Education: The Resrach Context

Question 1

Research characteristics

Answer 1

• five main groups and settings in education whose distinctive characteristics may make them easy or difficult to study/
  1. Pupils
  2. Teachers
  3. Parents
  4. Classrooms
  5. Schools
• each have particular problems and opportunities for the sociologist in choosing a suitable method to use.
• also take into account the researchers own characteristics, such as their experiences of education, which could make researching certain educational topics more easier to more difficult

Question 2

1. researching pupils

Answer 2

• in education, many of the people that sociologist study are children and young people - pupils and students. Hill suggest that there are three major differences between studying young people and studying adults:
• power and status
• ability and understanding
• vulnerability
• these differences raise particular particular, ethical and theoretical issues that researchers need to take into account when researching pupils.

Question 3

Power and status

Answer 3

• children and young people generally have less power and status than adults. This makes it more difficult for them to state their attitudes and views openly, especially if they challenge those adults
• particularly true of schools, because they are hierarchal institutions that give teachers higher status and power over pupils. Teachers may sometimes even be able to use this power to influence which pupils are selected for research, e.g,in order to promote a good image of themselves for the school
• formal research methods such as structured interviews or questionnaires tend to reinforce power differences. This is because it is the researcher and not the young person who determines what questions are asked and how answers should be formulated
• sociologists therefore need to consider ways in which they can overcome the power and status differences between adult researchers and young participants. E.g, group interviews rather than formal one to one interviews may be a good way of doing this. However, it is likely that whatever research method are used, some power and status differences between researchers and pupils will remain
• pupils attitudes towards the power and status differences between the lives and their teachers are also likely to affect how they relate to the researcher. E.g, pupils who resent the power of teachers over them may be less likely to cooperate with research

Question 4

Ability and understanding

Answer 4

• pupils vocab, powers of self expression, thinking skills and confidence are likely to be more limited than those of adults - particularly when trying to express abstract ideas
• given that abstract concepts are a central part of sociological investigation, this poses problems for researchers. E.g, the sociologist will need to take particular care in how they word their questions so as to make sure they are understood clearly by their young respondents
• limitations in pupils understanding also make it more difficult to gain their informed consent. This is because sociologist may not be able to explain the nature if the research in words that young pupils can clearly understand
• young people use language in different ways from adults, which makes the construction of appropriately worded questions particularly demanding. Younger children in particular are also likely to require more time than adults to understand questions
• a young persons memory is less developed than that of a adult, so they may be able to recall in detail relevant material where asked to do so by the researcher
• however, we should remember that pupils are not a homogenous group - they are not all the same. Class, age, gender and ethnicity all create differences between pupils that the researcher will have to take into account.

Question 5

Vulnerability and ethical issues

Answer 5

• as a result of their more limited power and ability, young people are often more vulnerable to physical and psychological harm than adults. This raises special ethical issues for the researcher. The sociologist should therefore first consider whether the participant of young people in the research is actually necessary and whether they stand to benefit from it.
• it is not enough simply to obtain the informed consent of parents or teachers. Most research guidelines emphasise that young people too should be aware of what the research entails. However, it may be difficult to explain this to a child, and they may nor yet be mature enough to decide whether to participate
• given the vulnerability of school age pupils, child protection issues are very important. E.g, personal data should not be kept unless it is vital to the research
• the researcher should also consider what form the participation will take and any stress that may result. E.g, questioning young children for long periods if time would be considered inappropriate
• the greater vulnerability of young people means that there are more ‘gatekeepers’ controlling access to pupils than there are for most other social groups. These include parents, heads, teachers, local authorities and schools boards of governors. Generally, the more gatekeepers who are involved, the more difficult it is likely to be to carry out sustained research

Question 6

Laws and guidelines

Answer 6

• in addition, child protection laws such as the safeguarding vulnerable groups act, 2006, operate a vetting barring scheme on adults working in schools, which requires researchers to have disclosure and barring service checks. This mat delay or prevent researchers from carrying out their research
• as a result of ethnical concerns, organisations such as unicef, Bernardo’s and the national children’s bureau have developed special codes of practise for researching young people. These take the British sociological associations ethical research guidelines even further in terms of protecting the rights of children involved in research

Question 7

Laws and guidelines advantage

Answer 7

• one advantage of studying pupils, is that, because they are legally required to attend school, sociologists will know where to find their target research group - unlike with some other social groups that might study. On the other hand, this is not necessarily the case if the target group is pupils with anti school attitudes, many of whom may truant regularly from school. Also, of course, pupils are normally in school only during the school dat and in term time

Question 8

2. Researching teachers

Answer 8

• teachers often feel overworked and me be less than fully cooperative. This may mean that interviews and questionnaires need to be kept short, and this will restrict the amount of data that can be gathered. On the other hand, as professionals, teachers are likely to be sympathetic to educational research

