| Educational Enquiry |
|
 |
EDU E891
Educational Enquiry
| Introduction |  |
EDU E891 Educational Enquiry is a 20-credit, postgraduate level course in the Master of Education. The course materials have been adapted from the UK Open University's MA in Education module E891 of the same name. While many of the sources and examples are drawn from the UK, the issues raised about the functions and character of educational enquiry apply in more or less all contexts.
| Course aims | |
This course aims to equip you with the knowledge and resources needed to: understand the key theoretical and methodological issues related to educational enquiry; develop skills in reading and evaluating academic and research-related texts; and produce a small-scale research proposal.
| Learning outcomes |  |
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
Critically analyse the role of research in relation to educational policy-making and practice.
Compare and contrast the principles underlying the different approaches to educational enquiry.
Evaluate the main strengths and weaknesses of quantitative and qualitative research methods.
Assess research reports so as to inform professional practice.
Analyse the political and ethical issues involved in educational research.
Develop a proposal for a small-scale piece of research.
| Course materials | |
EDU E891 includes:
- a Course Guide;
- a Study Guide, with Readings;
- a Course Reader;
- two DVDs, with a Media Guide; and
- an Assignment File.
The Course Guide tells you briefly what EDU E891 is about, what it contains, and how you can work your way through the course. It also gives you information about tutors, face-to-face sessions and assessment. Remember to refer to this Course Guide throughout the course to help clarify important points about studying EDU E891.
Study Guide
This Study Guide includes seven parts, as follows:
Part 1 explores competing views about the nature of professional practice in education, and the implications of these views for the functions of educational enquiry. There is discussion of the role of policy-making, of how educational problems come to be defined and prioritised in the policy arena, and of how research influences this process. Caught up in all this are competing definitions of education in terms of both its goals and its character, as well as different views on the nature of learning and the role of teaching. In recent years, there have been demands that policy and practice should be 'evidence-based', so that the work of educators is framed by clear policies based on research evidence and subject to continual research evaluation. This contrasts with a rather different tradition of thought about the nature of professional practice in education, and about education generally – one that emphasises the role of experienced judgement and reflection on practice.
Part 2 examines the nature of educational enquiry and some of the disputes surrounding it. These concern what counts and does not count as research (and, specifically, educational research), the kinds of findings it can produce and the way it should be pursued. The discussion in this part of the course introduces general principles and issues, and takes in some of the practical strategies and skills involved in undertaking research.
In Parts 3 and 4, discussion revolves around the distinction between qualitative and quantitative methods of research, although some questions are raised about this distinction and the notion of mixing methods is examined. You will explore each of these two broad kinds of work in turn, looking at their relevance in thinking about educational issues and at some of the problems they pose. In these middle parts of the course, you will be asked to carry out various research exercises based on data supplied on the DVD. These exercises are designed to give you experience of elementary forms of data collection, processing and analysis. This will help you in assessing research reports, and provide you with some of the necessary skills and resources for carrying out small-scale enquiries of your own.
Part 5 begins the second half of the course, and presents a detailed introduction to the task of reading research publications and assessing them. As will become clear, a distinctive kind of reading is often required, which is slower and more deliberate than ordinary forms of reading. Furthermore, you will discover that assessing the quality of particular examples of research is by no means a straightforward matter.
Part 6, the penultimate part of the course, returns to the issue of how educational enquiry should relate to educational and other purposes, and considers whether it is, or should be, political. There is also discussion of the ethical issues that arise when undertaking and publishing educational research.
The final part of the course, Part 7, examines different approaches to producing reviews of research literature. These perform a variety of functions. A review of existing knowledge is necessary in almost any research publication, but reviews also play a crucial role in conveying research information to educational policy-makers and practitioners, and to other stakeholders such as parents and students. There has, nevertheless, been considerable dispute over the form that these reviews should take.
The Study Guide includes a wide range of activities, all of which you are strongly recommended to do as you come to them. In particular, take your time working through those activities that require you to read a specific article or chapter from the Reader. Comments on the activities are not always provided and, even when they are, these are not intended to convey a 'correct' interpretation of a reading or task you have done. You will also find it helpful to keep any notes you make for activities close at hand, since you may need to return to them later – for example, when working on your assignments.
Course Reader
The Course Reader is:
Hammersley, M. (ed.) (2007) Educational Research and Evidence-based Practice, London, Sage in association with The Open University.
You will be directed to work on the Reader at various points in the Study Guide, usually as part of course activities, readings and DVD tasks.
While many of the Readings are included in the Course Reader, there are also several other Readings which can be found in the University's E-Library E-Reserve. To read these items, go to the OUHK E-Library and click E-Reserve. Log in, click Accept/Agree on the Copyright Restrictions page, fill in the Course Code box and click Search.
