The teacher-researcher as a ‘human instrument’
in research with young children.
EDUF3136
Week 4 Lecture
- the role of the teacher/researcher in investigative
projects with young children.
- Critically analyse notions of ‘objectivity’ and
‘neutrality’
- how individuals’ worldviews and preconceived
notions influence the ways in which research is
conducted, analysed and interpreted.
- the importance of making the researcher visible in
the research.
A challenge…
Think of a film or tv show
you like or enjoy
If you analyses the film or
show, how might your biases
influence the analysis?
What would be the usefulness
of applying a theoretical lens
to your analysis?
The Utility of Theory for
thinking about research
Ways to
describe
Theory
• Theory which informs the ways in whichthe
research is designed
• Theory guides research process (Reeves, Albert,
Kuper & Hodges,2008)
Theory as a paradigm
• Theory which informs our understandingsof
phenomena and our worldview
• Theory illuminates findings (Reeves et al.,2008)
Theory as a lens
Theory as new knowledge
• Theory as 'original' insight
• Theory as the outcome of research (Creswell,2014)
Why Use Theory?
“Theories provide complex and comprehensive conceptual
understandings of things that cannot be pinned down: how
societies work, how organisations operate, why people interact in
certain ways.
Theories give researchers different "lenses" through which to look
at complicated problems and social issues, focusing their attention
on different aspects of the data and providing a framework
within which to conduct their analysis.
Just as there is no one way to understand why, for instance, a
culture has formed in a certain way, many lenses can be applied to a
problem, each focusing on a different aspect of it” (Reeves et al.,
2008, p. 631).
Examples of
Theoretical
Tools
Disability inquiry addresses the meaning of
inclusion in schools and encompasses
administrators, teachers, and parents who
have children with disabilities (Mertens,
1998). (Creswell, 2014, p. 62)
Examining racialized discourses raises
important questions about the control and
production of knowledge, particularly about
people and communities of color (Ladson-
Billings, 2000).
The purpose of theory can be to be the:
• Means by which new research data can be interpreted and coded for future use,
• Response to new problems that have no previously identified solutions strategy,
• Means for identifying and defining researchproblems,
• Means for prescribing or evaluating solutions to research problems,
• Ways of discerning certain facts among the accumulated knowledge that are important
and which facts are not,
• Means of giving old data new interpretationsand new meaning,
• Means by which to identify important new issues and prescribe the most critical
research questions that need to be answered to maximize understanding of the
issue,
• Means of providing members of a professional discipline with a common language
and a frame of reference for defining the boundaries of their profession, and
• Means to guide and inform research so that it can, in turn, guide research efforts
and improve professional practice.
(USC, 2018, n.p.)
How can researchers critically examine their interpretations?
Let’s look at some examples of different theoretical perspectives
* phenomenology and bracketing vs a hermeneutical approach
*Theoretical concepts from Foucault to critically examine a positive
behaviour system in kindergarten
Example of using theory to pursue reflection in research practice
–a brief look at phenomenology and ‘bracketing’
AND how a hermeneuticical approach takes a different emphasis
From the reading this week:
“Rather than attempting to control researcher val11es through method or by
bracketing assumption’s, the aim is to consciously acknowledge those
values” (Ortlipp, 2008, p. 695)
Bracketing in Research…
can you
set your assumptions and biases aside
?
Bracketing - drawn from phenomenological research: Phenomenological
research seeks to elucidate meanings and under standings of phenomena
as they areexperienced.
The process of bracketing invites the researcher to set aside, or to be
conscious of, one’s own preconceived understandings – or, the influences of
the many social, historical and political selves within the self.
McMillan (2004) has suggested that bracketing strengthens the internal
validity of a research, as it enables the researcher to make oneself
holographic (visible and yet transparent) in the research, such that both the
reader and researcher can see through the existing “predilections, prejudices,
predispositions, [thereby] allowing things, events, and other people to enter
anew into consciousness, and to look and see them again, as if for the first
time” (Moustakas, 1994, p. 85).
“When a decision to engage in research of a particular experience from a
hermeneutic or phenomenological perspective is made, the researcher begins
a process of self-reflection. For the phenomenologist, this is typically part of
the preparatory phase of research and might include the writing down of
these reflections for reference during the analysis process (Colazzi,
1978; Polkinghorne, 1989). The purpose of this reflection is to become aware
of one's biases and assumptions in order to bracket them, or set them aside, in
order to engage the experience without preconceived notions about what will
be found in the investigation. This awareness is seen as a protection from
imposing the assumptions or biases of the researcher on the study.”
