Methods In Context - Usuing Observation To Investigate Education Flashcards
1
Q
Structured observation
A
- there are several types of observation. At one extreme are highly structured methods using pre categorised observational schedules. Positivists prefer these methods because they enable them to identify and make quantitative measurements of behaviour patterns. These methods are usually non participant
2
Q
Practical issues of structured observation
A
- one example of the structured observation schedules favoured by positivists is the flanders system of interaction analysis categories (FIAC). This is used to measure pupil-pupil and teacher-pupil interaction quantitatively. The observer uses a standard chart to record interactions at three second intervals, placing each observation in one of ten pre defined behaviour categories
- observations can thus easily be converted into quantitative data simply by counting the number of times each type of behaviour occurs.
- the relative simplicity if structured observational methods such as FIAC means that they are quicker, cheaper and require less training than less structured methids
3
Q
Reliability of structured observation
A
- structured observational techniques such as FIAC are likely to be easily replicated. This is because FIAC uses only ten categories of classroom interactions, which makes it relatively easy for other researchers to apply in a standardised way. It also generates quantitative data, which makes the findings easy to compare with those of other studies
4
Q
Reliability of structured observation
A
- interpretivists sociologist criticise structured observation of classroom interaction for its lack of validity. E.g, deal not argues that simply counting classroom behaviour and classifying it into a limited number of pre defined categories ignores the meanings that pupils and teachers attach to it
5
Q
Unstructured observation
A
- interpretivists favour the use of less structured, more flexible, qualitative observational methods. These allow them to gain access to the meanings that teachers and pupils give to situations by immersing themselves in those situations. Unlike structured methods with their observation schedules, this approach does not make assumptions in advance about what the key research issues will be. Sociologist use these observational methods more often than structured ones
6
Q
Practical issues of unstructured observation
A
- schools are complex places and more time consuming to observe than many other settings. It took Lacey two months to familiarise himself with the school, whisk eggleston needed over three months just to set up his cover role for his observations
- however, it may be easier to gain permission to observe lessons than to interview pupils and teachers. The head of London school studied by fuller decided not only that it would be good for the pupils to have a non teaching adult around, but that permission from parents was not requires for her to observe normal school behaviour - whereas it would have been if she had wanted to conduct interviews
- personal characteristics such as age, gender and ethnicity affect the process of observation.
- observation of interactions in school settings is limited by the restrictions of the school timetable, holidays, control over access, health and safety legislation and so on
- schools are busy public places, so the observer may find it difficult to find the privacy needed to record observations.
7
Q
Ethnical issues of structured observations
A
- the additional ethnical issues relating to the observation of young people usually mean that a covert approach to studying pupils is not appropriate. Their greater vulnerability and limited ability to give informed consent means that observation normally has to be overt
- delamont points out that very observer in a school sees and hears things that could get pupils into trouble. In some cases, this may even involve the law, such as when pupils steal from school
- what to do with this ‘guilty knowledge’ is both an ethical and practical problem - ethnically, it could be argued that the researcher is obliged to report the wrongdoing. However, doing so may breach the trust that pupils have placed in the researcher and may mean pupils will no longer confide in them or cooperate with their research
- delamont also notes that, given the harm that can be done to pupils, teachers and schools, additional care should be taken to protect their identity. This is even more of an issues in a marketised education system where a good public image is important to the success of a school
8
Q
Validity of unstructured observation
A
- for interpretivists, the main strength of observation, and especially participant observation, is its validity - it gives us an authentic understanding of the worlds views of social actors. This understanding is particulars important when researching issues such as classroom interaction or labelling in schools
- however, the power difference between young people and adults is a major barrier to uncovering the real attitudes and behaviour of pupils. They may present a false image when being observed by an adult researcher, therefore undermining the validity of the research
- nevertheless, observation is more likely than most methods to overcome this problem, because it gives the researcher the opportunity to gain acceptance by pupils
- a further factor limiting validity is that teachers may be quite skilled at disguising their feelings and altering their behaviour when being observed - e.g, by inspectors and school managers. This may mean that the sociologists data from classroom observations lacks validity
- there is also a problem that the language of the pupils may be very different from that of the researcher. This makes it difficult for researchers to be certain that they are understand pupils meanings
9
Q
The Hawthorne effect in unstructured observation
A
- it is very difficult to carry out covert observation of educational settings, especially classrooms. This is because there are few ‘cover’ roles the researcher can adopt and because they stand out as being much older than the pupils
- this means that most classroom observations has to be overt. However, this makes it very difficult to avoid the Hawthorne effect, where the presence of the researcher influences the behaviour of those being observed
- e.g, king tried to blend into the background in an infant school by initially spending short periods of time in the classroom to allow the children to become familiar with his presence. Vv
10
Q
Representativeness of unstructured observation
A
- the scale of the education system is vast. There are around 4,000 secondary schools and over 30,000 primary schools in England and wales, as well as over 350 colleges. The average secondary schools has around 70 classes taking place at ant one time. The result is a huge amount of educational activity
- in contrast, most observation studies focus on a small number of pupils in just a single school. E.g, Willis studied a core group of only 12 boys. The small scale of such studies results from the fact that it takes time to become familiar either the setting, gain trust of teachers and pupils, and carry out the actual observations. The limited scale of the typical observational study, combined with the sheer size of the education system, mean that observing school interactions is unlikely to produce representative data
11
Q
Reliability of unstructured observations
A
- participant observation studies of education tend to lack reliability. This is because recoding is often unsystematic and hard to replicate. E.g, hammersley found that on one occasion he had to write his notes on the back of a newspaper because he was observing staffroom conversations covertly
- secondly, the personal characteristics of different observes mat evoke differing responses. E.g, wright found that as a black female, she was met with hostility by some white teachers, but was readily accepted by black pupils. A white male researcher may well have found the opposite