DVDs
The DVDs are organised into three main components:
a short video on the experience of postgraduate study
a set of interviews about educational research, policy-making and practice
observational and interview material from two settings (an early years setting and a lesson in a secondary school) for use in the data-processing and analysis exercises in the Media Guide.
Guidance on the use of the above resources is set out in the Media Guide. In particular, the DVD tasks are concerned with helping you to gain a practical understanding of what is involved in various forms of data collection and analysis.
Assignment File
The Assignment File provides an overview of the nature of the tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) and contains the five assignments for the course, together with guidelines for completing them. In addition, it includes a Project Guide for TMA4 and sections on how to acknowledge your sources and write references.
| Course organizer | |
The following table provides an overview of the course and suggests the amount of time it may take to complete each Part. However, we all have our own pace of learning and approaches to study, so the schedule is only a guide. You can adjust it to fit more closely with your personal needs. The important point is to plan your study schedule carefully. The estimated time, on average, that you need to spend on this course is about 15 hours per week. This estimate includes time for reading the Study Guide and the Readings, completing the activities, writing your assignments, reviewing the study material, and attending the tutorials and day school/lecture.
Study materials Weeks of work Assessment Part 1: Professional practice, policy-making and research 7 TMA1 Part 2: The nature of educational enquiry 8 TMA2 Part 3: Qualitative method: basic principles 5 Part 4: Quantitative method: basic principles 7 TMA3 Part 5: Reading and assessing educational research 5 Part 6: The politics and ethics of educational research 3 TMA4 (Project) Part 7: Reviewing research literatures
4 TMA5 Revision 2 41
5
| Tutors and support | |
To supplement your study, there are 13 two-hour tutorials, one two-hour lecture, one three-hour day school and two 'surgeries' throughout the year – all of which are face-to-face sessions.
In the tutorials, your tutor will answer your questions about any problems you might face during self-study and hold other activities, such as small-group discussions, to facilitate your learning. The lecture will focus on the key issues in Parts 1 and 2 of the course to give you a firm foundation for moving on with the rest of the study material; and the day school will be used mainly for you to consult your tutor on the research proposal required for TMA4. 'Surgeries' are sessions in which you can consult a tutor individually.
In addition to the face-to-face sessions, you can also make use of the online Discussion Board to raise questions, and discuss issues with your tutors, other students and your Course Coordinator. You can also have telephone tutorials with your tutor.
As soon as your tutorial group is confirmed, we will give you the name and phone number of your tutor and notify you of the dates, times and location of the face-to-face sessions. To help you to participate actively in these sessions, you are provided with a Tutorial and Day School Manual which:
- indicates what you should prepare for each session; and
- suggests some activities and questions for discussion.
You are strongly recommended to go through this Manual before each tutorial or day school. All the face-to-face sessions are optional, but attendance and active participation in them will enhance your learning.
In addition to supporting you through face-to-face sessions, online discussion and telephone tutoring, your tutor marks and comments on your assignments, and monitors your progress. When your assignments are returned, pay particular attention to the comments your tutor has written on the TMA form and the assignment.
| Strategy for working through the course | |
The following is a recommended strategy for working through the course.
Organize a study schedule. Refer to the section 'Course organizer' in this Course Guide and to the Study Schedule provided by your Course Coordinator. Note the time suggested for you to spend on each Part and how the assignments relate to the Parts.
Once you have decided on your study schedule, do everything you can to stick to it. The major reason students fail is that they fall behind with their course work. If you get into difficulties with your schedule, please let your tutor and Course Coordinator know before it is too late to help you.Work on the course by reading through the Study Guide. When you come to an activity, follow the instructions and read the assigned article(s) or answer the questions. Also, in Parts 3 and 4, carry out the research exercises on the DVD data. Then return to the Study Guide.
When reading the articles, note the following points:
The main purpose is to illustrate the nature and methodologies of educational research. In studying them, you should focus on these aspects, rather than on the details of the specific topics being researched which may relate to a particular UK context.
The articles vary considerably in level of difficulty. When you are reading those which are particularly demanding, you should aim to grasp the main ideas and arguments. It is not necessary for you to understand all the details.
- The Study Guide often includes brief commentaries on the articles you are asked to read. Go through these commentaries carefully to guide or reinforce your reading.
As you read the course materials, remember to consider the implications for the research proposal which you have to submit for TMA4.
