This project required students in the Western
Carolina
University Qualitative Research class to interview persons who
participated in
the 2004
The totals of the numbers do not always add up to 25, which is the number of people interviewed. That is for two main reasons. (1) Certain pieces of data were not collected in the same form in all the interviews. (2) The patterns of responses and reflections do not capture the total range of responses from all the study participants.
We started each interview by asking the participants to provide personal/professional background information.
Question 1: Please
tell me a little bit about yourself.
Twenty five participants were interviewed. Fourteen were male and eleven were female. With the exception of two African-American participants, all were Caucasian. Nineteen were middle aged, and two were under thirty.
Twenty-three study participants moved to
Participants had varied careers and occupations. The careers represented the most were: architects/builders (5), retirees (4), lawyers (3), engineers (2) and business owners (2).
Several participants indicated that they were already involved in civic organizations. Others indicated that they participated in the Academy to make connections and to network with others. Several of them described themselves as environmentally conscious.
As a group the study participants were thoughtful,
reflective, educated citizens. They
were friendly, and eager to respond to questions, and they were open
about
their experiences in the
Question 2:
Please tell me the story behind how you came to participate in
the
Six themes emerge about
why
Seven participants
(7/25) enrolled as a result of reading about the program in the
newspaper. One said, “I
was reading the …newspaper and saw an ad…I wanted to learn more
about
Six people (6/25)
enrolled in order to establish social connections.
One participant acknowledged,
“I wanted to get to know someone like me.”
Five participants (5/25)
enrolled because they sought further community involvement. One
participant saw
it as an opportunity to communicate the “save the trees” message.
For four citizens
(4/25), the influence of friends and colleagues motivated them to
enroll. In one case, a manager urged her
assistant to
enroll in the academy. In another case, a supervisor urged a former
subordinate
to participate.
For a few participants,
enrollment afforded the opportunity for a shared experience. One participant described an experience with
a friend in which he said, “…Hey, look at
this. I will do it if you will do
it.”
A final theme is
that a few wanted to challenge city government.
One participant said, “Originally,
I thought this would be a way to buck the system. . .”
Although the
themes are different, the similarities are that citizens expressed a
desire to
make a difference, and to learn more about civic engagement and their
community.
Question
# 3.
Think back to when you were leaving class
sessions last fall. How did you
typically feel after a session was over?
What were some of the feelings you recall? Tell
me a little bit about those feelings.
Several themes emerged from participant responses. One of the strongest themes centered on
interactivity with other participants and opportunities for networking. Ten (10/25) participants were disappointed
because there was little opportunity for networking.
One participant #7 said, “meetings
were not structured to facilitate
networking.” Another said, “the opportunity
was not given to introduce ourselves the first night.”
A third participant, however, recognized that
“later sessions did allow people to meet
and interact.” A few participants
expressed the need for more interactivity and social time, even if
building
this time into the sessions lengthened the program.
One participant said, “need
more social time, not enough time to
interact.”
Another strong theme related to food. Ten participants (10/25) commented on either the quality of the food, or the benefits and drawbacks of providing food prior to each session. Overall the participants indicated the meals were a benefit for the program.
One participant said,“liked the food since I
was coming straight from work.” Another
said, “the meals
were a great way to bond.” A third
said, “loved the
free food, but not meeting and eating at the same time.”
A third theme related to how comfort level. Several participants mentioned their physical comfort. One participant said, “the physical space had been well-thought out.”
Others mentioned their psychological/emotional comfort. One participant remarked, “I felt comfortable and cared for.” Another said she “felt very comfortable; group size was perfect.” A third participant said, “there was a greeter to guide you in the right direction.” She named Lauren as the second greeter who made available materials and information for the night’s activities.
Examining these themes reveals that they were all related to the basic needs of humankind – food, comfort, and interaction with each other. Participants were satisfied with the physical structure of the program, but they wanted more opportunities to interact.
Question 4: Describe
your view of city government before
you participated in the academy.
This question was asked to help establish a theoretical baseline. The data analysis revealed five major themes.
The first major theme dealt with a strong mistrust of how city funds were allocated. Four participants (4/25) indicated that they felt city government did not spend funds wisely, and that city officials were generally incompetent. One participant said he “felt like there was way too much inefficiency.” This theme was further substantiated by another participant who indicated “My view was that the city was a power hungry and overaggressive group.”
