Further, further considerations!

Okay, so it seems that now I've started reflecting deeper about subjectivity, validity, responsibility and safety (see blogs Further considerations, Laying the Path - part two, and Scribblings), I just can't stop!

What is currently running around my brain is this:

As researcher I aim to involve my participants in meaningful, interesting and engaging research that provides anonymity, confidentiality, safety, and benefit. I can do this by realising, and acknowledging, my reasoning, approach, standpoint and interaction with all aspects of my research and taking steps to limit bias, misrepresentation and overstatement.

However, I'm not just a researcher am I? I'm also a teacher. And a teacher of the students that are participating in my research.

So this leads to a secondary responsibility, and potential area for harm, in that I don't just walk away from things at the end of the research process but continue to have a professional relationship with all participants.
What I'm trying to say is this, what I choose to do with the 'data' during the research is the responsibility of my role as ethical researcher but what I do, or more importantly don't do, with it afterwards, as teacher, has the potential to be way more harmful. For example, students are honest, insightful and open about their experiences in the dance class, yet after collection and analysis, there is no sign, in my teaching, of having taken on board any of their ideas or information. Wouldn't this reinforce the 'nobody really listens to us so what's the point' attitude that some children might feel (based on previous experience of adults).
From an ethical point of view this would also mean that I have failed in my responsibility, as researcher, to ensure that no participant suffers harm, in this case, in a psychological manner, as a result of my research.

In an attempt to eliminate such problems I must ensure to promote, and that each student understands, the limitations of my inquiry and not overstate any claims to 'changing the way I, or others, teach.'

Helen Roberts states,

The 'is it worth it?' 'what will happen to this research?' question is a reasonable response from those with whom we research to the demands made by the researcher on their time (2004).

And, I believe that, firstly, by understanding, and, secondly, by the way I approach the answering of, these two questions - for myself (reflection on) and my students (explanation about) - will affect both research and professional practice.

It is clear to me that time spent before engaging in inquiry, on reading, reflecting, designing, adjusting and planning, is vital to the overall success of my research.
And I mean that not in the 'my research is going to change the world' sense but the 'my first role as teacher/ researcher is, to quote an earlier part of this blog, to involve my participants in meaningful, interesting and engaging research that provides anonymity, confidentiality, safety, and benefit' sense!

 

Further considerations

Over the weekend I've been reading a chapter on discourse analysis, and the notes I've made have caused me to look back in my journal at previous entries and reflect on them from a more informed perspective.

The objectivity v subjectivity of my forthcoming research is something that I've already thought a lot about, and how the very nature of my topic area - student perspectives on motivation in the dance class - cannot really be quantified nor provide scientific models or theories for wider application.
However, I hadn't fully considered just how subjective the nature of my research really was:

'Hearing children's voices' is an active, subjective process in contrast with the positivist depiction of data collection as a neutral process of gathering pre-existing facts that are unmediated my our perceptions and unchanged by our practices of description and representation (Alldred and Burman 2005, pp. 175).

The relativity of 'truth' and 'fact,' which actually links right back to Module 1 (campus session 2, recalled to me a previous piece I had read, Postpositivist Research in Dance (Greene and Stinson, 1999), which also deals with the subject of validity and interpretation in this type of research.

One thing that both pieces place importance on is the open acknowledgement of all aspects of interpretation and subjectivity in any summary of the research, from the very beginnings right through to the end, and beyond.
In order for me to be able to do this I felt it was important that I could accurately pinpoint three facts:

1. Why did I choose this topic?,
2. What are the aims of my research, and/or what claims can I actually make?, and
3. Where will my 'self' be evident?

With this knowledge I now have greater insight into, and can produce strategies to reduce, or if not reduce then identify, where I could 'de-rail' my research. It will also, when presenting my 'finished' project, allow me to inform the reader so that they have a greater understanding of the 'why' and 'what for' of my inquiry, and an awareness of it's limitations.

By identifying myself as a major thread running through this inquiry - my perspective has created and designed it, my ears will 'hear' and my eyes 'see' my students perspectives on it, and my hand and mind will analyse, interpret and report it - I am also able to see that I have a huge responsibility to handle this inquiry with great care and consideration. In particular I must be ultra-aware of, and able to accept and acknowledge, such factors as, for example, context, object-framing, bias, and 'cultural 'taken-for-granteds' (Alldred and Burman 2005, pp. 177).

