methods in context Flashcards
(43 cards)
1
Q
how would experiments studying education be applied in the classroom
A
- field experiments can be used to study aspects of classroom life
- clear boundaries in space and time make it easier for the researcher to have control over the situation and develop an effective field experiment
- lab experiments can also be used to investigate teachers’ expectations
2
Q
reliability of using experiments to study education
A
- often simple and therefore east to repeat
- although these experiments are not exactly replicable, schools have broadly similar features, so experiments can be repeated in similar ways
- Pygmalion in the Classroom study has been repeated hundreds of times
3
Q
ethical issues of using experiments to study education
A
- experiments on young people target them as more vulnerable, and less able to understand what is happening
- due to these risks, young people are less able to give informed consent
- lab experiments are rarely used due to ethical reasons
4
Q
limited application of experiments to study education
A
- experiments are small-scale, so can usually only examine a single aspect of behaviour
- larger issues in education such as social class cannot be easily studied in this method
5
Q
control of variables in use of experiments to study education
A
- experiments require researchers to control variables in the situation
- schools are large, complex institutions, with many variables affecting behaviours of teachers and pupils
- it is impossible to identify, let alone control, all variables, exerting an influence on teachers’ expectations
6
Q
practical factors with using questionnaires to study education
A
- useful to gather large quantities of basic info quickly and cheaply
- used to correlate factors e.g. achievement, attendance, behaviour with variables e.g. school size, class size, no. staff
7
Q
impact of sampling frames on using questionnaires to study education
A
- schools as a good source of ready-made sampling frames
- kept lists of pupils and staff provide accurate sampling frames from which to draw a representative sample
- there are ready-made opportunity samples of pupils and teachers e.g. class lists
8
Q
impact of response rate on questionnaires to study education
A
- response rates for questionnaires often low
- when conducted in schools, response rates can be higher, as authority of head teacher causes pressure on teachers and pupils to comply
- pupils, teachers and parents accustomed to completing questionnaires issued by the school e.g. student satisfaction surveys
9
Q
impact of researching pupils on using questionnaires to study education
A
- children have shorter attention span, so a short questionnaire more effective then lengthy interviews
- limited info that can be gathered
- pupils with poor literacy skills may be unable or unwilling to complete questionnaires
10
Q
impact of operationalising concepts on using questionnaires to study education
A
- turning abstract ideas into measurable form is difficult, particularly when researching students
- young people have poorer grasp of abstract ideas, so are less likely to understand all questions asked
11
Q
impact of samples on using questionnaires to study education
A
- schools may not keep lists that reflect researcher’s interests e.g. research based around ethnicity, but there may not be data sorted by ethnic origin
12
Q
validity of using questionnaires to study education
A
- life experience of children is narrower, so they may not know the answers to questions
- questionnaires may be of less value due to this
13
Q
response rate using structured interviews to study education
A
- take less time than unstructured interviews
- less disruptive to the schools’ activities, therefore researchers more likely to receive approval for the research
- hierarchal nature of the school means an increase to response rate
14
Q
reliability using structured interviews to study education
A
- easy to replicate
- large-scale patterns in educational behaviour identified
15
Q
validity using structured interviews to study education
A
- young people tend to have better verbal than literacy skills, so interviews more successful than written questionnaires to obtain valid answers
- formal nature means pupils unlikely to feel at ease, and therefore be more forthcoming
16
Q
question design in using structured interviews to study education
A
- more difficult to create questions for use with young people as linguistic and intellectual skills are not fully developed
- may struggle to understand long complex sentences and abstract ideas
- answers have limited vocab and words used incorrectly
- children may need more help and clarification, which does not happen in structured interviews
17
Q
ethical issues in using structured interviews to study education
A
- parental permission required to interview children
- may not be given based on sensitivity of the topic e.g. sex education
- could lead to limited sample and lack of representativeness
18
Q
power and status differences in using structured interviews to study education
A
- pupils and teachers unequal in power and status, affecting their behaviour
- pupils often alter responses to seek adult approval by giving untrue, socially acceptable answers
- children see adults as authoritative figures, so researcher could come across as a ‘teacher in disguise’, particularly in formal interview situations
- reduces validity of the interview data
19
Q
power and status inequality in using unstructured interviews to study education
A
- may overcome barriers of power and status differences
- informality can establish rapport more easily
- e.g. Labov’s research shows unstructured interviews can encourage interviewees to open up and respond more fully
- dat5a is more valid, especially in sensitive topics
20
Q
practical issues in using unstructured interviews to study education
A
- pupils may be inarticulate or reluctant to talk, so unstructured interviews give them time, space and encouragement to work out responses
- younger pupils have a shorter attention span, so may find unstructured interviews too demanding
21
Q
validity in using unstructured interviews to study education
A
- difficulties in communicating with young people mean unstructured interviews may be suitable, as misunderstandings can be cleared up by explaining questions
- children may have more difficulty in keeping to the point
- children may present contradictory or irrelevant responses to questions
22
Q
reliability in using unstructured interviews to study education
A
- maintaining a relaxed atmosphere to put young people at ease can help with reliability
- cannot be standardised, so different interviewers may obtain different results, reducing reliability of findings
23
Q
social desirability in using unstructured interviews to study education
A
- pupils are accustomed to adults ‘knowing better’ so may defer to them in interviews
- children more likely than adults to change their original answer when the question is repeated, as they fear being wrong
- teachers seek to protect their professional self-image, so are likely to represent themselves in the most positive light
- unstructured interviews allow researcher to probe behind this image
24
Q
interviewer training in using unstructured interviews to study education