After completing the last part (Part 7) and the final assignment, review the course and prepare for the examination.
| Additional references | |
The course materials outlined earlier provide all the resources needed for you to complete this course. However, some of you may wish to read more about educational issues or methodologies, either to help you understand the course materials better or enhance your understanding of certain research approaches related to your research proposal. For this purpose, we note below a list of reference books and book chapters. The books cover a range of topics in educational research and can be borrowed from the OUHK Library in the normal way. The articles, which focus on specific research methods, are in the Reserve Collection, are normally on loan for two hours and cannot be taken out of the Library. When you wish to consult these articles, please contact staff at the counter.
Books
BASIT, T. N. (2010) Conducting Research in Educational Contexts, London, Continuum International Publishing Group. (LB1028. B375 2010)
COHEN, L., MANION, L. and MORRISON, K. (2011) Research Methods in Education (7th edn), New York, Routledge. (LB1028 C572 2011)
DIMITRA, H. (ed.) (2010) Educational Research and Inquiry: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches, London, Continuum Publishing Group. (LB1028. E3133 2010)
FRAENKEL, J. R., WALLEN, N. E. and HYUN, H. H. (2012) How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education (8th edn), New York, McGraw-Hill. (LB1028. F665 2012)
JOHNSON, B. and CHRISTENSEN, L. (2012) Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Approaches (4th edn), Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications. (LB1028. J59 2012)
LICHTMAN, M. (ed.) (2011) Understanding and Evaluating Qualitative Educational Research, Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage. (LB1028. U5 2011)
MILLS, G. E. (2011) Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher (4th edn), Boston, Pearson. (LB1028.24. M55 2011)
SCHREUBER, J. (2011) Educational Research: The Interrelationship of Questions, Sampling, Design, and Analysis, Hoboken, NJ, Wiley. (LB1028. S285 2011)
Book chapters (on reserve)
The following extracts focus on techniques in using various research approaches:
Questionnaires
JOHNSON, B. and CHRISTENSEN, L. (2012) Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Approaches (4th edn), Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications, pp.161–92.
MENTER, I., ELLIOT, D., HULME, M., LEWIN, J. and LOWDEN, K. (2011) A Guide to Practitioner Research in Education, London, Sage Publications, pp. 104–25.
THOMAS, G. (2009) How to Do Your Research Project: A Guide for Students in Education and Applied Social Sciences, London, Sage, pp. 173–82.
Interviews
BOGDAN, R. C. and BIKLEN, S. K. (2003) Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to Theories and Methods (4th edn), New York, Pearson Education Group, pp. 94–104.
FRAENKEL, J. R., WALLEN, N. E. and HYUN, H. H. (2012) How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education (8th edn), New York, McGraw Hill, pp. 450–58.
LINDLOF, T. R. and TAYLOR, B. C. (2011) Qualitative Communication Research Methods, London, Sage, pp. 170–216.
MENTER, I., ELLIOT, D., HULME, M., LEWIN, J. and LOWDEN, K. (2011) A Guide to Practitioner Research in Education, London, Sage Publications, pp. 126–47.
Observation
BELL, J. (2005) Doing Your Research Project: A Guide for First-time Researchers in Education, Health and Social Science (4th edn), Maidenhead, Open University Press, pp. 184–97.
FRAENKEL, J. R., WALLEN, N. E. and HYUN, H. H. (2012) How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education (8th edn), New York, McGraw Hill, pp. 444–50.
MENTER, I., ELLIOT, D., HULME, M., LEWIN, J. and LOWDEN, K. (2011) A Guide to Practitioner Research in Education, London, Sage Publications, pp. 163–75.
Case studies
BURNS, R. B. (2009) Introduction to Research Methods (4th edn), London, Sage, pp. 459–79.
HAYS, P. A. (2004) 'Case study research' in deMARRAIS, K. and LAPAN, S. D. (eds) Foundations for Research: Methods of Inquiry in Education and the Social Sciences, Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 217–34.
An experimental approach
COBB, P., CONFREY, J., diSESSA, A., LEHRER, R. and SCHAUBLE, L. (2003) 'Design experiments in educational research', Educational Researcher, 32(1), pp. 9–13.
OPIE, C. (ed.) (2004) 'Research approaches' in OPIE, C. (ed.) Doing Educational Research: A Guide to First-Time Researchers, London, Sage, pp. 87–94.
| Course assessment | |
EDU E891 includes two components for assessment: tutor-marked assignments (TMAs), which form the continuous assessment, and a final examination.
Tutor-marked assignments
There are five tutor-marked assignments for the continuous assessment. All assignments will be counted and will contribute 60% to your final course result. You should read the Assignment File for details.
Examination
The examination for EDU E891 will last for three hours and will contribute 40% to the total course result.
To pass the course, you must pass both the continuous assessment (TMAs) and the end-of-course examination.
| Conclusion | |
We hope that by studying EDU E891 you will develop a good understanding of the issues surrounding educational enquiry and its relationship to policy-making and practice.
We wish you every success in the course.
