Research instruments for investigating disaffection in secondary schools
In the Norwich Area Schools Consortium we were concerned with identifying disaffected students in our schools so that we could investigate the causes of their disengagement with learning and identify ways of motivating them to achieve.
In the course of our enquiries we devised many research instruments as a means of collecting evidence about the nature of student disaffection, the contributory factors and the ways in which we could intervene for the better. In the following pages we share these instruments with you so that you can learn from and adapt them for your own purposes.
As a consortium we were able to pool expertise from experienced teacher researchers as well as lecturers, doctoral research students and a professor of education from the School of Education and Professional Development at the University of East Anglia.
In the course of our work we gathered evidence from a wide range of perspectives including students, teachers, teaching assistants, headteachers, parents, employers and others involved in working with disaffected young people such as the police. We were also able to draw on documentation and performance data from schools.
Teachers, lecturers, researchers, student teachers and headteachers were all involved at some point in collecting data using the research instruments devised by the consortium research groups.
Our research instruments were devised in response to specific research questions and the data collected subjected to analysis. In the course of our work we produced a range of:
- observation schedules,
- open ended questions,
- interview schedules,
- questionnaires,
- teacher logs.
Our instruments are linked to the key lines of enquiry that informed our study. To find out more follow the links below:
What do students think about school?
How can we identify a disaffected student?
How do students view teaching and learning opportunities in classrooms?
What are the curriculum dimensions of disaffection?
What affect do schools’ systems of rewards and sanctions have on disaffected students?
For a copy of the final report of the Norwich Area Schools Consortium click here
Websites:
Norwich Area Schools Consortium
Rewards and Sanctions
http://www.uea.ac.uk/care/nasc/SOCRATES/Socrates_home.htm
Centre for Applied Research in Education, School of Education and Professional Development, University of East Anglia:
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