Experiments

What is an example of a laboratory experiment used within the educational context?

• Harvey + Slatin (1975)

• researched how far teacher expectations of pupil performance were related to perceptions of pupils’ social class

• sample of 96 teachers from 4 elementary schools in US (small sample —> can’t generalise)

• asked sample to judge potential & socio-economic background of anonymous photographs of Black + White children

• perceived socio-economic class more strongly associated with success among White children & with failure among Black children (range of variables: can research intersectionality)

• didn’t show that teachers’ MC bias affected actual academic performance or would be communicated to children

What is an example of a field experiment used within the educational context?

• Rosenthal + Jacobson (1968)

• Oak School (public elementary in USA)

• tested whether teachers’ positive expectations of potential impacts students’ achievement

• longitudinal ~ tested pupils’ scores several times (pre-test which supposedly identified children most likely to show intellectual growth within a year, then retests for 2 years)

• relied on teachers’ accounts to find whether IQ changes were reflected in classroom behaviour

What are the practical disadvantages of using experiments within the educational context?

• field experiments expensive (may need to employ additional teachers & build extra classrooms)

• gatekeepers + parents may be unwilling to allow pupils to be subjected to experiments

What are the ethical disadvantages of using experiments within the educational context?

• deception (eg. Rosenthal + Jacobson 1968 misinformed teachers) so no informed consent

• students randomly allocated to experimental group may receive unequal teacher attention

What are the theoretical disadvantages of using experiments within the educational context?

• field experiments can’t control all variables (eg. Rosenthal + Jacobson 1968 couldn’t control parental expectations)

• difficult to generalise beyond school(s) involved

• lack validity (artificial setting, Hawthorne effect, experimenter bias)

• Interpretivists: don’t capture lived experiences

What are the theoretical advantages of using experiments within the educational context?

• clearly test hypotheses

• can be replicated to test reliability (reliable findings —> generalisations)