may have chosen not to begin or continue a
program or course. Without dwelling
on negative experiences, probe these comments for more detailed explanations.
Be careful, however, of allowing the interview to sink into a complaint
of past misfortune. It is equally
important to understand what opportunities they have experienced. 1)
Tell me about your formal education. Where
did you attend school? For how
long? When you were in school, did you do well? Why or why not? What were the
circumstances that resulted in you leaving school? 2)
How would you describe yourself as a student? 3)
What kind of education did your parents have?
Your siblings? 4)
Have any members of your family attended post-secondary education programs? Ask
any or all of these questions to get the individual in a
"storytelling" frame of mind about their educational experiences.
Try to get them to tell a little about themselves as learners…what kind
of students were they (i.e. didn't try hard, it was boring, some teachers were
good, but, etc.). Later, if this
information has not arisen naturally, ask the causes of their leaving formal
schooling. EDUCATIONAL
& WORK EXPERIENCES 5)
What did you do after you left school? 6)
What kind of educational or training experiences have you had since that time? 7)
Have you ever taken any kind of placement tests or skills tests? 8)
What kind of work experiences have you had since that time? 9)
Have you ever participated in a training or education program at work? 10)
Have you ever considered pursuing an adult education program or going to get
your GED? Try
to get them to begin the story at the point that they left formal schooling.
If this seems to be uncomfortable for them, try to find a point in their
life history about which they feel confident.
If they took an assessment test such as TABE, probe for the location and
context of that experience. Keep
probing for learning experiences with the following questions. 11)
Can you give me an idea of a typical weekday for you? How about a weekend? 12)
On average, how many total hours per week do you spend at work? 13)
Do you ever work at night? If so,
how many nights and what times? 14)
Do you ever work on weekends? If
so, how often and what times? Hopefully
the interview will have already revealed some of the individual's personal
values toward education. If his or
her answers seem overly superficial, ask probing questions to elicit value
statements regarding education. Our goal is to determine how individuals
perceive the role of education in their lives--in their own words, rather than
what they think we want to hear or what they have heard others say. Once this is accomplished, we then want to probe how they
think others in their family (or community) perceive adult education and how
this might influence their perceptions. When asking about their typical day,
probe for information about recreation, family responsibilities and other
aspects of their lives that might interfere with continuing their education. PERSONAL
AND FAMILY VALUES & GOALS The
following questions are intended to determine what kinds of motivating factors
may influence the interview participant's decision making.
Try to press the individual to be as specific as possible. 15)
What kind of learning experiences do you feel are most valuable for you?
Your family and friends? 16)
What do you think makes a person educated or intelligent? 17)
What do you think prepares a person for work? 18)
How do you think your family would feel about you starting an educational
program? Would they be supportive?
Have they supported you in the past when you’ve tried this sort of
thing? 19)
What goals do you have for yourself? What
would you like to be doing five years from now? 20)
What goals do you have for your family or children? In
these last questions, probe particularly for issues of status and stigma
especially with regard to women who might face trouble at home if they pursue
further education or for men who may feel stigmatized by going “back to school”. ADULT
EDUCATION PARTICIPATION The
goal of these questions is to determine what, if any, conscious decisions they
have made about continuing their formal education.
If they are quick to dismiss these questions, try to return to their
"story" and ask specifically about decisions they might have made
during transitional time periods. For
example, "After you got divorced, did you ever think about going back to
school?" or "When you got on at the plant, did anyone suggest you go
for more training or education?" 21)
Tell me what you know about adult education programs in your community.
22)
Would it matter to you if you had to take a test to start an adult education
program? 23)
Do you think the information that you might learn about in an adult education
program would: a) be
useful? b) be
interesting? c) be
important? 24)
Do you have friends or family members who have participated in these programs?
If so, how do they feel about them? 25)
If you entered an adult education program, would you be concerned about: a.
what other people in the program thought about you?
b.
what your friends and family thought about you?
26)
Would you be concerned about looking "dumb" if you were in an adult
education program? 27) Would you be
concerned about looking smarter than others? Hopefully
these questions will already have been answered in context.
If not, make one more attempt to have the individual be specific about
their perceptions of adult education and possible barriers.
Be sure to ask the individual to distinguish between what is useful
(practical) and what is interesting or important.
Try to get them to define usefulness. 28)
What do you think are the major barriers that prevent you from participating in
adult education programs? What
factors would make it easier or more likely for you to take part in these kinds
of programs? 29)
If you enrolled in an adult education program, how much time would you be
willing to devote to it? Would you
be able to work on it at home? If
it took more than a year to meet your goals, would you continue? 30)
If you enrolled in an adult education program, how do you think you’d do?
Would you be successful? These
questions are key. If the
individual has not yet stated explicitly how he or she feels about the
possibility of pursuing some form of adult education, try to determine his or
her reasons. Try to avoid
generalized statements, using the individual’s “story” to contextualize
his or her rationale. Challenge
each excuse or complaint with another what if statement (i.e. what if
transportation could be provided, would you go then, etc.) Probe for expected
outcomes. 31)
If GED classes were offered in your place of work (or child’s school/daycare,
etc.), would you go? a)
If classes were offered ________ instead of
__________ would you go? b)
Would it bother you if classes were offered at
_________ instead of __________? Based
on the location of adult education providers currently available in the area,
fill in the blanks with options in the area. 32)
If your place of work (or child’s school/daycare, etc.), offered you something
for participating in a program, would you go? Based
on the individual, ask about incentives at work such as raises or bonuses,
incentives for the family such as family literacy programs, etc. 32)
Would it bother you if your co-workers or other parents (etc.) knew you were
continuing your education? What
other kinds of things might bother you enough to keep you from going? Part
Three: Follow Up
1)
What is your current age? ____ 2) Race: White, African-American, Hispanic, Asian-American, Other 3)
Do you own your own home? (house, farm, or mobile home?) 4)
What kind of transportation do you have? 5)
What kinds of things do you like to read? 6)
Have you ever used a library? 7)
Have you ever used a computer? On
the last three questions, probe for context and opportunity.
For example, do they use the bookmobile or their child’s school
library? Have they ever had access
to a computer and in what context? Let me
make sure I understand: 8)
You are/are not currently receiving KTAP or other government assistance? 9)
You do/do not have any plans for continuing your education or getting your GED? 10)
The most primary motivator for you would be _________? 11)
The biggest deterrent for you would be _____________? 12)
When was the last time you attended a GED program or took a GED test? Phrase these questions to paraphrase their earlier narrative. You may want to overstate their position so that they are forced to clarify and/or correct you. Question 11 is intended to double check in case we missed something earlier on about a previous adult education experience.
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