Sociology-RM-Observations in context Flashcards
How are observations mainly used in education?
To investigate classroom interaction and behaviour, attitudes and values of teachers and pupils. Sociologists are interested in a range of possible classroom interaction issues, including gender and classroom behaviour, teacher expectations and labelling, speech codes in the classroom, teacher and pupil racism, and the hidden curriculum
What are structured observations?
Use 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
What are practical issues of using structured observations to investigate education?
Eg Flanders system of interaction analysis categories (FIAC) used to measure pupil-pupil and pupil-teacher interaction quantitatively. Observer uses standard chart to record interactions at three second intervals placing each observation in one of ten predefined behaviour categories. Therefore observations are easily quantified so Flanders found in typical American classroom 68% of the time is taken up by teacher talk, 20% by pupil talk and 12% lost in silence/confusion
What are reliability issues of using structured observations to investigate education?
Likely to be easily replicated. Eg FIAC uses only 10 categories of classroom interaction, making it relatively easy for other researchers to apply in a standardised way. Also generates quantitative data, making findings easier to compare with those of other studies
What are validity issues of using structured observations to investigate education?
Interpretivist sociologists criticise structured observation of classroom interaction for lack of validity. Eg Delamont argues simply counting classroom behaviour and classifying it into limited number of pre-defined categories ignores meanings pupils and teachers attach to it
What are unstructured observations?
Interpretivists favour use of less structured, more flexible, qualitative observational methods. Allow them to gain access to meanings teachers and pupils give to situations by immersing themselves in those situations. Unlike structured methods with observation schedules, this approach does not make assumptions in advance about what the key research issue will be. Sociologists use these observational methods more often than structured ones
What are practical issues of using unstructured observations to investigate education?
Schools are complex places and more time-consuming to observe eg Lacey took two months to familiarise herself with the school. May be easier to gain permission to observe lessons than to interview pupils/teachers, eg head of London School studied by Fuller decided it would be good for the pupils and parental permission was not required. Personal characteristics such as age, gender, ethnicity affect process of observation, eg Wright carried out research when there where few black teachers so her ethnicity produced antagonist reactions from some white teachers, but many black pupils held her in high esteem and would ask her for support. Observations limited by restrictions of school timetable, holidays, control over access, health and safety legislation etc. Schools are also busy public places so observer may find it difficult to find privacy needed to record observations, eg Hammersley noted staffroom conversations covertly on the back of newspapers, and acknowledged he may have made mistakes and relied on his own interpretations
What are ethical issues of using unstructured observations to investigate education?
Additional issues observing young pupils usually means covert approach is not appropriate. Greater vulnerability and limited ability to give informed consent means most observations have to be overt. Delamont shows every observer in schools see/hear things that could get pupils into trouble and maybe even the law. ‘Guilty knowledge’ is an ethical and practical problem-ethically obliged to report wrongdoing but this may breach trust and so pupils may no longer confide in them or cooperate with research. Delamont also notes that, given harm that can be done to participants in schools, additional care should be taken to protect identity, especially in marketised education system where good public image is important for success
What are validity issues of using unstructured observations to investigate education?
Interpretivists believe main strength is its validity as it gives authentic understanding of world view of social actors, especially important when researching issues such as classroom interaction/labelling in schools. Power difference between young people and adults is major barrier that can lead to a false image that undermined validity. However still more likely than most methods to overcome this as it gives researcher opportunity to gain acceptance by pupils. Teachers may be skilled at disguising feeling and altering behaviour when being observed (experience many observations eg OFSTED) which can limit validity. Also problem that language of pupil may be different from researcher making it hard to be certain they understand pupils’ meanings
What are issues of the Hawthorne Effect, when using unstructured observations to investigate education?
Few cover roles in educational setting to allow covert observation. Most observation has to be overt, making it hard to avoid Hawthorne Effect. King tried to blend into background in infant school by spending short periods in classroom to allow children to become more familiar with his presence, and avoided eye contact and requests for help to avoid them seeing him as a teacher, and even hid in the Wendy House to be unobtrusive. Shows how hard it is for adult observer to reduce effect of their presence on pupils’ behaviour
What are representativeness issues of using unstructured observations to investigate education?
Scale of education system is vast-huge amount of educational activity (4000 secondary schools that each have around 70 classes at one time). By contrast most observational studies focus on small number of pupils in a single school, eg Willis study of 12 boys. Small scale results from fact it takes time to become familiar with setting, gain trust and carry out observations. Therefore unlikely to produce representative data. Hammersley considered data he collected in school staffroom as more open to sample bias than his classroom data as many teachers treated him with suspicion so he tended to associated with one group of teachers he had more in common with, making his sample less representative
What are reliability issues of using unstructured observations to investigate education?
Tend to lack reliability as data recording is often unsystematic and hard to replicate. Eg Hammersley who wrote notes on back of newspaper because he was observing staffroom conversations covertly. Secondly, personal characteristics of different observers may evoke different responses eg Wright found that as a black female, she was met with hostility by some white teachers, but readily accepted by black pupils. A white male researcher may well have found the opposite