So, can I formulate any kind of conclusion thus far? Well,...yes!

I am now feel that I have clearer understanding of my reasons for choosing this topic, more confidence in why I have chosen certain methodologies and the basic design of my data collection, more awareness of how context and researcher influence will shape this inquiry as a whole, and that I should not be focused on the limitations of my inquiry, for example, the 'wider application' of my research but on the responsibility I have to student benefit and safety, not just before and during but after the research period.

I also feel that I have been given a great opportunity, as teacher/ researcher, to create something useful, even within the interpretive, and therefore subjective, nature of my research, and that there is already a degree of practical application in that it might offer up an opportunity for others to realise that inquiry is a vital part of professional practice.



References

Alldred, P. and Burman, E. 2005. Analysing Children's Accounts using Discourse Analysis. In: Greene, S. and Hogan, D. eds. 2005. Researching Children's Experience: Methods and Approaches. London: SAGE, pp. 175 - 195.

Green, J. and Stinson, S. 1999. Postpositivist Research in Dance. In: Horton Fraleigh, S. and Hanstein, P. eds. 1999. Researching Dance: Evolving modes of inquiry. University of Pittsburgh Press, pp. 91-123.

Laying the path - part two

In the second half of my blog on the 18th July (Laying the path) I highlighted some areas that I needed to reflect on regarding both the consent letter for the participants and who I would be giving these letter out to. In this blog I wanted to talk about the hows and whys of the decisions that I arrived I and what happened next...

In a desire to create a sample group of students that would be a) representative of each school, and therefore prove a wider cross-section of the students that I interact with in my professional practice, yet b) not cause students to feel either exposed, and therefore unable or unwilling to be honest about their experiences for fear of repercussions, or under-valued by not being asked to participate, I came up with two main criteria (some of which are identified in my inquiry proposal):

1. Students will be between 12-16years of age
I chose this age range as I feel that such a short project, with such a limited sample size, necessitates limiting who is included so as to provide findings that are potentially more representative of a particular spectrum of students. Also, understanding that extrinsic and intrinsic motivators shift in balance once children reach middle school age, and that thinking will have changed from concrete to abstract around the lower end of this age-range, I felt that it was more likely that participants would a) understand the topic of my inquiry, b) be able to provide richer data from their experiences, and c) gain the most benefit from both taking part in the research and, potentially, from when the research is completed.

2. Students will study multiple classes with multiple teachers
My students safety, security, confidentiality and anonymity are at the top of my list when it comes to undertaking this research. It would be unforgivable for me to place any student of mine in a situation where they felt embarrassed, betrayed, let down or, worst of all, where they felt unable to attend certain lessons or even the dance school as a result of my incompetence or ignorance. This said, the reason for choosing students studying more than one lesson a week and with more than one teacher within the school affords two potential benefits,

1. Generalisations of, for example, 'who did what to whom' are much harder to identify if the student is attending several classes. This better protects the students, hopefully stopping them from worrying about things like, for example, 'what if my teacher finds out I'm talking about her' or 'I can't say that in case...' There is also, then, more protection afforded the teachers within the school and other pupils too. 
2. By attending multiple classes with multiple teachers the potential for data is expanded as participants will not only be doing more than one hour a week of dancing but will also be able to drawn on experiences from different styles of teaching, different locations, times, class dynamics/ sizes, etc.

3. Students will not be considering a career in dance
This was included for two reasons, 1) there is already research on professional dance students, for example, in The Student Dancer by Julia Buckroyd, and 2) students who have a desire to pursue a career in dance will have that added level of motivation - to be a success within the field.


Plus, due to the short time-frame and limited resources of this inquiry, I felt it was necessary that all pupils invited were taught by me for at least one of their lessons - to afford greater access to the participants, and vice-versa - and will mean that I will already have built up a certain level of (two-way) trust with each one, which I hope will allow for a more relaxed, honest, and open form of communication.