Laverty, S. M. (2003). Hermeneutic Phenomenology and Phenomenology: A Comparison of Historical and
Methodological Considerations. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 21–
35. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940690300200303
"In contrast, a hermeneutical approach asks the researcher to engage in a process of self-
reflection to quite a different end than that of phenomenology. Specifically, the biases and
assumptions of the researcher are not bracketed or set aside, but rather are embedded and
essential to interpretive process. The researcher is called, on an ongoing basis, to give
considerable thought to their own experience and to explicitly claim the ways in which
their position or experience relates to the issues being researched. The final document may
include the personal assumptions of the researcher and the philosophical bases from
which interpretation has occurred (Allen, 1996; Cotterill & Letherby, 1993). Researchers
keep a reflective journal that will assist them in the process of reflection and
interpretation. Hertz (1997) outlines examples of the different selves or roles one might
bring or represent with them to the research endeavor that are likely to influence the
process. The overt naming of assumptions and influences as key contributors to the
research process in hermeneutic phenomenology is one striking difference from the
naming and then bracketing of bias or assumptions in phenomenology. Both of these
positions, however, can be traced to the philosophical beliefs of Husserl and Heidegger.”
(Laverty, 2003)
Example 2: Using theoretical concepts from Foucault to critically
examine a positive behaviour system in kindergarten
Brown, C. P., Englehardt, J., & Ku, D. H. (2023). Instructing the neoliberal student on the conduct of
school: A case study of a schoolwide positive behavior system in kindergarten. Journal of Early Childhood
Research : ECR, 21(1), 91–105. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X221140758
Using ‘Falcon Bucks’ to reward behaviour…. The researchers drew on
Foucault’s work on neoliberalism and biopolitics to examine a positive
behaviour intervention system employed in kindergarten in the US.
Methods
- Video of a 23 minute typical day in kindergarten
- Interviews with staff who participated in the video
- Interviews with children after they had watched the video
- Field notes and memos written by the lead researcher
• “The kindergarteners were also asked what they learned from Falcon Bucks, and Drakar
commented, “You do good things to get Falcon Bucks.” When asked what he meant by good
things, Drakar responded, “Follow the seven habits, be good, listen to the teacher, follow the rules,
and you get Falcon Bucks.” Celeste continued, “You’re learning to be good.” Luis added, “If
you’re quiet in the hall, you can get a Falcon Buck.” Javier made a similar statement, “If you’re
quiet and don’t touch nothing, you can get a Falcon Buck.” Tommy replied, “Yeah, we get a
Falcon Buck, and we can go to the Falcon Cart and get a cape.” Celeste added, “If we get 10
Falcon Bucks, we go to the Falcon Cart.” Luke added, “Or, if you get 15 bucks, you can get a
noise maker.” Luis concluded, “And I want to learn the rules so that I can get Falcon Bucks.”
Combined, these statements demonstrate how this biopolitical system of conduct “socializ[ed]
students toward submission to authority” by offering physical rewards for, as Celeste said,
“learning to be good.”
Brown, C. P., Englehardt, J., & Ku, D. H. (2023). Instructing the neoliberal student on the conduct of
school: A case study of a schoolwide positive behavior system in kindergarten. Journal of Early
Childhood Research : ECR, 21(1), 91–105. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X221140758
Participant Observation
The researcher is involved in the context of where the fieldwork is occurring. Contrast
this with observation.
See page 105 of Groundwater-Smith et al. (2015) for an overview of observation and a
brief discussion of participant observation. (see Reading list for this week).
Considerations of the researcher as a ‘human instrument’ are crucial when we think
about participant observation and how the researcher is involved in the research
process in the fieldwork.
Comics and participatory research
How the comics enhanced participatory research
“The following vignettes are examples of how the comics increased the children’s
participation and led to uncovering deeper insights into their communicative practices. The
examples demonstrate how comics were used to translate the written ethnographic field notes
into visual images that were accessible to the participants noting that children become ‘fluent’
in the language of drawing from a very young age (Anning and Ring, 2004). The resultant
conversations provoked by the comics uncovered richer information and led to more accurate
representations of the children’s communicative practices and lives in the super-diverse
community.” (Tatham, 2023, p. 1724)
Tatham, C. (2023). Enhancing participatory research with young children through comic-illustrated ethnographic field notes. Qualitative Research :
QR, 23(6), 1714–1736. https://doi.org/10.1177/14687941221110186
Comics and
participatory
research cont.
“in moments such as this where the data was enriched by the deeper conversations that were
generated by the comics, and as a consequence, I was able to portray the reality of Aman Ali’s
communicative practices in a super-diverse environment more accurately.
This was not an isolated incident. There were several occasions throughout the research when I
documented children speaking languages that had not been revealed by any other source of data
collection, and were only brought to light as a result of the discussion of the comic depicting the
event.” (Tatham-Fashanu, 2023, p 1725)
Some questions/considerations
• What is the researcher describing they are doing?
• Can you see how the research was involved in the data collection?
Tatham-Fashanu concludes this paper with the comments cited below. Consider how
the involvement by the researcher with the participants/the contexts was beneficial for
the research.
“In summary, this paper has demonstrated how remaining flexible and open to suggestions
from the research participants (i.e. the children) meant that the researcher was able to adapt
the way data was collected from their original plan. Such as ‘ethical responsiveness’
(Chesworth, 2018) led to a more collaborative piece of research with increased
trustworthiness in relation to its findings. This has important implications for any research
that endeavours to listen to the participants’ perspectives, but where verbal or written forms
of communication are impeded.” (Tatham-Fashanu, 2023, p 1725)