Researching schools & colleges

What are the general practical issues with educational research (researching schools & colleges)?

• costs of travel, accommodation, phone calls, photocopying, transcribing etc.

• research budget might eliminate possibility of using certain methods (& might have to employ researcher to do the fieldwork if sociologist has administrative duties etc.)

• must timetable work around academic calendar

• privacy difficult to maintain in school

• political relevance/sensitivity of issues varies, affected availability of funding & willingness of prospective participants

What are the general ethical issues with educational research (researching schools & colleges)?

• informed consent (vocab. used in information sheet about the study must be adjusted to participants)

• may have to submit research proposals to a research ethics committee (REC) at their uni.

What are the general theoretical issues with educational research (researching schools & colleges)?

• power relations may impact informed consent & how honest participants are

• legal requirements may limit research ~ school’s safeguarding procedures may require researcher to undergo Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check/ Data Protection Act 1988 requires personal data to not be kept longer than necessary for study; must then be destroyed or securely archived

What do research ethics committes (RECs) do?

• safeguard participants (eg. primary school students/ special needs)

• advice on ethical implications of study

• grant approval (?) to research