How do the Methods We Use Impact Our Understanding of a Topic of Study: Using School Choice Research as an Example
Speaker(s):
Bio: Xin Fan is a PhD student in the School of Education at Durham University. Her doctoral research is fully funded by the ESRC NINE DTP Doctoral Studentship. Xin's doctoral research investigates Chinese rural parents' school choices through a cross-case study that draws on the theoretical tools of Pierre Bourdieu. The research aims to reveal both the structural constraints and the possibilities of individual agency to give a complete picture of rural parents' decision-making. Previously, Xin completed her BA degree in Japanese from Nanjing University and was selected as Outstanding Graduate of Nanjing University in 2019. During her undergraduate study, she spent a year at the University of Tokyo as an exchange student. Xin holds a Master's degree in law from Beijing Foriegn Studies University. She also holds a MA degree in Education and International Development from the University College London with Distinction. Her master's study at UCL was fully funded by the China Scholarship Council. In her master's thesis, Xin analysed China's rural school consolidation policy using the theoretical lens of 'policy-as-text and policyas-discourse' developed by Stephen Ball. She applied critical discourse analysis based on Norman Fairclough's Three-dimensional CDA Framework in analysing the policy documents and interview data. The study formed the basis for her ongoing PhD research.
Abstract:
This debate uses research on school choice in the UK as an example to analyse how different research methods may impact the research process and outcomes, focusing on the research conducted by Diane Reay and her co-researchers (e.g., Reay, 1996; Reay & Ball, 1997), and that of Stephen Gorard and his colleagues (e.g., Gorard et al., 2001; Gorard et al., 2002; Gorard, 2000). The debate will be guided by the following major questions: 1) What are the different research methods used by Diane Reay and Stephen Gorard to study the impact of school choice policies on education stratification in the UK? 2) What are the divergent opinions reached by Reay and Gorard regarding the impacts of school choice policies on education stratification? 3) How do different research methods influence the interpretation and operationalisation of research questions, research design, and data collection and analysis strategies? 4) What are the implications of these divergent findings for policymakers and practitioners?