Methods in context

Lab experiments on teacher expectations 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.

Ethical issues for experiements

• University students, not schoolchildren, reducing ethical concerns.

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

• Harvey and Slatin used photos of children not real children, so no ethical concerns

• Studies could reinforce negative stereotypes or expectations.

Practical problems in experiments in teacher expectations

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

Artificiality in teacher expectation experiments

• University students, not real teachers, were used.

• Photos of students instead of real interactions reduce ecological validity

Field Experiments on Teacher Expectations: Rosenthal & Jacobson

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

Ethical problems for Rosenthal and Jacobsons study

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

• Deception was used, as teachers believed false information.

Reliability of Rosenthal and Jacobsons study

Easy to replicate, repeated 242 times in 5 years.

Validity of Rosenthal and Jacobsons study

• Claimed expectations were passed to students through teacher interactions.

• However, they did not observe interactions directly.

Provide an example of a structured observation in schools

• Flanders’ system used to measure pupil-pupil and pupil-teacher interactions.

• Standardised chart for recording interactions, making data quantifiable.

• Can be converted into percentages (e.g., 68% of class time spent on teacher talk).

Practical advantages of FIAC - structured observations

Quick, cheap and requires less training than unstructured methods

Reliability of unstructured observations

Easily replicated as Flanders’ system only has 10 categories.

Validity of structured observations

Delamont argues counting classroom behaviour and classifying it into few pre designed categories ignores the meanings attatched by students and pupils

Practical issues for unstructured observations

• Time-consuming, requiring extensive note-taking.

• Easier to gain permission than interviews but may still be restricted.

• Fuller: Black students saw white teachers as authority figures, affecting behaviour, whereas they held black teachers in a high self esteem

Ethical issues of unstructured observations

• Researchers may witness rule-breaking but reporting it could breach trust.

• Pupils are more vulnerable, so covert methods can be inappropriate.

Validity of unstructured observations

Can provide in-depth understanding, but power differences between researchers and pupils may distort true behaviour.

Hawthorne effect in unstructured observations

• Observations in schools are often overt, making students act differently.

• Researcher may attempt to blend in, but their presence still influences behaviour.

representativeness in unstructured observations

Only small samples observed in classrooms, limiting generalisability to wider student populations.

Practical issues with official statistics

• Official statistics on education (e.g. exam results, attendance, exclusions) are readily available and easy to access.

• Large-scale data allows for comparisons over time and between social groups.

• However, they are collected for government use, not sociological research, so may not include relevant categories (e.g. class and ethnicity data may be limited).

representativeness of official statistics

• Government statistics cover all schools in the country, making them highly representative.

• Census data includes all households, giving a full picture of educational achievement by social background.

• However, some statistics (e.g. parental occupation) are based on samples rather than full populations.

Reliability of official statistics

• They are highly reliable as they follow standardised procedures (e.g. school performance tables are compiled in the same way each year).

• However, schools may manipulate data (e.g. excluding poorly performing students before exams).

Validity of official statistics

• Statistics provide quantitative data but do not explain reasons behind trends.

• Schools may deliberately alter records to appear better (e.g. classifying exclusions as ‘authorised absences’).

• Some statistics rely on subjective definitions (e.g. what counts as ‘bullying’ may differ between schools).

Practical issues of documents

• School documents (e.g. inspection reports, teachers’ lesson plans) provide detailed insights into school life.

• Historical documents allow researchers to track changes over time (e.g. old school logs).

• However, access may be restricted, especially for confidential records (e.g. teacher appraisals).

Ethical issues with documents

• Some documents (e.g. school records, pupil files) contain personal data, raising privacy concerns.

• Schools may refuse access to protect their reputation.

• Researchers must ensure anonymity when using sensitive data (e.g. reports on school bullying).

Representativeness of documents

• Official reports cover all schools, but personal documents (e.g. teachers’ diaries, student notes) may only represent specific cases.

• Some historical documents (e.g. old school logs) may be missing or biased, limiting representativeness.

Reliability of documents

• Published documents (e.g. Ofsted reports) follow set formats, making them reliable.

• However, personal documents (e.g. student essays) vary in detail and interpretation.

Validity of documents

• Provide rich qualitative data, offering insights into meanings and experiences in education.

