Education With Methods in Context

Education is a field which is of interest to many disciplines, including sociology. Have you ever wondered how education is researched within sociology?

Well, education with methods in context is about helping you think like a sociological researcher; it is asking you to apply your knowledge of Sociological Research Methods to education.

In this explanation, we will primarily be covering research methods in the context of education.

• We will first cover what we mean by education in sociology.
• We will look at education with theory and methods and the sociological Research Considerations around it.
• Then, we will go on to cover research within education with methods in the context of pupils, teachers, and of parenting and families, providing examples of each.
• Finally, we will look at the practical, ethical, and theoretical considerations of such research studies.

Education in sociology

First things first - how do we view education through the lens of sociology?

Education is an activity in which we use and participate in acquiring and sharing knowledge. Sociology is interested in how and why this happens and the way the Education System operates in society.

The field of education studies within sociology is diverse; research ranges from classroom dynamics in pupil referral units to institutional discrimination. We will be covering the broad analyses of most of these topics in the sections below.

What is education with theory and methods?

So now that we've familiarised ourselves with education in sociology, let's look at education with theory in methods in particular. How do researchers go about studying educational settings and dynamics?

Researchers examine the characteristics of their research population and sample. This gives them an understanding of how different groups might respond to being researched and how to conduct research in diverse settings. They study patterns, events and their development, within the context of education, and investigate people’s experiences of the education system.

Within this, researchers must be aware of the different practical, theoretical, and ethical issues they might encounter when conducting research into education with methods in context, and how characteristics such as social class, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and gender intersect with each other.

Education with methods in context: research considerations in sociology

Researchers have two major approaches to consider when conducting research on education.

Positivism

The positivist approach to research stresses the importance of scientific evidence and technique. This approach prefers quantitative research methods such as Official Statistics, lab Experiments, structured questionnaires, and structured Interviews. These methods help researchers investigate and understand trends in education and the relationships between attainment, social class, gender, race, and ethnicity.

Interpretivism

The interpretivist approach to research focuses less on quantifying data and finding correlations between variables, and more on exploring complex ideas and relationships. Although interpretivists also use quantitative research methods such as Official Statistics, they prefer unstructured Interviews and questions, field Experiments, Longitudinal Studies, and observations. These methods help them understand issues in education and educational phenomena beyond empirical evidence.

Research on pupils

Many of the people researchers study are pupils. There are different types of pupils sociologists might want to investigate. Researchers consider their defining characteristics: their racial and ethnic group, gender and sexuality, and social class. Socially, adults have a lot more power than children. Researchers must be cognizant of how this affects pupils' relationships with their parents, families, teachers, and other authorities in education, and with the researchers themselves.

Children and adolescents as research subjects

Some generalisations are made about pupils from different demographics, which may contribute to researcher bias and influence the choice of research method:

• Black pupils are more likely to respond positively to Black researchers than white researchers, or researchers from other ethnic and racial groups because of familiarity and trust.

• Working-class and Afro-Caribbean pupils are more likely to be seen as anti-school and anti-authority and are stereotyped as fatalistic compared to their white and middle-class peers, who are seen as pro-school and compliant.

• Many people see education as feminised, and hegemonic masculinity socialises boys to be tough, show dominance over others, and accept misogyny as a norm. Male pupils may be reluctant to participate in research for fear of being mocked by their peers or choose GCSE topics that are considered 'manly' even if they do not like them.

• Unstructured interviews are seen as more sensitive and empathetic and the preferred choice when researching sensitive topics such as bullying or racism.

There have been many assumptions made about children and adolescents throughout history which still influence educational research today. These include:

• Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 –1778) viewed younger people as innocent beings corrupted by society.

• English philosopher John Locke (1623 – 1704) thought children were born as blank slates, neither inherently good nor bad. He thought the purpose of education was to instil strong morals in children and facilitate learning.

• In the Middle Ages, children were thought of as mini-adults. A study by Epstein et al. (2017) on the adultification of Black children found that Black girls are treated as mini-adults and therefore seen as less innocent, which contributes to harsher punishments. Black girls were less likely to receive support in school¹.

Fig. 1 - Black pupils face discrimination and excessive discipline in schools, such as towards their natural hair.

Research example: Cultural capital

Alice Sullivan (2001) researched cultural capital, which is the value of an individual's skills and knowledge, qualifications, personal presentation, tastes, and cultural interests. The value of these skills changes depending on the setting. For instance, knowledge of European classical music is highly valued in many private schools, but this knowledge is not valued as much at schools situated in working-class areas.

In Sullivan's study, 465 pupils from four different schools completed questionnaires about their hobbies, whether they went to museums or the theatre, and what they read and watched on TV. It also tested pupils' vocabulary and knowledge of famous cultural figures. Sullivan found a link between the pupil’s GCSE performance, high levels of cultural capital, and socio-economic background².

Education with methods in context: examples of research on teachers

Sociologists consider teachers to be employed professionals. They are aware that research may affect their position or role and may alter their behaviour (for example, a teacher may be wary about what they say when being researched). Although not all teachers are middle-class, most teachers are educated to a degree level or above, which means they have more cultural capital than other school staff members.

Teachers as research subjects

Common assumptions and generalisations made about teachers may contribute to researcher bias and influence the choice of research method.

• Teachers are seen as gatekeepers by some and facilitators by others. Much research criticises teachers and schools, so teachers, especially headteachers, may make it difficult for researchers to access information and their research sample.

• Interactions between teachers and pupils can lead to socially sensitive topics.

• Teachers are used to being observed and changing their behaviour depending on who they are being observed by. Teachers may influence pupil behaviour.

