Educational issues

Question 1

Truancy

Answer 1

• less likey to be in school, not available to research
• many reasons for why it happens, e.g. anti school subculture
• some truant because of vulnerablity to bullying
• researchers hold guilty knowledge of why they truant

Question 2

Male domination of the classroom

Answer 2

• parents may hold patriarchal views, wont allow children to be involved in the research
• some are obvious e.g. verbal abuse
• others are more difficult to identify, e.g. male gaze
• teachers may moderate their behaviour when being researched

Question 3

Pupil exclusions

Answer 3

• can affect schools admission and image
• being excluded has a stigma for the pupil
• but it can be a badge of honour too, anti school subculture
• not on school premesis, access is limited

Question 4

Teacher racialised expectations

Answer 4

• teachers will attempt to hide it since its illegal
• sometimes presented in subtle manner, harder to identify
• headteachers may not agree to research, can put bad image on school
• schools keep info on any racist ncidents, can provide statistical data
• victims may be unwilling to identify themselves for fear of further abuse, can also welcome an opportunity to share their experiences with a supportive outsider

Question 5

Labelling by teachers/ teacher expectations

Answer 5

• likely to hide actions, have a duty to treat kids fairly
• may not be conscious that they are acting unfairly
• main way expectations are transmitted is through classroom interaction and it is relatively eay to see whats going on in such a small space
• pupils may be concerned to give critical answers, scared of it going back to teacher, researcher can be seen as teacher in disguise
• headteacher may not allow reseach, it can reflect the school badly

Question 6

Material deprivation in the home background

Answer 6

• pupils may not be aware they are materially deprived
• parents may feel guilty for childs position, will not want to be researched
• parents may misrepresent their circumstances out of embarrasment
• pupils, embarrased about living in poverty, participation can lead to low self esteem
• school’s keep info that can be used to identify the matieral situation of pupils e.g. fsm, pupil premium
• if the researcher can gain the trust of parents, they may be more willing to talk as they might see it as a way of getting additional help from the school for their childerm

Question 7

Gender and subject choice

Answer 7

• gender identities not straightforward
• different types of skls - grammar,comprehensive - offer different ranges of subjects, making comparisons difficult
• choice may be less based on gender/individual identity and more on parental pressure
• subjects are not easily put into categories, e.g. biology is seen as feminine but its a science
• subject choice affected by the ways school structure subject selection
• schools do not keep data about the reasons behind different patterns of subject choice

Question 8

Parental attitudes towards education

Answer 8

• many parents likely to present themselves as ‘ideal type’ (pro- education), research has to get behind this front stage behaviour
• some parents, because of work may not be able to attend parents evenings, yet still have a positive attitude to education
• pupil’s view of education maybe different to that of their parents
• attitudes are hard to define, ‘positive attitude’ to education is not clear, abscence of books at home could reflect lack of material resources rather than negative attitude
• schools might provide data about attendance at parents evenings

Question 9

Pupils with learning difficulties

Answer 9

• may be less likely to understand aims and processes of the research
• access harder to get, more vulnerable, child protection laws
• parents maybe less likely to give permission to research, pressure can have a negative effect on confidence and learning
• may have literacy limitations, affect styles of qu asked
• teachers are often protective of those with learning difficulties
• may have memory limitations

Question 10

Classroom interaction

Answer 10

• straightforward, only has to observe pupil to pupil, teacher to pupil interactions
• difficult to observe everything
• observing doesnt reveal what they are thinking
• interaction in larger spaces is more difficult, larger amount of pupils involved
• reseacher may come across ‘guilty knowledge’

Question 11

anti school subcultures

Answer 11

• more likely to truant, makes contact harder
• reseacher may be seen as authority figure, may be unwilling to respnd openly
• if the researcher can gain the trust, they may be more willing to talk as it gives them the chance to speak about their feelings towards the school
• may be hard to get parental consent, dont want their kids being seen as anti school
• head teachers may refuse permission for research that risks creating the impression it has a problem with anti school subcultures

Question 12

meritocracy

5

Answer 12

• schools want to project an image of equal opportunity, HT may not allow it if it undermines this image
• teachers maybe unable to reveal something that undermines meritocratic image
• schools produce lots of data on exam results, fsm, gender, ethnicity. this info is highly relevent to the study of meritcracy
• no data revealing links between parents social class and their childs educational outcomes
• pupils and parents unaware about degree of inequality, no use asking them

Question 13

class inequality

5

Answer 13

• no ready made data, skls dont keep track and record careers of ex pupils
• contacting former pupils is difficult, addresses may be out of date, may not gain access
• former pupils now in w/c jobs may feel theyre a faliure if researched my a m/c person
• schools ay be defensive about the occupational futures of their pupils for fear of been seen as
• failing them