Rather than state this directly, several participants expressed curiosity about the allocation of city funds. One participant said, “I wanted to find out where our tax dollars are going.”
Though there were a few negative comments, three
participants conversely felt that the city was being managed
efficiently. One participant said, “I generally trust the government and believe in it.” Another said, “As a liberal
Democrat I had positive feelings for and about city
government.”
Participants held both positive and negative views
about
city government. More than half of them,
however, also admitted that they did not know much about how the city
was
managed. As a result, most of the
participants
indicated a genuine interest in learning more.
One participant said he sometimes wondered, “Why
don’t they do things this way?” Another
said, “Before I participated in the academy, I only had a
vague understanding
of how the
Question # 5:
Describe your view of city government now that you have completed the
academy.
This question asked about “value-added” -- how the
participants views of city government changed, as a result of
participating in
the
The first theme was that participants (11/25)
changed their
attitude toward city government. One
participant
said he was “not nearly as critical as he
used to be of the city.” Another
said that, since completing the course, he “understands
the process in
A second theme concerned participant level of satisfaction. Six participants (6/25) realized that the city “can’t please everyone” all the time. On participant said he “appreciates…the criticisms that are faced each day by city workers.”
A third theme addressed the professionalism of employees. Four participants (4/25) commented on the professionalism of the presenters and others involved with the weekly sessions. One participant said that there was “an emphasis on professional development. . . people are highly trained and then are expected to make decisions that need to be made.” Another said, “These people are professional people who really try hard to do what is right.” Even participants with a negative attitude toward city government mentioned the high level of professionalism demonstrated throughout the program.
A fourth theme was that several participants realized that the city is managed efficiently. Four participants (4/25) mentioned that city government is running efficiently, even though a popular view among citizens is that government is inefficient. One participant said that “the city is managed far more efficiently than I previously thought.” Another said, “the government seemed to be operating efficiently.”
A final theme concerned a lack of sufficient funding. Three participants (3/25) thought that funding was an important issue. One participant said, “The city needs more money.” Another noted that, “City government works with limited funds.”
Question #6: Describe
changes you may have made in the way
you interact with city government. Think
about your involvement on councils, committees, as a volunteer, or in
the neighborhood,
in the workplace, or in the city as a whole.
The first theme concerned the opportunities for
networking
among participants. Fifteen (15/25) said
they would have preferred more networking.
They offered various reasons why they had not been able to
network with
each other. A few said they had plans to
do so in the future. One participant
said, “Like I said, some people in the
class I definitely do need to get in touch with, but I haven’t.” Another
said, “Not very much . . . I see them
around town and talk with some of them, but this is purely secondary.”
On the other hand, six participants (6/25) said
they have
networked with some of the others. One
said,
“I made new friends and we continue to
talk back and forth.”
A second theme concerned involvement with city
government. A
total of eleven participants (11/25) said there was no great change in
their
government interaction. One participant
said,
“My views have not changed.” Another
said, “(Involvement is) Pretty much the
same as before.” A third participant
said, “I assume the goal of the program
is to have people volunteer in city government. Some day I may do that,
but I
am too busy right now.”
Ten participants (10/25) felt they were more
knowledgeable, more
comfortable, and more vocal about city problems. They
indicated that now they would know where
to go or how to approach a problem involving city government. One participant said, “I wouldn’t
hesitate to pick up a phone or send an email.” Another
said, “I have more attachment to city government as a
result of the academy.”
A third participant said, “It
is now easier to be an active citizen.”
A final theme was that a few participants took the
class for
personal gain. One said, “I
was looking for a way to plug in that
would help a client or me.”
In conclusion, we found several themes concerning interaction with city government. A few said they interact on a regular basis, but many of them wished they had more networking opportunities.
Question 7: If you were asked to select the next class of academy participants, what would you do?
Three participants said the selection criteria
were
satisfactory. All the participants commented on specific elements of
the
criteria. The need for greater diversity
among participants was an overall theme.