• A teacher's background affects how they treat students. Howard Becker argued that teachers evaluate and treat children according to how closely they fit the teacher’s image of the ‘ideal student’.

Research example: Labelling

Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) studied teacher labelling and the self-fulfilling prophecy using a field experiment at an elementary school in California, USA. They wanted to determine the impact of teacher labelling on pupils. Using random sampling, they selected 20% of pupils and gave them an IQ test. They then misinformed teachers about the results to see how they would treat the pupils.

They found that teachers did not have high expectations from the students they had been told were average, but gave the ‘high achievers or bloomers’ most of their time, attention, and support³. Eight months later, the researchers returned to the school and found that regardless of pupils' actual IQ, those whom teachers believed had high IQs had improved academically compared to those whom teachers were told had lower IQs³. Teacher expectation and labelling, sometimes called the Pygmalion effect, is tied to the development of students and impacts their academic achievement.

Rosenthal and Jacobson used deception, meaning teachers and pupils could not give fully informed consent, which is considered essential to research ethics. We will look at the practical, ethical and theoretical considerations in more detail below.

Research on parenting and families

Like pupils and students, parents are not a homogenous group. When researching parents, factors like social class, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, race, and other characteristics need to be considered. While most pupils come from nuclear families, there are many different kinds of families in Britain today. Extended families are common among immigrant communities, interracial families, LGBT families, and many others.

Difficulty in contact and access along with a willingness to participate may differ from family to family and from parent to parent.

Parents and families as research subjects

Some generalisations made about parents and different families which may contribute to researcher bias and influence the choice of research methods include:

• Working-class and middle-class parents have different attitudes to education and learning. It is assumed that working-class parents show less interest in their children’s education and are more fatalistic than middle-class parents.

• Some researchers stereotype South and East Asian pupils as model minorities. They claim South and East Asian pupils have high attainment levels because their parents are more proactive due to cultural attitudes towards education and learning.

• In the United States of America, Afro-Caribbean pupils and students have high attainment levels, as shown by Moses' 2019 study⁴. In the United Kingdom, they have lower attainment levels compared to their American counterparts. Professionals and educationalists have blamed Afro-Caribbean cultural attitudes and parenting for this.

• Although the attainment of pupils from LGBT households has not received much research attention, recent findings show children from same-sex families perform well in school. Mazrekaj et al., (2020) indicate that children raised by same-sex parents from birth perform better than children raised by different-sex parents in both primary and secondary education⁵.

Research example: Douglas' longitudinal study (1964)

JWB Douglas (1964) conducted a longitudinal study of 5362 children born in 1946 to investigate the underachievement of working-class pupils. Douglas followed them through primary and secondary school and measured their abilities at different stages. Douglas found that by the age of 11, the attainment gap had already widened between working-class and middle-class pupils, and that parental attitudes had the most influence on attainment.⁶

Using factors such as the number of times parents visited the school, family size, and early child-rearing practices, Douglas argued that parental attitudes were essential variables in explaining educational attainment. Material deprivation and negative experiences of schooling prevented working-class parents from providing the cultural, economic, and academic support their children needed. Parental attitudes towards education influenced pupils’ views on education; as working-class parents placed less value on education, so did their children.

Fig. 2 - Research has found that educational performance depends on several factors, including material circumstances and parental attitudes.

Practical, ethical, and theoretical considerations in research

It is vital to carefully consider the practical, ethical, and theoretical considerations involved in carrying out research with pupils, teachers, and parents/families alike. Let's look at some of these that may come up in studies like the ones explored above.

Practical considerations

• A lack of or limited funding could derail the research project or cause the researcher to change approach.

• Some forms of research, such as Longitudinal Studies, are very time-consuming and expensive, and may be difficult to get approval for, especially if it is for a “niche” subject area.

• Access is a significant problem with field experiments, as schools may be reluctant to allow researchers in, and teachers and parents may interfere.

• If researchers cannot choose their subjects and use random or opportunity sampling, the research may not be very representative.

• When designing their projects, researchers should remember that their research subjects, from pupils to families, are of mixed academic abilities and from different cultural backgrounds.

• Longitudinal studies must adjust to social changes and developments.

Ethical considerations

• The anonymity of research participants can be difficult to guarantee if they are asked questions that might identify them, e.g. about their area of residence or ethnic group.

• Research participants might be vulnerable, as the research might impact a pupil’s academic performance and risk the teacher’s jobs.

• Deception, as was done in Rosenthal and Jacobson’s field experiment, is highly unethical as there is no informed consent, and it can harm participants. In this case, it negatively impacted pupils’ educational progress and may have affected teachers’ careers.

• Inclusion and exclusion are important ethical issues; who is included and who is excluded can be a result of researcher bias, or because the research is inaccessible to some (e.g. due to language barriers).

• Many working-class families are also vulnerable groups, especially immigrant and LGBT families. Researchers must manage risk to ensure participants are not exposed to social harm.

Theoretical considerations

• It is vital to ensure confidentiality and that participants do not confer while participating in research, particularly for younger pupils.

• Peer groups and peer pressure may affect the answers of participants, especially pupils. This makes it less valid.

• In longitudinal studies such as Douglas’, the sample size is likely to get smaller as people drop out over time. This affects the external validity of the study and the remaining participants may not be representative, making generalisations difficult.

• Researchers cannot control all variables; the Hawthorne effect may occur, obscuring the validity of the results.

• Generally, field experiments have high external validity because they take place in natural settings such as schools, staff rooms, classrooms, and places outside of school.

• Practical issues, such as a lack of funding, can lead researchers to change to more cost-effective methods, e.g. interviews to surveys. While this would ensure the research is highly re-testable, valid, and generalisable, it would change the nature and findings of the study.