A
- unstructured interviewing of children requires more training than that of adults
- interviewers need to learn to not interrupt answers, tolerate long pauses, and avoid repeating questions, as children will doubt themselves and change their answers
25
practical issues in using structured observation to study education
- classroom is suited, as is a closed physical and social environment
- relatively easy for researcher to sit at the back of the class and record behaviours into set categories
- short duration of lessons means researcher does not get fatigued
- relative simplicity of these methods in the classroom means they are quicker, cheaper and require less training
- some school situations e.g. playground often involve too many different behaviours to be satisfactorily categorised
26
reliability in using structured observation to study education
- range of classroom behaviours is relatively limited, so limited amount of behaviour categories can be established for use in the observation
- easy to replicate classroom observations
- structured observation produces quantitative data, making comparison straightforward
27
validity in using structured observation to study education
- interpretivists criticise structured observation of classroom interaction for lack of validity
- counting classroom behaviour and classifying it into set amount of pre-determined categories ignores meanings that pupils and teachers attach to it
28
observer presence in using structured observation to study education
- presence of a stranger observing behaviour using a checklist can be off-putting
- likely to affect behaviour of teachers and students, reducing validity
29
validity in using participant observation to study education
- more likely to overcome the problem of status differences between researcher and pupils
- researcher can gain acceptance more easily from pupils, resulting in more validity
- both teachers and pupils are skilled in altering behaviour when being observed by those in authority, making it difficult for researchers to identify if behaviours seen in school are genuine
30
practical issues in using participant observation to study education
- schools are complex, so might take researcher weeks or months to understand its functioning
- classroom observation as less disruptive than interviews, so it may be easier to gain permission
- observation restricted by the school timetable, holidays, gatekeepers (head teacher)
- limited privacy in schools as they are busy, so recording observations can be problematic
31
ethical issues in using participant observation to study education
- pupils more vulnerable than adults, may not be able to give informed consent
- classroom observation normally has to be overt
- protecting school's identity, to avoid a poor public image emerging as a result of the result, ultimately damaging the school's reputation and education of pupils
32
the Hawthorne Effect in using participant observation to study education
- most observation has to be overt
- few 'cover' roles can be taken, as researcher appears as much older than pupils
- the Hawthorne Effect therefore unavoidable
- teachers may be suspicious of an observer, and alter their normal behaviour
33
representativeness in using participant observation to study education
- participant observation of schools and classrooms can only be carries out to a small scale
- education system is vast, with over 35,000 schools and colleges
- therefore, representativeness is virtually impossible to achieve using this method
34
practical issues of using official statistics to study education
- government collects stats from every school in the country, saving sociologists time and money, and allowing for easier comparisons
- stats allow for examination of trends over time e.g. attendance
- governments interested in many of the same educational issues as sociology e.g. inequality in achievement, so these stats are likely to be very useful to researchers
- official definitions of key concepts and issues may differ from those that sociologists use e.g. measuring achievement by 5 A*-C grades at GCSE
35
representativeness in using official statistics to study education
- some OS on education are highly representative e.g. all state schools complete school census three times a year
- impossible for researchers to collect this quantity and range of data themselves
- these OS cover virtually every pupil in the country, so are highly representative
36
reliability in using official statistics to study education
- government uses standard definitions and categories in the collection of educational stats, which is replicated from year to year
- therefore, direct comparisons can be made
- governments may change the definitions and categories e.g. definitions of 'value added' used to measure school performance.
- this reduces reliability
37
validity in using official statistics to study education
- interpretivists see educational statistics as socially constructed e.g. pupil attendance stats are the outcome of definitions and decisions made by parents, teachers and pupils
- schools may manipulate their statistical records because there is pressure on them to present themselves positively to maintain their funding and parental support, undermining validity
- some educational statistics are less open to manipulation e.g. exam results
38
practical issues with using documents to study education
- as most education is run by the state, and schools compete with each other for consumers, a large amount of info about education is made publicly available
- including: school policy statements, local authority guidelines, school brochures and websites
- other documents include minutes of staff meetings and working parties, and pupils' reports
39
ethical issues of using documents to study education
- few ethical concerns, as public documents have been placed in the public domain
- more ethical problems with using personal documents e.g. school reports
40
reliability of using documents to study education
- many school documents e.g. attendance registers, are in systematic format so researchers can draw direct comparisons
- accidental mistakes made when completing these documents reduce reliability
41
credibility in using documents to study education
- public documents give 'official' picture of what is happening in a school or college
- in education market, schools want to present themselves in the most positive way, so many documents are constructed with a parental audience in mind
- therefore, they are less believable and less valid
42
representativeness in using documents to study education
- some documents not legally required of all schools and colleges, so likely to be representative
- not all behaviour recorded e.g. racist incidents, reducing representativeness
- personal documents produced by pupils or teachers are often less representative as collected in an unsystematic way
43
validity in using documents to study education
- documents provide important insights into meanings held by teachers and pupils, therefore valid
- all documents are open to different interpretations
- age and other differences between researcher and pupils mean researcher cannot be sure their interpretation of the meaning of pupils' personal documents is accurate
