Research characteristics

Question 1

Research characteristics

Answer 1

• Pupils
• Teachers
• Parents
• Classrooms
• Schools

Question 2

Explain factors of Researching pupils

Answer 2

3 major differences between studying pupils & adults:
* Power & status
* Ability & understanding
* Vulnerabiliy
these differences raise PET issues

Question 3

How does power & status raise issues when researching pupils

Answer 3

Young ppl- less power & status-difficult for them to state attitudes & views if challenges adults
e.g hierarchal structure of school give teachers higher status & power over pupils
.
teachers may use power to influence which pupils selected for research-to promote good image of self & school
.
structured interviews/questionnaires reinforce power differences as researcher asks questions & how they are formulated

pupils attitudes towards teachers affect how talk to researcher.
.Pupils who resent power of teacher -less likely to cooperate

To overcome power & status differences:
group interviews-establish a rapport

Question 4

lack of Ability & understanding when researching pupils

Answer 4

Pupils vocabulary ,limted than adults
abstract concepts are central part pf sociological investiagtions-poses problems for researchers
sociologists will need to take care of how word their qs-to young respondents
.
pupils doesn not understanding Qs -difficult to gain informed consent as researcher is not be able to explain nature of research

Question 4

Vulnerability & ethical issues when researching pupils

Answer 4

Young ppl more vulnerable to physcial & psycholgical harm than adults
need to obtain informed consnet
child protection issues are important
questioning young children long time-inappropriate
vulnerability of children-more k=gatekeepers controlling access to pupils like teacherds,heads,parents-makes it difficult to carry out research

Question 5

Researching teachers

Answer 5

Teachers less cooperative
sociasl surveys -kept short-restricting amount of data gathered
* Power & status
* Impression management

Question 6

researching teachers-power & status

Answer 6

Power relationships in school are not equal
teachers have more power because of age
Nature of classroom-reinforces poweer of teacher
researchers need to develop a covert investigation-representing themselves as assistance
althouggh gives access-such roles(assistant) have low status within schools -teachers may not treat as equals

Question 7

Impression management-researching teachers

Answer 7

Teachers are observed e.g ofsted insepoctions-more willing to be observed by researchers
teachers are skilled at impression management-manipulating impression that other ppl have of us
researcher thus needs to find ways to get behind the public act

Question 8

Researching classrooms

Answer 8

The classroom is highly controlled setting-teacher & school control classroom layout & access e.g pupils noice,dress,language
young ppl do not experience this level of surveilance(monitoring) out of their lives
so when researchers observe classroom behaviour -not accurately reflect how they think & feel(lack validity)

Question 9

Researching schools

Answer 9

need to use Large scale surveys as observations are unrepsentaive
Advantages:
can use Schools data-great deal of secondary data available about schools
T-e.g exam results & league tables, -rich in data
Limitations:
E- school records are confidential-so researchers unable to gain access
official statistics on examination reports-should be treated with care
P-gatekeepers-head teachers are gatekeepers -have power to refuse researcher access to school

Question 10

Researching parents

Answer 10

Parents can influence what goes on in education:
* things to consider
* Parents class,gender ethncity
* Engage in impression management
* Parental permission
* acess to parents
how bring up children
Their involvement in schools e.g parent evenings
marketisation policies encourage parents to see themselves as consumerse.g in choice of school
Limitations:
Parents class ,gender ,ethncity affect how willing are to participate in research
Pro school MC parents likely than WC to return Qs about children -making rearch findings unrepresentative
.
E-Parental permission-the sensitivity of the topic of research will influencve whether give consent or not
.
T-parents engage in impression management -presenting themsleves in positive light by exagerrating involvement in childrens education e.g lie about how often attend parent evenings
.
T-acess to parents-parents child interaction take place in home -private setting closed to researchers wheras classroom interactions observed easily their are fewer opportunities to see whether parents help children with HW