Appendix 2: Information about interview topic guides
Outline of the interview
Introductions.
Establishing rapport.
Learning experiences before the first birth.
Life story since having children.
How learning has helped cope with change: summing up.
Background details.
Endings.
Notes for the interviewer
This is a guide to be followed flexibly.
Ask questions one at a time.
Avoid asking closed questions.
Ensure that you have paper and a pen if you think that you will want to use
them.
The whole interview should last for about one and a half hours.
The heart of the interview is sections 3, 4 and 5.
Instructions for the use of Card 1 are in Section 1 of the topic guide.
The respondent completes the short questionnaire in Appendix 2 at the end
of the interview.
The interviewer should familiarise him/herself with the NALS definition of
learning in Appendix 1 before the interview.
Key Objectives
To understand how previous and more recent learning has helped and/or hindered
the respondent in coping with change during the period between having children
and the current time.
This includes:
• what it is about learning that is helpful and/or unhelpful;
• comparisons between the effects of learning and other activities; and
• comparisons between the effects of learning and other things that have
affected how the respondent has coped with changes.
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