| Chapter 1: | Introduction |
|
|
This is a limited free preview of this book. Please buy full access.
The mailed questionnaire in Hebrew was sent to 70 Jerusalem-area elementary school computer coordinators (26 Mamlachti-Dati state religious and 44 Mamlachti state secular coordinators), along with the letter of introduction, the support letter from the Computer Center, and a self-addressed, stamped envelope. The survey was then completed in Hebrew, sent back anonymously, and translated into English by the Israeli-born educator teaching in the United States.
Packets containing a copy of the survey, the introductory letter, and the support letter were mailed on three separate occasions in an effort to increase the response rate. The initial packet was mailed in early January 2004—out of 70 questionnaires sent, only 8 were returned completed. A second packet of surveys was sent in March 2004 to those who hadn’t responded to our initial mailing. This second mailing resulted in 10 additional completed surveys. A third and final mailing was sent in June 2004 to those who had not yet responded. The survey instrument remained the same throughout the three mailings, while the initial paragraph and deadline date of the introductory letter were revised to encourage those who had not yet responded to participate. Postage for return envelopes was secured from the Jerusalem municipality Computer Center and reimbursed.
Colorful postcards were also utilized as reminders for coordinators to participate and were mailed in March, May, and June 2004. The initial postcards sent included a request to return the survey questionnaire that had been sent earlier by the deadline of April 1, 2004. The second postcard extended the deadline of the second survey to May 22, 2004 and requested the respondents’ participation, specifically emphasizing the importance of such participation to the research. A final postcard reminder was sent in June, which again asked those coordinators who still had not responded to participate “before the start of [their] summer vacation.” By July 2004, 24 of 70 had returned completed surveys.