I used these factors to go through the school registers to select my participants, crossing out all that didn't meet the first two, and then using my knowledge of my students to disregard those that I knew had ambitions to pursue a career in dance. It  left me with, quite fortuitously, a very limited number of pupils, which I decided would be a feasible, although challenging, number of participants. It also allowed for the possibility that some students might not wish to take part, or that might drop out at a later date, without making the sample size too small.
(N.B. I do not feel that it would be at all appropriate for me to ask a second batch of students to 'make up numbers' if there were any negative respondents - how 'valued' would those students feel!!)

Having selected the students to whom I would give letters I then set about creating a letter of consent. I made a couple of changes to the letter I had created for my gatekeepers - based on the BAPP practitioner model consent form (Unknown, 2012) - keeping the language and content exactly the same and just changing the subject from principal to participant. I also wanted, very strongly, to give each student the autonomy to say yes or no to participating in my study, even though I knew I had to gain consent from a parent/ guardian too. To achieve this I wrote the letter to the student not the parent/ guardian, and asked for, firstly, the student to sign and date the letter, then, secondly, the parent/ guardian to sign and date it, then, thirdly, I would sign and date it.

Each letter was given out in a sealed envelope, with the inquiry aims, objectives document attached, and after a brief verbal exchange between myself and each student. It was really inspiring to see the level of enthusiasm with which my letters were received and each student immediately said they'd like to take part. I responded with equal enthusiasm but pointed out that I would like them to talk to their parents about it and that it needed to be signed, but they all felt that their parents would be 'ok' about it too.

I have now received all letters back giving consent to participate in my project, with some equally enthusiastic responses from parents (along with some equally interesting discussions but that's not for this post!), for which I am very pleased, grateful, excited, but also feeling, more than ever, the responsibility I now have to repay my students for their generosity, and the parents for their support too, with an inquiry that is fulfilling, interesting, fun, engaging and worthwhile.

So, it's back to the books and on with the planning...



References
Buckroyd, J. (2000). The student dancer: Emotional aspects of the teaching and learning of dance. Dance Books Ltd.

Denscombe, M. (2010). The good research guide: for small-scale social research projects. Open University Press.

Fraser, S. 2004. Doing research with children and young people. London: Sage Publications

Greene, S. and Hogan, D. 2005. Researching children's experience. London: SAGE

Unknown. 2012. Model consent form for practitioner inquiry. [e-book] LONDON: Institute for Work Based Learning. p. 1. Available through: Middlesex University http://lgdata.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/docs/566/545880/Consent_Form_new_logo23.10.12__IWBL_INQUIRY_BAPP_Arts.doc [Accessed: 18th July 2013].

Scribblings

I have been trying to use those little bits of time, that I often find myself wasting, to get some more reading done, so that I can approach the next term's project from as informed a starting point as possible.
As I've been reading I've been making notes, scribbling down thoughts, and gathering ideas into my journal. I want to share some of them on this post, but without any sense of artistry or refinement, so that not only will I be reflecting on them again in typing but will have an idea, through what I select and what I don't, of what is really important to me at this stage in the process.

1. 31st July 2013
To research confidently, ethically and with informed direction and content I need to understand three things,

                    Student perspectives on motivation in the dance class

Student - researching 'with' not 'on' (France, 2004), gaining trust and not making false claims (Kellett et al, 2004), eliciting true and honest responses from participants (Greene and Hill, 2005), maintaining the 3 P's - protect, provide, participate (Anderson, 2004), provide opportunity within the inquiry for meaningful experience that is relevant to all (Emond, 2005).

Perspectives - inform students (about inquiry, about their role, etc.), allow students to 'create' their interview so as to give maximum opportunity to voice experiences and thoughts - seeing student as social actor not passive recipient (Robinson and Kellett, 2004; Kellett et al, 2004; Fraser and Robinson, 2004), not imposing my ideas as to what should and shouldn't be included in the interview (Fraser, 2004), being aware of my own framing of what 'students' are - their competencies, understanding and value (Westcott & Littleton, 2005)

Motivation - What is it? Why is it important? Can it be enhanced and if so, how? (Sass, 1989; Stinson, 1992) How do I explain it to my students without adding in my interpretation or leading them along a particular way of thinking? Does my understanding of motivation (in particular within the framework of 'the dance class') have any bearing on my inquiry? - acknowledge awareness and accept any limitations.