Question 9

Power and status of researching teachers

Answer 9

• power relationships in the school are not equal. Teachers have more power and status because of their age, experiences and responsiblity within the school. They also have legal responsibility and a duty of care towards young people they teach
• the nature of the classroom reinforces the power of the teacher. Teachers often see it as ‘my classroom’, in which the researcher may be viewed as a trespasser. However, teachers are not fully independent, even in ‘their’ classroom. Heads, governs, parents and pupils all constrain what teachers may do
• researchers will need to develop a ‘cover’ if they intend to carry out covert investigations and this may mean representing themsleves as a supply teacher or classroom assistant e.g, although, this gives researchers access, these groups have a lower status within school and over teachers may not treat them as equals

Question 10

impression management

Answer 10

• teachers are used to be observed and scrutinised, e.g, in ofsted inspections. As a result, they may well be more willing to be observed by a researcher since it is something they are accustomed to experiencing
• however, because a major part of the teachers role is to ‘put on an act’ for pupils and others. Teachers are often highly skilled at what goffman calls ‘impression management’ - manipulating the impression that other people have of us. They researcher may therefore have to find ways to get behind the public face that teachers put on
• goffman also analyses how, as social actors, we behave different when we are acting out a role ‘front stage’ as opposed to when we are back stage. Some researchers study teachers in their backstage setting - staff room
• however, getting backstage with teachers posses particular problems. The staff room is a relatively small social space and because teaching staff are generally known to each other, a newcomer will stand out and may be treated with suspicion
• teachers will be aware than any critical comments they make about the school where they work could affect their career prospects. As a result, they may be reluctant to answer certain questions honestly. The researcher may be able to overcome this issue by using observational methods rather than methods that involve asking direct questions e.g, questionnaires
• head teachers my try to influence which staff are are selected to be involved in the research and these may not be fully representative of all teachers in the school

Question 11

3. Researching classrooms

Answer 11

• the classroom is unusual in being a closed social setting with clear physical and social boundaries. Although not as closed as a prison or psychiatric ward, e.g, the classroom is less open than many other settings, such as leisure centres or shops
• the classroom is also a highly controlled setting, e.g, the teacher and the school control the classroom layout and access, as well as pupils time, activities, noise levels and language while they are in the classroom. Young people rarely experience this level of surveillance and control in other areas of their lives
• as a result, the classroom behaviour that the researcher observes may not accurately reflect what those involved really think and feel. Furthermore, in classroom, interactions, teachers and pupils are experienced at concealing their real thoughts or feelings from each other
• the classroom is fairly small, confined social space with room for perhaps thirty or so people. Classrooms are also comparatively simple social settings: in most cases they are just two social roles in the classroom - teacher and pupils. All this makes classroom interaction relatively straightforward to observe and analyse

Question 12

Gatekeepers

Answer 12

• unlike many other social environments, access to classrooms is controlled by a wide range of gatekeepers. These include head teachers, teachers and child protection laws. Generally speaking, the more gatekeepers there are to a particular research setting, the more difficult it is fore research to obtain and maintain access to

Question 13

Peer groups

Answer 13

• young people may be insecure about their identity and status. Therefore, when in school based groups such as classes and friendship groups, they may be more sensitive to peer pressure and the need to conform. This may affect the way they respond to being researched
• it may therefore be necessary for example to supervise pupils when they are filling in questionnaires, especially if this is done in class, in order to prevent peers from influencing one another’s answers. Similarly, in group interviews, the true attitudes of individual pupils may be hidden behind the dominant attitudes of the peer groups

Question 14

4. Researching schools

Answer 14

• there are tens of thousands of schools of many different kinds in the uk. If the sociologist uses observational methods, they are unlikely to have the time to investigate more than a very few and their research risks being unrepresentative
• using large scale surveys or official statistics instead may overcome this problem - though here they may lose the insight that can be gained from the detailed observation of a single school
• the researcher studying schools would need only a few minutes to identify their research population - e.g, all the schools in a particular area. This is because the state publishes lists of schools, where they are located and what type of school they are

Question 15

Schools own data

Answer 15

• what goes on in education is closely scrutinised by the media, parents and politicians. The education system is also highly marketised, with parental choice and competition between schools at its heart
• partly as a result, there is a greater deal of secondary data publicly available about schools, often produced by the schools themselves. This includes exam results and league tables; figures on truancy and subject choices; ofsted reports; government inquiries and schooo policy documents. Schools also produce personal documents, such as reports on individual students
• schools are therefore ‘data rich’ places and sociologist may be able to make use of some of these secondary sources in their research. However some records are confidential and so researchers may not be able to gain access to them
• other school data may pose particular difficulties. E,g, schools with a truancy problem may falsify their attendance figures in order to present a good image and not deter applicants. Similarly, although schools have a legal duty to record all racist incidents, there may be a tendency to downplay such incidents so as to maintain a positive public image
• official statistics on examination performance should be treated with care. Schools may make changes in the curriculum in order to improve their results and create the image that teh school is improving when in reality their may have been little or no change

