Investigation of the conditions for successful policy implementation in the area of higher education qualifications for early childhood development educators

These datasets consist of quantitative and qualitative data which were integrated in order to gain a deeper understanding of the conditions needed for successful policy implementation. Data integration took place in two phases and at different levels in the research. At the design level, an explanatory sequential design was used which entailed collecting quantitative data from a target population of 184 Early Childhood Development (ECD) pracitioners, using a survey questionnaire and analysing the data using a Statistical Package for Social Sciences. This was followed by conducting interviews with a sample of 15 practitioners selected from the quantitative data set. A second form of integration therefore took place at the methods level by using a nested sampling design. 

The data analysis of the quantitative survey questionnaire responses were used to determine the sample of practitioners for interviews in the qualitative phase. Using interviews as a qualitative methodological tool enabled the survey findings to be clarified and explored in greater detail. Further qualitative data collection took place through an open-ended questionnaire which was administered to 15 other ECD stakeholders, using critical case sampling. These participants were selected based on the information they possess, and their knowledge and experience of the phenomenon being investigated, which enabled multiple perspectives on the phenomenon under investigation from participants working in a number of different ECCE settings. All qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. A third form of integration took place at the interpretation and reporting level which entailed analysing each of the data sets separately and then combining the data interpretations to form a coherent picture of the phenomenon being investigated.