N.B. The following 'scribblings' will reflect that I am, currently, still concerned with gaining as much knowledge as possible on how best to gather 'student perspectives' as I feel that unless I understand this aspect of my inquiry I will not be able to truly give my students the forum to voice their thoughts on, and experiences of, motivation within the dance class - thus rendering my inquiry valueless!
I will, of course, also need to develop my knowledge of motivation.

2. 29th July 2013 &12th August
Interview design:

• take paper, pens, etc. and ask how student would like to share experiences/ideas? - give control over to student taking power away from researcher...
• researcher asks questions? - thereby framing the data to be 'extracted' from the participants (Westcott & Littleton, 2005) 
• researcher and participant create areas of discussion through negotiation and discourse? - trust is built between both parties, value is placed not only on what student has to say but however they feel it is best presented to the researcher.  
• scatter diagrams/ white board on which to stick post-it notes? - more inclusive than just answering researchers questions or creating narrative accounts of experiences as it allows for shy or verbally insecure students input.
• read from diary? - might open the door to discourse and/ or jog memory of a particular feeling or event but could then be subject to hindsight and revision
• let student just talk about experiences? - takes researcher/ participant a step away from 'giving/ getting the right answer' but, depending on student, this might be nerve-wracking or lead to creation of fantasy or embellishment.

The design of my interview must involve thinking not only about student but about myself too, for example, what is my role within the interview? Am I 'looking for the correct answer to the right question?' Am I approaching my inquiry from the point of view of knowing better than my students or am I listening to each one as expert in their own life? (Westcott & Littleton, 2005).

In creating the right 'mood' for the interview perhaps a statement of my intentions, for example,
"I am asking you to help me with my research in the hopes that I will be able to:

• listen,
• better understand, and
• learn

what motivates students in the dance class."
Then follow this up with, "What do you want to get out of this interview?" or "What made you feel that you wanted to participate in this project?"
By putting both sides 'wants' or needs out in the open I would hope to

1. build trust,
2. share power equally (or more equally),
3. create a collaborative nature to the interview, and/ or
4. have the opportunity to clarify any over-stretching hopes that the student might have for the inquiry, for example, that this research will change the world, etc!

(Westcott & Littleton, 2005; Roberts, 2004)

3. 6th August
Interview setting needs to be considered carefully to minimise potential harm to student (and researcher):

• safe environment?
• relaxing environment?
• private environment?

If I interview in my studio will this reinforce my position as teacher thereby putting pressure on student to give 'right' answers or hold back on what they really want to say? Perhaps using an empty restroom or changing area puts me into their 'territory' and therefore giving student more power? How about asking the student?! (Greene & Hill, 2005).

If area is isolated am I putting both student and myself at risk from outsider danger? Perhaps somewhere private but not far from other people?

Arrangement of room could add to pressure on student if, for example, it takes place in the principals office where students are summoned when in trouble and researcher takes principals seat?

What about protecting myself from possible harm? Keep interview room door open at all times but sit away from door to maintain confidentiality?

(Emond, 2005; Westcott & Littleton, 2005)

4. 3rd August 2013
By choosing students who take classes with multiple teachers within the school - to help eliminate potential harm from identification; to give more variety in experience of motivation - have I reduced the wider application of my research? By definition do my participants have:

• greater intrinsic dance enthusiasm,
• stronger friendships/ greater social networks within the dance class,
• come from wealthier families,

and does this affect motivation?
Does it matter? Should I acknowledge this possibility in my report? And does it all depend on what my students reveal to me?

This also raises the issue of 'who is excluded' again - should I take steps to explain why those not asked were excluded. Yes, I think so - it may be that by not being asked to take part some students might feel under-valued, unimportant, 'not good enough', etc.
So first week back of the term address any classes where there are students of similar ages and explain reasons behind who was asked and who was not.



In (a kind of) conclusion I can see that everything above, and, indeed, the whole crux of how I approach, plan and conduct my research, relies on the answer to a very important question:
Am I looking to provide theoretical frameworks and/ or definitive answers on the topic of motivation to other teachers/ educators/ etc. or is my aim to listen, understand and provide a written interpretation of my students voices around the subject of motivation in the dance class that may provide insight to me, as teacher, and to others on the benefits of giving value to students thoughts and experiences?

