Documents - Method in Context

Question 1

What topics can documents be used to investigate in education? (5)

Answer 1

Ethnic, class and gender differences in achievement
Curriculum
Gender stereotyping in school books
Racist incidents in schools
Special educational needs

Question 2

Examples of public documents in education (4)

Answer 2

School websites
Government guidances to schools
School textbooks
Ofsted inspection reports

Question 3

Examples of personal documents in education (3)

Answer 3

Pupils’ written work
School reports on students and teachers
Notes passed between students

Question 4

Why is the study of public documents for the study of education not time consuming? (Practical advantage)

Answer 4

Because public documents on education are often easily accessible

Question 5

Who was able to access a wide range of school documents in their study of racism in schools? (Practical advantage)

Answer 5

Gillborn

Question 6

What documents were a useful source of free information in Gewirtz et al’s study of marketisation and education? (Practical advantage)

Answer 6

School prospectus’

Question 7

What type of document can be difficult to access in the educational context? (Practical disadvantage)

Answer 7

Personal documents

Question 8

What study did Hey conduct in schools?

Answer 8

Hey read notes that girls passé t each other to understand girls’ friendship patterns

Question 9

What practical disadvantage did Hey come across in her study of girls friendship patterns?

Answer 9

She found that obtaining the notes that girls passed to each other during lesson was sometimes hard

Question 10

What school files and records are confidential? (Practical disadvantage)

Answer 10

Teachers personnel files
Pupils disciplinary records

Question 11

What type of documents have few ethical concerns in the educational context? Why?

Answer 11

Public documents because they have been placed in the public domain by the education organisation

Question 12

What type of documents have lots of ethical concerns in the educational context?

Answer 12

Personal documents

Question 13

How did Hey’s research lack some informed consent? (Ethical disadvantage)

Answer 13

Hey sometimes took the notes that girls had passed out of the bin as she couldn’t obtain them by asking for them. Lacks informed consent as the girls didn’t give her permission to read the notes

Question 14

Example of public document in schools

Answer 14

Registers

Question 15

Public documents are produced on a systematic format. What does this enable a researcher to do? (Theoretical advantage)

Answer 15

Enables them to make direct comparisons

Question 16

Example of how systematic format of registers allows researcher to make direct comparisons (Theoretical advantage)

Answer 16

Allows them to compare absence rates of pupils from different schools

Question 17

Type of theoretical advantage of public documents as a result of them allowing comparisons to be made

Answer 17

Reliability

Question 18

What do documents give researchers which increases validity of documents used in educational context? (Theoretical advantage)

Answer 18

Documents give researchers important insights into meanings held by teachers and pupils

Question 19

What factors of registers reduces the validity of studying them?

Answer 19

Deliberate or accidental mistakes / human error exists with the collection of registers

Question 20

What are all documents open to which reduces their validity? (Theoretical advantage)

Answer 20

They are all open to different interpretations

Question 21

How does Hey’s research lack validity? (Theoretical advantage)

Answer 21

We cannot be sure that their interpretations of the notes are the same as that of the girls