• However, some documents (e.g. school newsletters) may present an idealised version of school life.

Why may questionnaires be ineffective when researching pupils?

• Pupils may not understand abstract concepts.

• They may misinterpret questions.

• Their answers might be invalid due to peer pressure or lack of engagement.

• They may not take them seriously, especially if they’re long or boring.

How does sampling affect the usefulness of questionnaires in schools?

• Schools may refuse access.

• Some groups (e.g. girls, ethnic minorities) may be underrepresented.

• Pupils who skip school or have poor attendance may be excluded.

• Sampling frames may not reflect all students accurately.

What are issues with using official school documents or registers to form samples?

• Registers may not be up to date.

• They may not include excluded or absent students.

• Sampling may miss key demographics such as truants.

What problems exist with using questionnaires to study anti-school subcultures?

• These students may be disruptive or refuse to cooperate.

• They may lie or give misleading answers.

• Valid data is unlikely as they may not take it seriously.

What issues can arise from the format and language of questionnaires for pupils?

• Pupils may struggle with complex wording or long questions.

• They may need clarification, reducing standardisation.

• Difficulties reduce reliability and validity.

What ethical issues may arise when researching pupils with questionnaires?

• Lack of understanding may mean they don’t give informed consent.

• Power imbalances may cause them to feel pressured.

• Questions may raise sensitive issues without support.

Why might structured questionnaires still be useful in school research?

• They are cheap, quick, and can be distributed widely.

• Useful for comparing large groups (e.g. by ethnicity/gender).

• Data can be analysed statistically to identify patterns.

What is the practical advantage of using questionnaires in schools?

• Schools often have ready-made sampling frames (e.g. class lists).

• Questionnaires can be completed during lessons.

• Teachers can help distribute and collect them.

How do anonymity and detachment affect the use of questionnaires in schools?

• Anonymity may encourage more honest responses on sensitive topics (e.g. bullying).

• However, detachment can lead to a lack of depth and understanding.

• Closed questions limit insight into pupils’ lived experiences.

• Self-completed questionnaires may be misunderstood or skipped, reducing validity.

How may young people’s poor intellectual and linguistic skills impact upon interviews in an educational context

Children may be more reluctant to talk

They may not understand some questions

May have limited vocabulary

Shorter attention spans

These factors may lead to misunderstandings and incorrect answers, decreasing validity, so unstructured observations may be more useful

What are the practical issues related to interviews in an educational context

Childrens intellectual and linguistic skills

Powney and Watts note that children tend to be more literal and may pay attention to unexpected details, so researchers require extensive training

Unstructured interviews can take a very long time, so time constraints for teachers mean interviews may have to take place outside of work hours. If taken in school, there will be more distractions

Describe the reliability and validity of interviews in an educational context

Structured interviews produce more reliable data as they are standardised, however they may not rpoduce valid data as young people are unlikely to respond favourably to such a formal style as it makes the interviewer look like a teacher

Bentley took a different approach, where instead of using a formal approach, she showed an image of het playing with her daughter at the start of the interview whilst retaining a relaxed manner, allowing the interviewer and interviewee to develop a rapport, improving validity. However, this isnt standardised and cant be replicated

Describe the response rate of interviews in an educational context

Schools may be reluctant to allow sociologists to conduct interviews during lesson time due to the disruption it causes, or objection to research topic. However, if the researcher can obtain consent for teh interview from the headteacher, teh heirarchal nature of schools benefits them, as teachers and parents will be more likely to consent

How may interviews cause the interviewer to become a ‘teacher in disguise’ and what is the impact of this

Ball notes that if interviewees see themselves as having less pwoer than the interviewer they may lie or exaggerate, reducing validity

Pupils are also accostomed to adults ‘knowing better’ so they may change their answer if tgey think it may have been wrong, further reducing validity. children are more liekly to do this than adults

Describe group interviews in an educational context

Group interviews may reduce validity due to peer pressure influencing peoples answers, as they conform to expected answers rather than giving their own

The free flowing nature of group interviews makes it impossible to standardise, so they are unreliable

However, Greene arhues that group interviews are a suitable use for pupils. They create a safe peer environemnt and reproduce small group settings found in class work as well as reducing the power and status imbalances