N.B. I hope that my answer to this question, if not already clear to you, will become apparent over the next few months as I continue to blog about my journey.


References

Anderson, P. 2004. Ethics. In: Fraser, S., Lewis, V., Ding, S., Kellett, M. and Robinson, C. eds. 2004. Doing Research with Children and Young People. London: Sage, pp. 97-112.

Emond, R. 2005. Ethnographis Research Methods with Children and Young People. In: Greene, S. and Hogan, D. eds. 2005. Reseaching Children's Experiences. London: Sage Publications Ltd, pp. 123-139.

France, A. 2004. Young People. In: Fraser, S., Lewis, V., Ding, S., Kellett, M. and Robinson, C. eds. 2004. Doing Research with Children and Young People. London: Sage, pp. 175-190.

Fraser, S. and Robinson, C. 2004. Paradigms and Philosophy. In: Fraser, S., Lewis, V., Ding, S., Kellett, M. and Robinson, C. eds. 2004. Doing Research with Children and Young People. London: Sage, pp. 59-77.

Greene, S. and Hill, M. 2005. Researching Children's Experience: Methods and Methodological Issues. In: Greene, S. and Hogan, D. eds. 2005. Researching Children's Experiences. London: Sage Publications Ltd, pp. 1-21.

Kellett, M., Robinson, C., and Burr, R. 2004. Images of Childhood. In: Fraser, S., Lewis, V., Ding, S., Kellett, M. and Robinson, C. eds. 2004. Doing Research with Children and Young People. London: Sage, pp. 27-42.

Roberts, H. 2004. Health and Social Care. In: Fraser, S., Lewis, V., Ding, S., Kellett, M. and Robinson, C. eds. 2004. Doing Research with Children and Young People. London: Sage, pp. 239-254.

Robinson, C. and Kellett, M. 2004. Power. In: Fraser, S., Lewis, V., Ding, S., Kellett, M. and Robinson, C. eds. 2004. Doing Research with Children and Young People. London: Sage, pp. 81-96.

Sass, E. 1989. Motivation in the College Classroom: What Students tell us. Teaching of Psychology, 16 (2), pp. 86-88. Available at: http://top.sagepub.com/content/16/2/86.full.pdf+html [Accessed: 19/03/2013].
 

Stinson, S. W. (1992). Reflections on student experience in dance education. Design for Arts in Education, 93 (5), 21-27.

Westcott, H. and Littleton, K. 2005. Exploring Meaning in Interviews with Children. In: Greene, S. and Hogan, D. eds. 2005. Researching Children's Experiences. London: Sage Publications Ltd, pp. 141 - 157.

Laying the path

After posting about how I am hoping to use the Summer for reading and planning (post-module musings), and having had Paula reinforce the potential value of doing so in her recent email, I also wanted to get the permissions 'ball rolling' by getting out my letters of consent before the end of term.

In this inquiry I am planning to use students from two of the schools I am currently working at, and so need to produce two letters of consent - one for the principal of each school (the gatekeeper of my participants) and one for the students themselves, which, due to the chosen age of my study group, requires parents/ guardians consent too.

Using the model consent form on the libguides web page as a starting point I added and subtracted sections to personalise it to my inquiry, and re-worded several sections to ensure I was being as clear and open as possible.
I also felt, and this was suggested in an email from Paula too, that due to the nature of my inquiry topic I needed to produce a separate document that outlined clearly the format my inquiry would take - basically a guide to what I would be asking participants to do and why - then it hit me, I've already produced an outline to submit for approval! So I took the most relevant sections of my Module 2 Inquiry Proposal and trimmed them into a one-page, gatekeeper-/ student-/ parent-friendly guide to my aims, objectives, and how I will approach my upcoming research.

I was initially concerned with gaining written consent from the school principals, as without permission to interact with their pupils I have no inquiry!
I gave both 'gatekeepers' an envelope containing two copies of the consent letter plus my 'inquiry guide'. I felt that it was important that both the principals and I had a copy of the letter - signed by both - as record of what had been agreed. My reason for this being that the letter is a contract, one that requires both parties to uphold their side of the agreement. In having one copy held by either signatory it feels more open, more honest and, hopefully, allows less opportunity for misunderstanding between myself and the school principals (given that my research won't be taking place until after the long Summer break).

