Education- Research in Context

• Hill, 2005 - Pupils

  Power and Status: students have less power so won't open up as easily, the school is a hierarchal institution- formal research methods reinforce power differences. Researchers are often intimidating which can limit the validity of answers provided.
• Hill, 2005 - Pupils

  Ability and Understanding: limited vocabulary and powers of self-expression make it hard for students to express abstract research concepts. Questions then need to be worded simply. They have a less developed memory meaning they have poor recall. Pupils aren't heterogenous: they have different classes, ethnicities and genders which produces differences in language. It may then be more appropriate to match pupils to interviewers.
• Hill, 2005 - Pupils

  Vulnerability and Ethical Issues- they are more vulnerable to physical and psychological harm, they then require fully informed consent. Their personal details shouldn't be kept- unless vital. The greater the vulnerability, the more gatekeepers there are, this then makes students particularly hard to access.
• Hill, 2005 - Teachers

  Power and Status- the researcher is seen as a 'trespasser'; teachers aren't fully independent, so the researcher may need a 'cover' to carry out covert research. This then gives the researcher access, but as their groups have lower status, the teachers won't treat them as equals.
• Hill, 2005 - Teachers

  Impression Management: teachers are used to being observed, and have developed an 'act'- Goffman claims that they are highly skilled in impression management; this is manipulating the impression others have of us. Researchers then need to get behind the face- one way is anonymous questionnaires as critical comments can affect their career. They behave differently in the 'front stage' (the classroom) then 'backstage' (the staffroom). Though the backstage settings are often small social areas, meaning that newcomers would stand out which reduces the validity.
• Hill, 2005 - Classrooms

  Gatekeepers: access is controlled, the more gatekeepers the harder it becomes to gain access; it is a highly controlled setting, the behaviours observed may not be reflective of people's true emotions (links to impression management).
• Hill, 2005 - Classroom

  Peer Groups: young people may feel insecure about their identity and status, so school-based groups may be sensitive to peer pressure and feel the need to conform- this affects their response to research; students may then need to be supervised when completing questionnaires.
• Hill, 2005 - School

  School's Own Data: education is closely scrutinised by the media, parents and politicans; education is highly marketised with parental choice and competition being the focus. A great deal of secondary data is available, and often produced by the school, meaning it can be falisfied. This means official statistics shouldn't be taken at face value.
• Hill, 2005 - School

  The Law: requires young people to attend, meaning there is a 'captive population' ensuring the participants are there. But the schools role is to educate, gatekeepers may see involvement in research as interfering with the main function of the school. This is especially evident as schools operate within a legal framework.
• Hill, 2005 - School

  Gatekeepers: they can refuse topics which would adversely effect classroom relationships arguing children; cannot accurately judge a teacher's skill.
• Hill, 2005 - School

  School Organisations: the hierarchal structure means that the researcher is seen as a 'teacher' to students, and 'inspectors' to teachers- this then makes them the enemy overall.
• Hill, 2005 - Parents

  Parents Influence Child's Education: pro-school parents are likely to over participate, or parents may use impression management to exaggerate their roles due to social desirability bias. This causes invalid data.
• Hill, 2005 - Parents

  Access to Parents: parent-child interaction occurs at home, in a private setting, this is then more difficult to locate. Researchers are then reliant on postal techniques, like letters home, though a low response rate is likely- especially when the research is socially sensitive.
• Hill, 2005 - Researcher

  Bias: they draw on their own experiences when making a hypothesis and interpreting data- their own personal experience can then dull their awareness; they may struggle to empathise with those in negative subcultures or underachievers.