Methods in Context

• In-school factors that sociologists have researched

  • Teacher expectations and interactions with pupils
  • Student subcultures
  • Setting and streaming
  • Institutional and teacher racism
  • Student achievement and identity formation
• Researching student subcultures

  • Using multiple methods like group interviews and observations
  • How students might react when asked about their education
• Researching setting, streaming, institutional and teacher racism

  • Require more objective approaches
  • Discrimination can be observed or disclosed in interviews
  • Covert methods may be necessary
• Researching student achievement and identity formation

  • Long processes that are difficult to gain insight into
  • Appropriate methods to use
• Practical issues with conducting research on in-school factors include access, time, sample size, and operationalizing variables
• Ethical issues include researching socially sensitive topics, dealing with subcultures and peer interactions, and obtaining consent
• Theoretical issues include measuring complex interactions, impact of the school environment, reliability, and the researcher's theoretical perspective
• Appropriate research methods for in-school factors

  • Observations (including covert)
  • Unstructured interviews
  • Group interviews
• Theoretical perspective

  The theoretical approach that influences a sociologist's choice of research topic, e.g. Marxist, feminist
• Area of interest

  The specific aspect of society that a sociologist specialises in, e.g. education, media, beliefs, family life
• Sociologists influenced by Marxist traditions will ordinarily look at inequalities in society based on social class
• Feminist sociologists will ordinarily look at inequalities between genders in an area of society
• In contemporary society, research in a topic can take years rather than the past where sociologists developed a more theoretical approach
• Funding agencies

  The sources that provide funding for sociological research, e.g. universities, charities, government
• Funding agencies often set the research topics that sociologists have to propose to receive funding
• Career trajectory

  The stage of a researcher's career, which influences their ability to choose their own research topic
• Early career sociologists may have to research areas outside their field of interest to help their career progress
• Established mid-career academics have more freedom to direct their research interests
• Quantitative methods

  Research methods that collect large-scale numerical data, e.g. closed questionnaires, structured interviews
• Qualitative methods

  Research methods that collect in-depth, non-numerical data, e.g. unstructured interviews, observations, personal documents
• Teachers

  • They are human beings and will react in many different ways
  • They are professionals and their actions and behaviors in the classroom often differ from their behaviors outside of the classroom
  • They take on a role in front of students which makes them adept at impression management
  • They are stereotypically quite suspicious of outsiders in their domain the classroom
  • They are usually observed by those that have some form of a power to impact on their careers such as heads and Ofsted inspectors, which may alter their behavior
  • They are not exclusively middle class but their professionalism creates an air of being middle class
  • They are educated to degree level and often above which gives them a certain amount of cultural capital
  • They are employed by schools, which makes them less likely to talk to outsiders about problems in the school for fear of disciplinary action
• Quantitative methods are more likely to be used for research requiring large-scale responses within a set timeframe
• Gaining access to teachers

  1. Gatekeepers such as head teachers are less likely to grant permission if the topic being researched could have negative impacts for the school

  2. Teachers may not want to take part if they have suspicions about the motives of the researcher or if they think that they may disclose something that gets them into trouble
• Qualitative methods are more likely to be used for researching hard-to-reach or vulnerable groups
• Relationship between teachers and researchers

  • Teachers may be more likely to be open with researchers particularly if anonymity is guaranteed
  • However, teacher suspicions may prevent them from engaging with the researcher
• Quantitative methods are preferred by governments as they allow for planning social policies and addressing large-scale issues
• Overt or covert observation in the classroom

  The teacher is unlikely to display their natural behavior due to the Hawthorne effect
• Sample size

  • Researchers may not be able to get enough teachers to form a representative sample, although this is less of a concern for interpretivists
• Universities and charities may stipulate preferred methodologies for the research they fund
• Ethical issues such as social sensitivity are another consideration for researchers
• Teachers being perceived as racist or having labelled students negatively

  It may go against what the teachers got into education for in the first place and could cause them distress
• Functionalist sociologists prefer positivist, quantitative methodologies, while feminist sociologists have developed their own qualitative feminist methodologies
• Protection from harm is a consideration as teachers may disclose information that puts their job at risk or discuss issues that cause them psychological harm
• Ethnographic approaches are favoured by sociologists studying the lived experiences of individuals, particularly the disadvantaged
• Confidentiality and anonymity are other ethical considerations that researchers need to make when researching teachers
• Hawthorne effect and impression management

  It poses a theoretical issue for researchers in terms of validity, as teachers may be protecting themselves by disclosing false information or underplaying the impact of processes in the school
• The values of a researcher

  Influence their choice of topic and methods
• Funding bodies

  Have significant influence over the choice of research topic and methods
• Sociologists should strive for objectivity in conducting research, even if their personal values influenced the initial topic and method selection
• Marxists are generally skeptical about the purposes of education and this may influence their interactions with teachers