I am very pleased to say that I have already received back one letter giving me consent to use students at the school, and although I haven't had the second one back yet I have been given every reason to believe that there will be no problem there either. PHEW!

So now all I have to do is choose which students to give letters to and why - a big decision that needs consideration - after all 'we have to examine the concepts we use in order to ensure that our approach is reasoned and reasonable' (Fraser 2004, p.21).

• Is my sample representative of a) my schools and/ or b) the wider population of local dance school students? After all, my choice of student could alter the validity of my research.
• Will my students be able to talk honestly and freely without feeling worried that talking about certain things might cause problems in the future? To reduce the possibility of this happening I will only be selecting participants that study dance lessons with more than one teacher at the school.
• Motivation is a concept that might prove difficult to some so, therefore, do I choose students whom I believe are able to understand the concept? Or is this predicting and ultimately projecting my own ideas/ conceptions of a student's understanding or ability onto my research? (Greene and Hogan 2005, p.8)  Should the sample group be randomly drawn or hand-picked?
• I also need to consider the impact of not choosing certain students to participate and how they might view this. Is it important that I take steps to explain to all pupils about my research and why, if I decide to pick my sample, some students fit the criteria and some don't? If the aim of my inquiry is to benefit my students as well as others then I must make sure that by not taking part my students aren't demoralised.

Lots to think about, reflect on and post about prior to giving out letters before the end of this term.

Watch this (blog) space!

References

Fraser, S. 2004. Doing research with children and young people. London: Sage Publications

Greene, S. and Hogan, D. 2005. Researching children's experience. London: SAGE

Sinden-Evans, A. 2013. Module 3 WBS 3760 - BA (Hons) Professional Practice (Arts) - Library Subject Guides at Middlesex University Learning Resources. [online] Available at: http://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/content.php?pid=121076&sid=1086992 [Accessed: 18 Jul 2013].

Behind the scenes - pointe shoe makers

An ex-student of mine shared this link on Facebook and it brought back a million memories of excitement, pain, bloodied tights, 'breaking in', darning, fitting, higher vamps, combined soles, and so many, many more thoughts and feelings.

http://spitalfieldslife.com/2013/07/16/the-pointe-shoe-makers-of-hackney/

It's been many years since I wore point shoes but in all this time I never realised that the little symbols on the bottom were marks by the individual makers. I've just looked at a pair I've kept from my final show and would just like to say thank-you to the maker with the starburst mark who, along with countless others, gave me the opportunity to grow from 'wobbly pre-teen' into slightly more graceful student dancer...

S

Post-module musings

So, Module 2 has now been and gone...however, it will not be forgotten as, and we are all aware of this by now, it will colour and shape the way and how of Module 3.

I am pleased that my inquiry has been approved and very much looking forward to collecting in data and undertaking analysis. However, I've been thinking about my own motives/ the motivation behind wanting to look at 'student motivation' and, having read the following article, felt inspired to blog...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-thompson/cell-phone-experiment-by-macarthur-genius_b_3487455.html

The article made me reflect on several things that tie straight into my inquiry, and the usefulness of any research I undertake, but raised two main points for me:

1. Will looking into motivation provide me with tools to improve my students' performance? Or will knowing how to motivate students lead to potentially happier, more satisfied students but provide no 'performance-related' enhancements? Does it matter?
2. Motivation, in the form of rewards and incentives (extrinsic motivation), is short-term, while intrinsic motivation is more sustaining and a part of personal development (Tarr, 2005). However aiming to understand my students ideas and thoughts on motivation better does not mean that I will be able to 'help them to learn' more effectively it will just allow me to provide an environment in which learning can be enabled more effectively. So I must be aware of any 'claims' I make in my report.

I really want my research to be relevant - to me, as teacher/ researcher, and to my students - and be of interest, or even better, of help or use to others. I am hoping that the summer break will give me time to think along these lines, and read further into both my topic area and the research process, will enable me to engage with my inquiry in a clear, ethical and informed standpoint.

S

References
Tarr, L. (2005) Student Success: Motivating Middle School Students through Personal Development. Da Vinci Learning Technologies, Inc. Available at www.studentmindset.com/article-archive. Last accessed 28/02/2013