Topic 2: education, The research context

• Research characteristics- researching pupils (power and status)

  There’s three main differences when interviewing kids rather than adults

  • Power and status, children have less power than adults making it difficult for them to state their attitudes and views openly.
  • This is because schools are hierarchal institutions giving teachers higher status and power over pupils
  • Formal research methods reinforce this as the researcher deciding the Qs and not the child
  • Sociologist must consider ways they can overcome the power + status differences between adult researches and kids eg group interviews
• Research characteristics- researching pupils (ability and understanding)

  Peoples vocabulary, self expression, thinking skills and confidence are limited making it challenging to ensure they understood questions

  • Sociologist may also need to give kids more time to understand the questions
  • Kids may unable to recall in detail relevant material
  • It’s difficult to get informed consent
  • It may be important to match the gender and ethnicity of the kid to the researcher
• Research characteristics- researching pupils ( vulnerability, and ethical issues)


  Kids are more variables physical and psychological harm, research must explain research to child and get their informed consent

  • This may be difficult to explain to a child
  • Due to it may cause sociologist should consider if the participation of young people in the research is actually necessary
  • Child protection are very important, personal data should not be kept unless it’s vital to research
  • There’s more gatekeepers controlling access to pupils
• Research characteristics- researching pupils (laws and guidelines)

  As well as child protection laws such as the safeguarding vulnerable groups act 2006 which operates a a vetting and barring scheme on adults working in schools which requires research to have disclosure and barring service checks which may delay or prevent research as from carrying out research

  • Bernardos has developed special codes of practice when researching young people
  • pupils are legally required to attend school so sociologist nowhere to find their target research group
• Research characteristics- teachers (power and status)

  Teachers have power and status due to their experience and responsibility within schools and have a duty of care towards the people they teach

  • Nature of classroom reinforces the power of the teachers they see it as their classroom they may view the researcher as trespassing
  • Research may need to develop a cover to carry out the investigation eg a supply teacher
• Research characteristics- teachers (impression management)

  Teaches are used to being observed, e.g. OFSTED inspections as a result, they will be more willing to be observed

  • However, the main role of a teacher is to put on an act for pupils and others meaning they manipulate the impression that others have of them
  • this is what Goffman calls impression management, manipulating the impression that other people have of us
  • Researches, therefore must find ways to get this impression eg some research is study teachers in the staffroom where teachers dont put on an act
• Research characteristics- teachers (impression management)

  Teachers will be aware that any critical comments they make about the school they work at could affect their career prospects

  • So they may be reluctant to answer certain questions
  • Research can overcome this by using observational methods
  • Teachers may influence which staff is selected to be involved in the research which might not be fully representative of all teachers in the school e.g. head teachers who will convey a favourable image of the school
• Research characteristics- classrooms 


  Access to classrooms is controlled by gatekeepers such as head teachers, teachers and child protection laws. the gatekeepers, the more difficult it is for the researcher to obtain and maintain access

  • Peer groups, when in-school based groups (classes/friends) they may be more sensitive to peer pressure and then they need to conform which may affect the way they respond to being researched. It may be necessary to supervise pupils when filling in questionnaires don’t influence each other answers.
• Research characteristics- researching schools

  Schools own data, due to marketisation there is a great deal of secondary data available about schools, therefore schools are data rich meaning sociologist can use the secondary data in their research. eg League tables figures on truancy and subject choice. however some school records are confidential and other schools falsify their attendance figures

  • The law- going to school is a law it means sociologists have a captive population to study, they know where everyone is, schools collect data on pupils which schools can share with sociologists
• Research characteristics- schools

  Gatekeepers, head teachers and governors are gatekeepers who have the power to refuse researches. Beynon and Atkinson found in some situations, areas of the school may be off-limits such as class as whether the teachers have poor control of a class.

  • School organisation, schools have hierarchies, research and may be seen by pupils as teachers, they may not want to share as they fear they will get in trouble. If it’s a single school, a researcher from a different gender may find it hard to relate to participants.
• Research characteristics- parents

  Parents can influence what goes on in education ET how they bring up their kids, marketisation policies e.g. choice of school and by their involvement in school through parent teacher contracts

  • Parents are an easy group to study as their class, gender, ethnicity may affect how they’re willing to participate in research. eg mc maybe more willing to participate
  • They Engage in impression management to present themself in a positive light by exaggerating their involvement in kids education
  • Parents permission is required for many forms of research with pupils
• Research characteristics- parents

  Access to parents- sociologist see parents are playing a vital role in children’s education, however most of these interactions happen at home which is a private set closed off to researchers

  • A list of parents names exists in school records, schools most likely wouldn’t release them to researcher
  • Schools may be willing to help a researcher contact parents by sending letters home with kids
• Research characteristics- researcher’s own experience of education

  Research as can draw their own experiences of education for example when formulating their hypothesis or interpreting data

  • However, sociologist personal experiences and familiarity with classrooms and schools can their awareness of how different educational environments are from other social settings
  • As they’ve been to uni and school, these places may seem natural to them meaning they need to be more aware of their ‘taken for granted’ assumptions about school, classrooms, teachers and pupils
• Research characteristics- researcher’s own experience of education

  Researcher has probably been successful in education meaning it may be difficult for them to emphasise with underachieving, anti-school subcultures

  • Class, gender or ethnic differences between researcher and pupils may hinder the research