48 language of its learners and on the resources provided by the schools. Accordingly, the 5th grade of the Primary Education Level is a convenient one since the language
proficiency of the students is effective enough to communicate among themselves. The teachers involved in both groups are Ms. Lara Conde Ballesteros in the Spanish side of the study and Ms. Marja-Riitta Kotilainen in the Finnish one.
Furthermore, 24 pupils in the Finnish classroom took part in the study during the development of the lesson plans, while 26 participants did it in the Spanish side.
Nevertheless, as it is described in the following lines four pupils were individually interviewed in the Spanish school while five students did it in the Finnish side, two of them in pairs since according to the class teacher in charge of the group, both students were more comfortable being interviewed together rather than doing it individually.
Moreover, interviewing children implies to be able to see a certain situation through the children’s eyes entering in their world and in the childhood culture (Do cherty &
Sandelowski, 1991). Therefore, in the interviews conducted, the participants were allowed to express themselves in English or Spanish (in the Spanish side) in order to collect as much information as possible. Plus, the children felt confident with the questions asked and with the answers that they wanted to provide to the interviewee.
6.5. DATA ANALYSIS
To start with, the data will be analysed throughout the content analysis method. This method was chosen to analyse the data in the present study since it reduces the amount of written data to manageable and logical proportions for the researcher to m anage (Weber, 1990). Furthermore, it is considered to mention in the present chapter that the content analysis method starts with samples of the given text and defines the units of analysis in the written data in order to analyse the pieces of information collected (Ezzy, 2002). Subsequently, those pieces of data will be coded into categories, built from theoretical foundations. Moreover, the already mentioned categories are to be coded as well. Yet, as a matter of fact and in order to clarify the explanati ons given, it is relevant to explain that a code is simply defined as a name or label the researcher gives to a piece of text containing an idea or a piece of information gathered from the data collected. Some codes could be more general and other more specific. Therefore, and to sum up, a code is basically an abbreviation described for the researcher to
understand the categories included in the study or according to the personal interest of
the researcher as well. Additionally, there are some different kin ds of coding: open coding, analytic coding, axial coding and selecting coding (Boeije, 2010).
To continue, in the present research the data will be coded by the open coding system. It is based on the selection of a certain label to describe a piece of dat a and subsequently to categorize it (Strauss & Corbin, 1994). Besides, in this kind of coding, the categories are generated and defined. Plus, respecting the case that concerns the study, the coding is performed in a unit-of-text-by-unit-of-text basis. As a consequence, the interviews conducted in both countries have been transcribed. Therefore, coding takes place along the transcription itself. For that reason, the sampling strategy adopted in the data collection was the purposive sampling. Defined as a no nprobability sampling decision also called, judgemental or expert sample where the researcher selects the cases to be included in the sample population. Those decision are made based on the personal judgment of the researcher or on the possession of a particular skill or
characteristic by the participants in the study. Ergo, it is applied to the knowledge of the interviewees and the elements representing the main aims of the study (Lavrakas, 2008).
What is going to be analysed in the research is the effect the Finnish-Spanish intercultural interaction has in the students of both countries. In addition, as it is a comparative study, the data was collected in both countries, therefore the
aforementioned explained aspects will be analysed in Finland and Spain accordingly.
Moreover, the effect of the intercultural interaction among the student in both countries will be studied too. In the transcript, the data has been coded as well with a colour pattern, where the labels described above are underlined with a certain colour in order to categorise the information into one label or another and therefore to make the
analysing task easier for the research. Furthermore, the interviews will be coded as well in order to make it more understandable for the reader. Ergo, the interview conducted to the first Spanish student will be coded as SS1 (Spanish Student 1), the second interview conducted to the following Spanish student will be coded as SS2 (Spanish Student 2) and so forth. Likewise, the same procedure will be implemented with the Finnish participants using the codes FS1 (Finnish Student 1), FS2 (Finnish Student 2) or FS3 (Finnish Student 3).
50 Finally, it is considered to mention in the present chapter that the language proficiency of the students can vary from subject to subject in the excerpts included below.
6.6. TEMPORALITY
In the chart below, a summary of the timing in which the study was developed as well as the countries involved in each of the steps in the research can be found. The different processes are descripted as well indicating the main process taken place in the periodicity set.
TIMING PROCESS
April-May 2017 (Finland)
o Presentation of the Final Research Paper. Approval.
o Applying for the data collection process in the schools in both countries.
October – December (Finland)
o Reading of the relevant literature of the research.
o Beginning of the Theoretical Framework of the research.
o Acceptance of the schools in both countries to take part in the study.
March-May 2018 (Spain)
o Implementation of the ICC Project/Didactic Unit in Finland and Spain.
o Data Collection: Semi-structured Interviews.
o Methodology Chapter.
May-October (Spain)
o Finalization of the Theoretical Background of the study.
o Analysis of the collected data.
o Findings and Conclusions.
Table 2: Temporality
6.7. PRESENTATION OF THE QUALITATIVE DATA
In the first place, the qualitative data will be presented in this chapter through the data tabulation method. A method where the information provided from the interviewees is presented question by question in a two columns’ table. In addition, according t o this approach similar questions are grouped into single set of responses exploring the
relationships among those answers (Suter, 2012). On the contrary, different answers will be storage apart, studying them and their relations as well. Besides, the info rmation collected such as the names of the participants interviewed will be arranged in codes in order to ensure the anonymity and privacy of the minors interviewed. Ergo, the
interviewees taking part in the Finnish side of the research will be coded as FS 1, FS2, FS3 and FS4. While, the interviewees involved in the Spanish interviews will be coded as SS1, SS2, SS3 and SS4. Furthermore, with the main purpose of clarifying the year of the Primary Education level in which the data has been collected, the infor mation will be presented under the code F6 since the information was gathered in the sixth year.
Likewise, the pieces of information collected from the Spanish school will be coded as S5 since the project was implemented and the interviews conducted in the fifth year of the Primary Education level. Therefore, a number preceding the letter F or S will appear referring to the school year where the interviews were conducted.
Secondly, the number of respondents whose answers correspond with the
responses given will appear in the left-hand column of the tables below (1-3) (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2011a). In addition, the responses provided by the interviewees will appear on the right column in a brief summary of what it has been answered. Plus, each table contains a title/heading with the essential information about the data that the question intended pursues. Besides, the questions per se are included in the second row of the table in order the make the presentation of the data collected more organised and clear. Consequently, one question per lesson plan excepting the first lesson, is included in the interview and accordingly in the data tabulated below.
Finally, as it is previously mentioned, the tables have been added in the following page with the information of what it has been gathered taking into account the answers and responses provided in the interviews conducted in Madrid and in Rovaniemi.
52 Table 3. Effect of the Project on the pupils.
Table 4. Knowledge Acquired
Table 5. Lesson II: Countries & Languages TABLE 1. EFFECT OF THE PROJECT ON THE PUPILS
Q1: What did you enjoy about working with foreign students?
1: S5 To learn some words in Finnish and to meet the Finnish students.
1: S5 To work with people from abroad.
To discover other senses about the world (different names, what they do…)
1-4: S5 1-4: F6
To work in the activities contained in the project and to have contact with students from another country.
1-3: F6 To know about Spain and to talk to the Spanish pupils