A topic in research methodology
It is often said that professions, such as teaching, are (or should be) evidence-based or researched. In part, that may mean keeping updated on relevant studies carried out by researchers. However, it also refers to the dual role of practitioners such as teachers in enquiring into their own professional practice.
All researchers should take research ethics very seriously, and there are general guidelines and principles that anyone undertaking research with human participants should follow.
However, when practitioners (teachers, but also nurses, counsellors, etc.) undertake research into their own professional contexts and practice (which is generally to be encouraged) there are usually potential complications than should be considered. In particular there may be role conflict or conflict of interest: that is, what might be best furthering research may not be best for the participants as students.
This page briefly introduces:
- the distinction between theory-directed and context-direct research
- when research needs formal consent
- the need for a suitable gatekeeper in some cases
Theory-directed and context-direct research
A useful distinction is between
- research which a teacher of other practitioner carries out primarily to develop generalisable theoretical knowledge (and so is using their own context and students as a convenient means to undertake research)
- research which is carried out to better understand and improve the professional's own teaching context and practice
Read about theory-directed research and context-directed research
There will generally be enhanced ethical consideration in the first case, because of the potential for role conflicts between teacher-researcher-as-researcher and teacher-researcher-as-teacher. Some of these are highlighted below.
Consent for research?
An aspect of research ethics is that those who participate in our research should offer voluntary informed consent.
Read about voluntary, informed, consent
But practitioners in evidence-informed professions, such as teaching, may be expected to innovate in their classrooms, and so may need to try things out, and so evaluate them, as part of their role. Do teachers and other professionals need consent in these cases? In University contexts there will usually be a clear policy and mechanism for making such decisions (in which case it should be followed) but such infrastructure may be lacking in other contexts such as schools.
As a general principle, research with human participants always needs voluntary, informed, consent. However,this may not apply in some forms of context-directed research if the nature of the research is considered to fall within the teacher's professional responsibility to look to review, evaluate and improve their practice.
It would be silly to suggest that every time a school science teacher wanted to try implementing a new recommended pedagogy for a topic- or perhaps just introduce a different practical activity, or a new audiovisual resource – and monitoring how effective this was, this should be considered a formal research project. (And it would be even more silly to suggest this required consent from students and/or parents because the evaluation aspect amounted to research, but no consent would be needed if the teacher just implemented new ways of teaching without evaluating them!)
The table below (Taber, 2014) offers three suggested principles for deciding when teacher classroom research should be considered to need student and/or parental consent.
The ethical imperative
The teacher carrying out formal research needs to be extra careful to ensure their responsibilities as a teacher are not compromised (or suspected of being compromised) by the research.
"Whenever researching one's own students, it is important to prioritise the 'ethical imperative' and try to contextualise the enquiry within an ethical framework that ensures students know their involvement:
- is voluntary;
- is safeguarded by confidentiality;
- is not linked to any kind of formal class assessment; and
- may be cancelled at any moment by their choice, and without detrimental consequences.
Ultimately, we have to ask why others give us the gift of acting as informants in our research, and offer them the chance to decline or withdraw at any point where they feel participation is not in their interests"
Taber, 2013, p.245
Appointing a gatekeeper
Gatekeepers control access to research sites.
Read about research gatekeepers
However, the teacher-researcher is already in context with unmediated access to potential research participants. It will often make sense (to protect the teacher as much as anyone else) to 'move the gateposts' and find a suitable senior colleague to act as a gatekeeper, critical friend, and an alternative point of contact for participants and/or their parents/guardians.
"If a teacher-researcher suspects that others (other teachers, parents, etc.) could feel that any research they are carrying out with their own students goes beyond the normal innovation and evaluation that is part of being a fully professional teacher, they can avoid any risk of being suspected of behaving inappropriately by identifying a suitable colleague in the school to take on the gatekeeper role. This needs to be someone who is suitably senior so that they would be happy to take on the responsibility of saying 'no' if they thought anything being planned was inappropriate or misguided.
The teacher-researcher should seek permission for the research activities from parents/ students, including a clear statement in the permission letter that in case of any concerns about the project, the student or teacher should contact the named colleague. It is important, in this situation, that the parents and students are clear who they can talk to, and know that that person has the authority to intervene in the case of worries or problems. The teacher-researcher, the senior colleague, the children and the parents should all be clear that it is the senior colleague who is acting as the 'gatekeeper' (although the term does not need to be used)."
Taber, 2013, pp.245-246
Source cited:
- Taber, K. S. (2013). Classroom-based Research and Evidence-based Practice: An introduction (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
My introduction to educational research:
Taber, K. S. (2013). Classroom-based Research and Evidence-based Practice: An introduction (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
