Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2. You will gain a deeper understanding of how the participants perceive your school and its
plans for the future; and
3. You can use the experience within these smaller groups to prepare for the dynamics of a
larger group, such as a town hall meeting.
Conducting a series (three to five) of Focus Groups will ensure that you hear from a broad
spectrum of the community. Each discussion group should be as homogenous as possible, i.e.,
the group should include all teachers or all parents, but not a mix. The discussion groups should
run no more than an hour and a half.
3. Recruit participants
Compile a list of potential participants:
- Ask your local PTA president or school staff for a listing of parents;
- Ask your local Chamber of Commerce for a list of prominent businesspeople; and/or
- Keep an eye on stories in your local newspapers to see which people are active in
your community.
Invite at least twice the number of people youd like to have in each discussion group. (For
instance, invite 12 to 16 individuals to guarantee that youll have six to eight participants.)
Times should be convenient so people can come without having to leave work early or get
home too late.
A second person should be available to record the comments of the group, either in writing or
with a tape-recorder.
- Prompt the moderator to follow general questions by specific questions. For example,
after the question, What do you like about the high school? the moderator could
ask, If you could build a new school from scratch, what would you do to make sure
it is the best possible?
- Remind the moderator to ask probing questions. For example, if someone responds
that the current school is good, the moderator could ask, When you say the school is
good, what, specifically, comes to mind that makes you say its good?
The guide should not be set in stone. The moderator should be prepared to follow his or her
instincts and slip in additional questions or probes as needed.
The moderator should not present these advantages as facts because it might appear that the
facts are the opinion of the moderator. Instead, they should be presented on these types of
communication pieces.
These communication pieces also will give participants a way to respond to something
impersonal, and the participants will be more honest in their critiques than they would be if it
were simply an idea or message presented by a moderator.
Overall, a summary of the Focus Groups will give you a clearer understanding of how your
community feels about your plan and the elements that are important to them. This
understanding will help you shape your plan as you move forward.
What does it tell you about the changes planned for [name
of high school]?
Do
Be flexible
Leave enough time for people to answer questions (enjoy the silence!)
Dont
- Do a walk-through of the location to determine table and chair needs, necessary signage
Date
Name
Address
Address
Dear [Name],
[Name of school] is looking for ways to improve and needs your help.
We would like to cordially invite you to join us in a group discussion to talk about education
issues in our community, specifically our plans to redesign our high school. We want to hear
your opinions and ideas for creating a better school for our students and our community.
Date
Time
Location
The group will consist of about seven other people like you and a moderator.
Thank you for considering being a part of this discussion. If you have any questions, please feel
free to call me at [phone number].
Sincerely,
Name
Title
................................................................................................................................................
RSVP
Name: _________________________________________________________________
___ Yes, I can participate in a research group discussion at [time] on [date]. I will see you
at [location].
___ No, I cannot participate in this research group discussion. Please let me know if you
have other dates and times available.