Module 2: Task 6a & b - Tools of Inquiry Research

Looking at reader 6 and considering the various options explored, I feel a qualitative approach to research will work best for my proposed chosen line of inquiry;

'Drama to inform emotional literacy and learning to learn'

I have concluded that qualitative research would be more informative as I intend to base a lot of my research around interviews from a small but diverse group of key stage 3,4 and 5 hierarchy - Head teachers, Deputy Heads and Heads of Key Stages - from schools across the Country in both Mainstream and SEN settings.  I also intend to try and vary these with somewhat of an equal balance between Independent, Academies and State funded schools to keep my research open and fair.  As I know a great deal of teachers across the Country already, this should be straight forward enough to arrange as long as I plan times/dates well in advance of when I need to begin analysing my research.

The reasoning behind interviewing school hierarchy is to avoid a biased opinion, for example opinions on how beneficial drama is in teaching emotional literacy through the eyes of the drama/performing arts teacher.  I am however also aware, after speaking with Paula, that Head teachers may be dubious about consenting to give written feedback as this could have negative repercussions, as I previously blogged about;

http://emmacorboz.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/module-2-task-5c-ethics.html

Using the approach in the above blog, I hope to gain the trust and confidence of those I contact when I begin conducting research. 

When conducting these interviews, I plan to use semi-structured questions as I feel this will give a fair balance across my research as all of the questions asked will have been the same from my perspective.  However, by using semi-structured questioning, there is also room for interviewees to share other thoughts without being 'led' into specific answers, something that I am very aware of due to the fact that I am an advocate of the value of drama within educational settings.  Again, as previously discussed in my blog (see link above), being an insider-researcher, I did have a tend to ask 'leading questions' without realising when I began exploring inquiry tools.  This idea ties in well with reflexivity;

'Reflexivity is a term used in social science to signify that the researcher needs to try and be 'as objective as possible' about the inevitability subjective practice of research.  In this sense the issue of bias for the work-based learning researcher becomes less of a question of eliminating it, than acknowledging the part it plays in the research process.'

BAPP Reader 6; Principles of Professional Inquiry (2013-14)

I have also begun looking into extending my professional network to help guide my research.  I found a book entitled 'Creative Shakespeare' which is part of the Globe Education literature.  It has a great many ideas of how to use drama for creative learning and the last chapter gives quotes from former students of the programmes that the Globe run.  I am currently trying to contact someone who may have some positive/negative feedback on drama and the teaching of emotional literacy.  Again, to this point, I currently work with a lady who is an 'ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant), who may have some other interesting experiences/insights to share with me.

Although I need to research deeper into exactly how to approach it, due to the nature and approach to research, I feel that a simple form of 'coding' for analysis may be applicable.  This is something to look into however as I am unsure of how many people would need to be included during interview for this to give a true reflection of ideas. 

As with any research, analysis of selected literature will play an important role within my research to see how the ideas explored within text correlate with the feedback from my interviews.

A tool that may also be good to use, would be observation.  If I could put together a simple lesson plan (one that consisted of exercises and strategies to teach emotional literacy) that a drama teacher could follow whilst I observe the lesson, I may discover new thoughts/opinions for my research.  This would take a great deal of liaising with schools which may be difficult to arrange, especially as most schools work to such a tight schedule already.  Something to look into... 

When discussing how to approach this task with Sinead, we felt it would be most beneficial to conduct our informal trials on each other as we both have subject knowledge of one another's lines of inquiry and will therefore notice, with greater ease, where our inquiry techniques need adjustment, as opposed to speaking to a friend who has no subject knowledge.  This will be helpful to rectify at this stage than when conducting 'real' research in Module 3.  Once we have conducted our informal trials, I will share my thoughts on the processes and my discoveries to go alongside this one, which I can then reflect on at a later date.

Tools that I feel are too limited for my inquiry;

• Surveys & Questionnaires

A survey would have too many restrictions due to the possible negative repercussions (as discussed in the blog link above) for my inquiry and therefore it would be highly likely that I would get only a small number of survey forms back and those would probably be 'in line' with the government ideals on education at the time of survey.  

I could however consider using a questionnaire form over the phone (that I would check answers for) to give a more direct line of inquiry.  Again with this, comes some extremely careful planning to avoid leading questions and I am unsure of whether this would give me any deeper understanding of my questions than an interview would anyway…? 

• Focus Groups

I am considering the role of drama for emotional literacy and learning to learn so my focus group would either have to be students or teachers - people who are involved from both ends during the process of learning.  To use students would be difficult as most KS3/4/5 students will be on individual timetables and therefore trying to get a group into one room at the same time would be virtually impossible.  Again, it would also be next to impossible to arrange  for a group of teachers to take part in a focus group as their time is even more limited than that of students.  In principle, a focus group would be fantastic, especially as I am focussing on qualitative research.  However, the practicalities outweigh the positives within my research.

This task has certainly made me asses where, how and with whom my research would be most beneficial and how to best use the allotted time frame of Module 3. It has also allowed me the opportunity to explore the ethical ideals considered in Part 5, alongside the practical elements of research and showed me the need to gel the two together when researching.