Eleven participants (11/25) recognized the need for younger participants. One participant said, “The age diversity especially needs to change. There was only one person in the group under 35.” Another said, “Selecting several younger participants would be helpful. Recruit young people who have some free time and make young people feel included. Aside from age, the class was pretty diverse, but it was heavy on professionals such as lawyers.” A third participant said, “…it would be much more beneficial for the class to have younger individuals. This would create more opportunities for a highly energetic group to be able to use the information and become more involved in changing things.”
Racial diversity was mentioned by several
participants. One said, “…
A third theme was that the next corporate academy
should
include people who want to give something back to the community. Three participants (3/25) suggested this in
their comments. One said, “…include people from non-profits, private
sector businesses, and government.” Another
said the Academy should include
people who are “active in the community
and are looking to become more involved.
People who want to be in
leadership positions should be selected for the next
Concerning residency restrictions, five
participants (5/25)
said
Several participants also felt that more advanced notice should be given before selecting the next class. One participant said, “The biggest mistake was the lack of marketing…The city must reach out to community organizations.” Another said, “I’d go to what I consider second tier people. If we go to second tier people, they will find leadership. I’ve been here just under ten years and I can predict who I will see in meetings.” A third participant said, “You need more publicity with more advanced notice.”
In conclusion, when selecting the next
Question #8:
Pretend you are talking to your friends.
What would you say to them about the
The reason for this last
formal question was to gain a sense of how participants felt about the
total experience.
Participants who had a positive experience would share positive
comments with
friends; those who had negative experiences would share negative
comments.
Most responses were
positive, but a few were negative. Four major themes emerged: (1) it
was an
informative learning experience, (2) participants would recommend
participation
by friends and colleagues, (3) it was time well spent, and (4) the pace
was
fast – maybe too fast at times.
Fourteen participants (14/25) made reference to
the first theme.
One participant said, “it (the academy)
was very helpful in understanding how
Over half of the participants said they would
recommend the
academy to a friend, even though the question did not ask that (Theme
#2). One participant said, “I
have said it to many of my friends in the Democratic Party…You need
to get involved in this program.” Another participant said, “I would
highly recommend it.” A third
participant said “I would encourage my friends to enroll
in the academy. I highly
recommend the academy.” Finally, a
fourth participant simply said she would recommend the class for most
people if
they show an interest. Reporting that
they would recommend the academy to a friend was a popular response to
the
question.
A third theme was that the
Although this is not the most resounding endorsement, this statement illustrates that the program met a variety of participants needs and desires. One participant summed up this theme with the statement “… it was a good use of my time. As little discretionary time as I have, that’s a good thing to say about anything.”
The fourth theme was that several participants
felt there
was not enough time for all the activities.
One said, “It was a little rushed.
They were cramming a lot of information into a short period of time.”
Several other participants noted the amount of information gained,
possibly,
the length, or breadth, of the program should be considered so as to
eliminate
or reduce the rushed nature of this program.
Participants appear to have enjoyed the
Question 9: Is
there anything you would like to tell me about your
This last question was designed to afford the
opportunity
for interviewees to add their reflections, after they had been
stimulated to
think about their experiences. Several
commented on their fire truck experience, and one person saw this as an
opportunity to take a political activist stand on a personal concern. Few comments were negative, and many
expressed pleasure with, and support for, the program and its
continuation.
Two themes emerged from these comments. The first was that many of the participants were pleased with the course. Of the answers to this question, ten were positive toward the course, three were neutral and one was negative. The following comments were gleaned from our notes:
“Extremely successful”
“very
much enjoyed the experience”
“wonderful
memories”
These speak highly of the city’s first attempt at
teaching
this class.
A second theme was that some participants encouraged the expansion of the program to include more depth and breadth. Several expressed a desire for more information, requesting “increased intensity” and “more specifics and detail.”
These statements conflict with the earlier comments about limiting the amount of information that some felt was “rushed” upon them, but it is important to realize both attitudes were present among those who participated in the first class.
Another “desire for more” emerged in the desire to
have more
time to “network with the presenters and
the participants” and more group interaction – “more
time to ask and answer questions.” One
participant captured the essence of the overall positive nature and the
desire
for more information: “Talking with you (interviewer)
helps bring back those wonderful memories.
I just wish they would have another class for us, maybe one that
expands
our knowledge about the city and the work that goes on unnoticed by the
public.
It was just a wonderful experience for me.”