Methods In Context

Question 1

How do you ensure power and status when researching pupils?

Answer 1

Structured interviews and questionnaires
Reinforce power differences

Question 2

How does power and status impact a child’s responses?

Answer 2

They feel inferior, feel as though they cannot open up,

Question 3

How does teachers power influence the research?

Answer 3

Schools are hierarchical
Teachers can use their power to select which students are used for the research
Maintains good reputation of the school

Question 4

How can you change the impact of power and status?

Answer 4

Use group interviews instead of one to ones

Question 5

How is ability and understanding affected by researching pupils?

Answer 5

Self expression and confidence is limited for pupils
Sociologists need to word questions well
Difficult to gain informed consent
Memory is less developed to recall events

Question 6

How is vulnerability and ethical issues linked to researching pupils?

Answer 6

Physical and psychological harm
No informed consent
Personal data needs to be vital to the research
Gatekeepers

Question 7

How is laws and guidance related to researching pupils?

Answer 7

Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006- requires researchers to be DBS checked, may delay research

Question 8

What is an advantage of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006?

Answer 8

Can find target research group
they are legally allowed to attend the school

Question 9

What is apart of methods in context

Answer 9

Researching pupils
Researching parents
Researchers own experience of education
Researching teachers
Researching schools
Researching class rooms

Question 10

How can parents influence education?

Answer 10

• how they bring their children up
• involvement in schools through parent governors
• parentocracy in marketisation

Question 11

What affects how active a parent is in their child’s education?

Answer 11

Ethnicity
Class
Gender

Question 12

What is impression management with parents?

Answer 12

Where parents exaggerate their involvement with their child’s education
Invalid

Question 13

How is access to parents shown?

Answer 13

• parents - children interactions happens at home, closed off to researchers
• few opportunities to see parents helping children with homework
• parents are physically located outside of school, difficult to research

Question 14

How can access to parents be helped?

Answer 14

schools could help by sending letters or questionnaires

Question 15

How can researchers show their own experience of education?

Answer 15

• draw on their own experiences when making hypotheses
• sociologists being used to the environment can dull their experience
• allows empathy
• class, gender or ethnicity can hinder the results

Question 16

How do teachers have power and status?

Answer 16

• they have a responsibility over the children
• may see researcher as trespasser in their classroom
• researchers may need to do a covert observation
• got access but have low status jobs, teachers may not see them as equals

Question 17

How does impression management affect the research of teachers?

Answer 17

• they are used to OFSTED inspections and are more willing to be observed
• teachers are good at manipulating the researcher
• researchers can see behind the facade in staff rooms (small spaces could make the researcher stand out)
• use observations rather than direct questions
• headteachers may be biased when selecting their own teacher

Question 18

How is researching schools impacted by the the schools own data?

Answer 18

• highly marketised with parental choice and competition, a lot of secondary data
• eg league tables
• schools may falsify data to have a good image

Question 19

How is researching schools impacted by the law?

Answer 19

• the law requires children to go to school ‘captive population’ - the researcher knows where the target population is
• research could interfere with education
• legal care means access is rejected

Question 20

How is researching schools impacted by gatekeepers?

Answer 20

• headteachers decline access if interferes with education
• discipline would be affected
• children often competent to judge teachers

Question 21

How is researching schools impacted by school organisation?

Answer 21

• in same sex schools if researcher is opposite gender it may pose issues
• school holidays and exam periods may affect research periods
• size of school makes research complex and time consuming

Question 22

What is researching classrooms like?

Answer 22

• highly controlled environment, control over clothes, access, language and setting
• class room environment may not actually represent what students think and feel
• pupils conceal feelings and may do the same to the researcher

Question 23

How do gatekeepers impact researching classrooms?

Answer 23

Make access harder
Child protection laws

Question 24

How do peer groups impact researching classrooms?

Answer 24

Young people may be insecure of identity or status
More sensitive to peer pressure
May differ the way they respond

Question 25

How can you solve peer groups impacting the research of classrooms?

Answer 25

Supervise whilst doing interviews or questionnaires to prevent peer pressure