Education the research context

• EDUCATION: THE RESEARCH CONTEXT
• Research characteristics
• The Methohin Context
• Main groups and settings in education

  • Pupils
  • Teachers
  • Parents
  • Classrooms
  • Schools
• Each of these presents particular problems and opportunities for the sociologist in choosing a suitable method to use
• We also need to take into account the researcher's own personal characteristics
• Researching pupils involves studying children and young people
• Three major differences between studying young people and studying adults

  Power and status<|>Ability and understanding<|>Vulnerability
• These differences create particular ethical and theoretical considerations that researchers need to take into account when researching pupils
• Power and status

  Children and young people generally have less power and status than adults
• This is particularly true of schools, where teachers have higher power and status over pupils
• Formal research methods such as structured interviews or questionnaires tend to reinforce power differences
• Sociologists need to consider ways to overcome power and status differences between adult researchers and young participants
• Group interviews may be a good way to overcome power differences
• Some power and status differences between researchers and pupils will remain regardless of the research methods used
• Pupils' attitudes towards power and status differences between themselves and their teachers are also likely to be significant
• Ability and understanding


  Pupils' vocabulary, powers of self-expression, thinking skills, and confidence are likely to be more limited than those of adults
• This poses problems for researchers, especially when abstract concepts are involved
• Researchers need to be careful in how they word their questions to ensure understanding
• Limitations in pupils' understanding make it more difficult to gain informed consent
• Young people use language differently from adults, complicating the construction of appropriately worded questions
• Younger children may require more time than adults to understand questions
• A young person's memory is less developed than that of an adult
• Pupils are not a homogeneous group; class, age, gender, and ethnicity create differences
• Researching young people raises special ethical issues due to their vulnerability
• Researchers should consider the participation of young people and whether they stand to benefit from it
• It is important to obtain informed consent from young people, not just their parents or teachers
• Child protection laws are very important when researching school-age pupils
• Personal data should not be kept unless vital to the research
• Researchers should consider the form of participation and any stress that may arise
• Young people are more vulnerable to physical and psychological harm
• Gatekeepers control access to pupils, including parents, heads, teachers, local authorities, and school boards
• Child protection laws such as the Safeguard Vulnerable Groups Act, 2006, require researchers to have Disclosure and Barring Service checks
• Ethical concerns have led to the development of special codes of practice for researching young people
• Ethical research practice and children

  Informed consent is a core principle<|>Resist coercion from teachers, parents, or carers
• Special care should be taken when researching at schools
• Teachers are often cooperative, but this can lead to biased data
• Researching teachers involves understanding their power and status
• Teachers may feel overworked
• Classrooms are closed settings that can complicate research