1. Contextualising
educational research

2. Educational research as a social institution
Critical enquiry aimed at informing educational judgements and decisions in order to improve educational
BASSEY 2007
Elements of Education research :
- ideas, values, theories
- policy
- empirical
Educational research as a social institution

3. Elements of social institution:
professional organisation: BERA
professional researchers
academics in universities,
in agencies e.g. NFER
in Government – LAs, DfCSF (old DfES)
as professional educators (schools, colleges, etc)
conferences/ meetings
publications BERJ / RI
represent views to others

4. Role and position of BERA
Aims of Association - to sustain and promote a vital research culture in education
by encouraging:
an active community of educational researchers
by promoting co-operation and discussion:
with policy makers, institutional managers and funding agencies
with other national educational research associations, international associations and the European Educational Research Association
with other researchers in the social sciences and related areas of work and
with teachers and lecturers and their associations

5. by encouraging and supporting:
debate about the quality, purpose, content and methodologies of educational research
by developing and defending:
an independent research culture committed to open inquiry and the improvement of education
by enhancing:
the professional service it provides for its members
effective communication and discussion within BERA; and
the training and education of educational researchers, their effectiveness, conditions of work and rights.

6. Position of BERA A f SE BERA RS BPS D f CSF TDA QCA
Assoc for Science Educ
Royal Society
Qualifications Curric Agency
Training Development Agency
British Psychological Society
Dept for Children, Schs & Families
Position of BERA
A f SE
BERA RS
BPS
D f CSF
TDA
QCA

7. History of ER:
broadest sense: back to Plato/Aristotle (ideas, theories about educational aims/methods)
linked to political and social philosophy – systems side
linked to ethics and psychological philosophy – individual side
as empirical study – arose with development of social and psychological sciences in 19th century
influences from psychology + sociology, especially psychology
since 1970s social turn – greater focus on social

8. Critiques in 1990s:
Hargreaves; Tooley and Darby, Hillage et al.
minimal impact
poor quality
bias

9. Aspects of educational research:
Disciplinary perspective:
psychological, sociological, historical, philosophical etc
Curriculum area: maths, Eng etc
Phase: early years, primary, secondary, tertiary, higher
Themes: leadership & management, special educational needs / inclusion, assessment

10. Diversity and tensions within ER
Paradigms:
scientific interpretive (critical)
Levels of analysis:
psycho
logical
social

11. Critique of educational research:
disciplinary approach – research on education
not research for education – geared to improving policy and practice
disciplinary approach - by social/psychol science academics – WHITTY calls Education Research
Educational Research reserved for education theory generated by practitioner-researchers
Action research model (Whitehead and McNiff, 2007)

12. Activity:
Discuss in groups 2-3
What experience and contact have you had with educational research as a student, practitioner or in some other work role?
What have been the key features that you have noticed about what has counted as ER?
3. In your view, what contextual or systemic factors have influenced the focus, significance and format of the ER in your experience?

13. Current issues in social organisation of ER:
sites of research production:
universities, government, think tanks, political parties, prof. assoc/trade unions, practitioners
role of State in regulating ER
funding, agenda setting, evidence based policies
personnel
change over time / future developments

14. Current issues in social organisation of ER continued:
how is ER funded in various forms?
universities – HEFCE grant-RAE, project funding
agencies – tender/contract
what are implications of these issues for form taken by ER outputs?
accountability system - RAE evaluation
peer review – journal publications

15. Context in UK over last decade:
State has had increasing role in educational research – performance management
NERF
Govt dept more research contracts
ESRC setting research training standard; dispense research funds TLRP
Most universities doing initial teacher education (ITE) not get research funding

16. Context in UK over last decade (continued):
2. RAE rated researchers older ones
3. Lack of ethnic diversity among rated researchers
4. How include researchers from other social sciences?

17. Dilemmas in educational research
Hammersley (2003)
What research requires versus what policymakers/other users want
- complexity of findings v. simple summaries
- users want particular findings v. unpredictable findings
-Examples:
Hay/McBer on effective teaching
Ofsted review on achievement and ethnic minorities

18. 2. Basic versus applied inquiry
- balance between them
3. Commitment to research versus social improvement
- cannot assume commitment to improvement (empowerment etc) will support inquiry positively
- producing knowledge not always lead to improvement, can make worse, not always necessary

19. Real and imagined crises:
the construction of political and media panics
over education:
Read paper by Warmington et al.
Discuss in groups 2-4
Points to consider:
How can educational researchers respond to media in such circumstances?
What other educational areas have there been similar panics/crises?