Methods in context

Lab experiments on teacher experiments Harvey and Slatin

• Harvey & Slatin (1976) study: 96 teachers shown photos of children from different social backgrounds, genders, and ethnicities.

• Teachers rated children’s performance, attitudes, and educational suitability.

• Working-class children were rated less favourably, especially by experienced teachers.

Lab expriments on teacher experiments Cherkin

• Used 48 university students to test teacher expectations.

• One-third told their student was highly intelligent, one-third told they were average, one-third given no information.

• The “high expectancy” group used more eye contact and positive body language.

Ethical issues in lab experiments in teacher experiments

• Ethical concerns arise when participants don’t provide real consent.

• Studies could reinforce negative stereotypes or expectations.

• University students, not schoolchildren, reducing ethical concerns.

• However, younger participants might struggle with deception or lack informed consent.

Practical Problems with Studying Teacher Expectations

Many factors influence teacher perceptions, making it hard to control all variables.

Artificiality in Teacher Expectation Experiments

Field Experiments on Teacher Expectations: Rosenthal & Jacobson

Study on “spurters” – randomly chosen students who were expected to improve academically.

Ethical Problems in Rosenthal & Jacobson’s Study

• 80% of students did not benefit from the experiment.

• Deception was used, as teachers believed false information.

Reliability of Rosenthal & Jacobson’s Study

Easy to replicate, repeated 242 times in 5 years.

Validity of Rosenthal & Jacobson’s Study

• Claimed expectations were passed to students through teacher interactions.

• However, they did not observe interactions directly.

Describe Flanders structred observation in education from FIAC

FIAC used to measur epupil-pupil and pupil-teacher interactions quantitatively using a standardised chart to record interactions at 3 seperate intervals, placing each observation into 1 of 10 pre defined categories

Flanders found 68% of class time taken up by teacher talk, 20% by pupil talk and 12% by silence or confusion

Practical issues of structured observations

Teachers may restrict access to classrooms

Require specific training which may cost a lot of money and take up lots of time

Realibility of structured observations

FIAC can be easily replicated as it only has 10 categories

Validity of structured observations

Interpretivsist criticise structured observations for a lack of validity. Delamont argues counting classroom behaviour and classifying it into few predefined categories ignores the meanings attatched by pupils and teachers

Practical issues of unstructured observations

May take lots of tiem to set up, such as Lacey needing 2 months to set up a cover

May be easier to observe classrooms than to interview teachers and students as it disrupts learning less. As well as this, the headteacher is a school studied by Fuller decided that it would be good to have a non-teaching adult around

Parental permission not required

Social characteristics can affect pbservation, such as in Wright’s study there were few black teachers. she found that Afro Caribbean children produced antagonistic reactions from white tecahers, but held black teachers in high esteem

Ethical issues of unstructured observations

Lack of informed consent of at risk groups such as children

Delamont says every observer in a school sees or hears about things that may get students in trouble, some involving the law. What to do with this knowledge is a probelm as the observer may be obliged to report it, however it may then be an abuse of trust to pupils

Validity of unstructured observations

Intepretivists see the main strangths of unstructured observations as its valiity as it provides an authentic understanding of views of social actors

However, the power difference between young people and adults is a major barrier to uncovering the real attitudes and behaviours of pupils as they may promote a false image

rapport can be developed

How does teh Hawthrone effect impact unstructured obersvations

King attempted to belnd into the background of an infant school by spending short amounts of time in the classroom to familarise them with him. In order to not intrude he would even hide in the wendy house

However, Ball asks ‘what did the children think of the tall man in the wendy house? Would this have then changed their behavior despite his efforts to not create a hawthorne effect

Describe the representativeness of unstructured observations

There are around 35,000 shools in the UK but observations may only study a few select students in a single school, such as Willis studying just 12 students

Why are questionnaires often used to study education?

Sociologists use questionnaires to study education because they are a quick, standardised method for gathering data from large groups like pupils, parents, and teachers. They're useful for exploring topics such as pupil achievement, attitudes to schooling, or parental involvement.

What are the challenges of using questionnaires with pupils?

Pupils may struggle to understand abstract questions or complex vocabulary. Their life experience is limited, and they may have a short attention span, especially younger children. This can reduce the validity and reliability of the data.

How does operationalising concepts pose a problem?

Concepts like 'cultural capital' or 'attitudes to education' are hard to define in simple, measurable terms. Pupils may interpret questions differently, making it difficult to collect consistent and valid data.

What issues arise with samples and sampling frames in schools?

Access to schools and permission from gatekeepers like headteachers is needed. Samples may not be representative if only certain schools or pupils agree to take part, reducing the generalisability of findings.

What factors affect access and response rate to questionnaires in education?

Schools may refuse access due to disruption or sensitivity of topics (e.g. drugs or sex). Pupils, teachers, and parents may feel pressured to give socially desirable answers, reducing honesty and data validity.

How does anonymity and detachment affect data quality?

Anonymity helps pupils feel safe to answer honestly, especially on sensitive topics. However, the lack of personal contact means there's no opportunity to clarify misunderstood questions, which may affect data quality.

What are the practical strengths and weaknesses of questionnaires in education research?

They're cheap and quick for collecting large amounts of data, useful in large-scale studies like the London Youth Cohort. But schools may be too busy to help, and teachers or pupils may not cooperate due to workload or suspicion.

What limits the validity of questionnaire responses from children?

Children may misunderstand questions, give socially desirable answers, or forget relevant details. Their answers might reflect what they think adults want to hear rather than their true views.

Why might schools channel questionnaire responses?

Schools may control how questionnaires are distributed to protect their image or avoid controversy. This can bias the sample and reduce the validity of the findings.

How does the researcher's status affect questionnaire use in schools?

Researchers are often seen as outsiders. Pupils may not trust them or take their questionnaires seriously, while teachers may see it as added workload. This can result in low response rates and poor-quality data.