Ethical Consideration Memo
EDRS 812 - Spring 2005
Erin Peters
When I first started to think about this project, I felt there would be few considerations for ethical discrepancies. Since I was just doing a case study investigating connections among teacher perceptions of science inquiry and the nature of science, student learning, and teacher resources, what would I possibly have to consider? After our class discussion and reading the assigned chapters, I understand that the ethics involved in a qualitative project are much more complicated that I first understood. Since I am doing a case study, the potential participant is the only subject in the study and will be exposed. I need to be conscious and considerate of her position. If there is a gap between the teacher’s perceptions of her understanding of inquiry and my observations of her understanding of inquiry, the participant could experience some anxiety. In presenting the results of the study to my potential participant, I need to keep that in mind. I plan to address this potential problem by continually discussing perceptions of classroom interactions with my participant. In this manner, I can get a better picture of the story I am trying to tell while attempting to reduce anxiety with my potential participant.
I will keep my participant’s identity confidential by asking her to choose a pseudonym to use in all documentation associated with the project. I anticipate that colleagues will ask questions about why I am in her class so often. I plan on addressing this issue by explaining that my potential participant is helping me with a graduate project. Teachers in my building are constantly in each other’s classrooms because we take part in a project, TESA, which requires frequent observations of teacher-student interactions. My colleagues are familiar with the usefulness of classroom observations as a learning tool.
I am a teacher at my research site, so I am trying to anticipate any ethical issues this may raise. One of my responsibilities as Lead Teacher is to bring professional development activities to the science department. My colleagues are comfortable with my role as “cheerleader” for professional development, and they approach my frequent requests for participation in workshops with good nature. I anticipate that my request to do another professional development activity, a research study into how teachers think about inquiry, will be received with good nature too. I work with very qualified colleagues who are always looking for new learning opportunities. Administrators in my county are also supportive of research efforts and have been encouraging classroom research for the past two years rather vigorously.
When I approach my potential participant, I plan to mention time commitments first. Time seems to be the first concern of most teachers, so I want to address this issue first. If the potential participant has a positive reaction to the time commitment, I plan on giving her/him detailed explanations about the ways I will gather data and how the data will be communicated. I will talk about how I will keep the information I gather confidential and describe the ways the participant will have access to what I learn. I plan on showing him/her composite data and conclusions, keeping in mind that any gap between their perceptions and my observations might cause stress. I am hoping to develop a relationship with my potential participant that exemplifies learning as a social activity. I will learn about the process of conducting a qualitative study and about my research question. I hope my participant will learn about the ways educational research can be used to inform classroom instruction.