Exploring ethical issues associated with using online surveys in educational research

Online surveys are increasingly used in educational research, yet little attention has focused on ethical issues associated with their use in educational settings. Here, we draw on the broader literature to discuss 5 key ethical issues in the context of educational survey research: dual teacher/researcher roles; informed consent; use of incentives; privacy, anonymity, and confidentiality; and data quality. We illustrate methods of addressing these issues with our experiences conducing online surveys in educational contexts. Moving beyond the procedural ethics approach commonly adopted in quantitative educational research, we recommend adopting a situated/process ethics approach to identify and respond to ethical issues that may arise during the conduct, analysis, and reporting of online survey research. The benefits of online surveying in comparison to traditional survey methods are highlighted, including the potential for online surveys to provide ethically defensible methods of conducting research that would not be feasible in offline education research settings.     

Decolonising curriculum practice: developing the indigenous cultural capability of university graduates

Higher Education - The pedagogical urge to decolonise student thinking has been at the heart of the drive to embed Indigenous knowledge in universities throughout the western world. Despite ongoing...     

Employment and further study outcomes for care-experienced graduates in the UK

Higher Education - Life outcomes for people who spent time in the care of the state as children (‘care-experienced’) are known to be significantly lower, on average, than for the...     

A Study of Bullying in Further Education

Until recently, bullying has tended to be associated with primary and secondary school, but, increasingly, it is being recognized as a phenomenon that exists at all stages and in all aspects of life. This paper is concerned with a level and type of institution with which the idea of bullying might not have been associated. It describes how a recent study into bullying within the 16- to 18-year-old population in a college of further education instigated change within its infrastructure. By promoting an awareness of bullying, it resulted in the implementation of an active Harassment/Anti-bullying Policy.     

Single Mothers’ Experiences of Support at Their Young Children’s School: An Interpretative Phenomenological Approach

This phenomenological study explored six single mothers’ experiences of support at their young children’s school. Themes resulting from interpretative phenomenological analysis suggest the single mothers experienced tangible (e.g., school resources, school-wide events, structural flexibility, teachers’ formal communication) and intangible (e.g., caring relationships with school faculty and staff, experiencing teachers as parenting partners, perceiving acceptance from the school environment) forms of support from their children’s school. Furthermore, results suggest these single mothers experienced intangible supports more prominently than tangible forms of support. The support needs of these single mothers at their young children’s school were also explored including the mothers’ desire for stronger relationships with other parents and families at the school.     

School principals’ views of teacher evaluation policy: lessons learned from two empirical studies

Teacher evaluation accountability policies are emerging worldwide. This study examines principals’ perceptions of teacher evaluation in terms of commonalities and differences arising from two research projects conducted in Portugal and in the US. Perceptions of school principals in regard to a new policy on teacher evaluation as well as its perceived effects at school and conditions for its implementation will be analysed. Findings point to the challenges and successes of coping with mandated accountability measures in two different contexts. Principals balanced perceived conflicting goals, sought maintenance of positive teacher relationships and school culture and managed the tensions of policy implementation and the making sense of its effects at school. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Investigating university tutor perceptions of assessment feedback: three types of tutor beliefs

Feedback is a key element in effective teaching and learning. The issue of how teachers perceive the role of feedback will impact significantly their feedback approaches, the amount of the detail of their feedback and the time and effort expended on the feedback provision. This research was designed with the purpose of exploring how a group of over 50 tutors who were supporting an online university English course perceived, understood and interpreted the processes of assignment feedback. A factor analysis study based on questionnaire data revealed three sets of tutor beliefs towards assessment and tutor feedback: traditional–autonomous–global (TAG), student‐centred (SC) and traditional‐local (TL). Follow‐up in‐depth interviews were conducted with tutors. The TAG tutors saw scores as the most important feedback to students, but doubted the value of detailed feedback. SC tutors maintained that good tutor feedback should offer more than mere scores, and that students needed feedback in order to improve. TL tutors tended to underline all the errors and provide detailed feedback. They were negative towards the idea of their feedback being monitored. The authors identified some differing and converging tutor perceptions on assessment feedback, the understanding of which could arguably play an important role in introducing changes in tutor feedback culture.     

(In)civility and adolescents’ moral decision making online: drawing on moral theory to advance digital citizenship education

Education and Information Technologies - This article draws on moral theory to advance digital citizenship education and explore how adolescents aged 13–16 make decisions when confronted with...