Question 16

The law

Answer 16

• the law in effect requires young people to attend school in order to be educated. The only other major institution whose inmates are legally compelled to be there is the prison system
• having such a ‘captive population’ to study have both advantages and disadvantages. E.g, the researcher will know where everyone is - or at least, where they should be - at any given moment. On the other hand, since the schools primary role is to educate pupils, heads and teachers may see involvement in research as interfering with the schools most important function
• schools operate within a particular legal framework. E.g, the law requires them to collect information on pupils attendance, achievement and so on, and this may be useful to sociologists. On the other hand, the legal duty of care that schools have towards their pupils may mean the researchers access is restricted

Question 17

Gatekeepers

Answer 17

• head teachers and governors are gatekeepers who have the power to refuse the researcher access to the school. They may do so if they believe that the researcher will interfere with the work of the school or undermine teachers authority.
• according to meighan and harber, heads sometimes view research negatively. E.g, heads reactions to a research project that meighan wanted to carry out consulting pupils about twitching included the following views:
• it is dangerous to involve pupils in commenting on their teachers
• discipline would be adversely affected
• it would be bad from classroom relationships
• children are not competent to judge teachers
• some situations and school setting may be ‘off limits’ to a researcher - e.g, head teachers interviews with parents. Beynon and Atkinson note that gatekeepers such as heads often steer the researcher away from sensitive situations, such as classes where the teacher has poor classroom control

Question 18

School organisation

Answer 18

• schools are a formal organisations with rules and hierarchies. Researchers may come to be seen as part of the hierarchy. E.g, students may see them as teachers, while teachers mya see them as inspectors. In schools where there is conflict, e.g, between students and teachers researchers may even be see as ‘the enemy’
• unlike most other organisations in todays society, many schools are single sex. This may pose problems where the researcher is of a different gender from that of the pupils. E.g, the sociologist may become the focus of attention when they might prefer to keep a low profile, e.g, when conducting participant observation
• schools are relatively large scale, complex, highly organised social institutions. They have daily and yearly timetables, management structures, meetings, schedules and so on, and these may all affect when and how a study can be carried out.
• furthermore, the size and complexity of schools can cause difficulties for researchers, who often comment that it takes them months to work out where everything is and who does in a particular school

Question 19

5. Researching parents

Answer 19

• parents also play an important part in the educational process
• parents can influence what goes on in education, e.g:
• by how they bring up their children
• by their involvement in school through parent teacher contacts, parent governors, attendance at parents evenings etc
• marketisation policies encourage parents to see themselves as consumers, e.g, in choice of school
• however, parents are not necessarily an easy group to study. E.g, they are not a single homogenous group. Their class, gender and ethnicity may all affect how willing or able they are to participate in research
• e.g, pro school middle class parents may be more likely than working class parents to return questionnaires about their children’s education and this will make the research findings unrepresentative
• parental permission is required for many forms of research with pupils. In general, the more sensitive an issue appears to be for parents, the less likely they are to consent to their children participating in research
• parents may engage in impression management, presenting themselves to researchers in a positive light by exaggerating their involvement in their children’s education. E.g, they may lie about whether they attended parents evenings or how often they read to their children. If so, this will result in invalid data being gathered

Question 20

Access to parents

Answer 20

• many sociologists see parents as having a vital role in children’s education. However, most parent children interaction takes place in the home. As a private setting often closed to researchers, this presents particular difficulties. E.g, while classroom interactions between teachers and pupils can often be observed easily, there are few opportunities to observe whether parents help children with their homework
• unlike most other important groups within education, parents are unusual in that they are for the most part physically located outside the school. This may make them more difficult to contact and research
• although lists of parents names and addresses exist is school records, a school would not normally release such information to researches. However, the school might well be happy to help researchers contact parents by using the usual method of sending letters or questionnaires home with pupils. However, this would not necessarily guarantee that parents received them or that pupils always returned the questionnaires that their parents had completed

Question 21

The researchers own experience of education

Answer 21

• virtually everyone has had experience of education. Researchers can draw on their own experience of education, e.g, when formulating their hypotheses or interpreting data.
• however, sociologists personal experiences and familiarity with classrooms and schools can dull their awareness of just how different educational environments are from other social settings. Because sociologists have spent years in school and uni, these places may seem ‘natural’ to them. Thus, when carrying out research, sociologists need to be aware of of their taken for granted assumptions about schools and classrooms, teachers and pupils
• likewise, the researcher has probably been quite successful in education and this may make it difficult for them to emphasise with students in an underachieving, anti social subculture. Similarly, class, gender or ethnic differences between researcher and pupils may hinder the research
• education is also a prominent political issues, with different political parties, pressure groups and individuals holding conflicting opinions about what should happen in schools. Research into educational issues takes place in this political context and the researcher has to be aware that their investigation scans become part of a wider political and media debate