Ethical Considerations

In his Dictionary of Sociology, Marshall (1998) defines “research ethics” (p.556) as “[t]he application of moral rules and professional codes of conduct to the collection, analysis, reporting, and publication of information about research subjects, in particular active acceptance of subjects’ right to privacy, confidentiality and informed consent” (ibid). Ethics do, in essence, represent rules for making decisions about desirable and undesirable values to be adopted or avoided and actions to be achieved based on a rational understanding of what Sauer calls the “common good” (Sauer, 1997, p.1184).

Thus, individual or research ethics can be better understood once they are juxtaposed with the society within which they are performed. It might be argued that in order to conduct an ethical research, one should treat the participants as important and unique human beings within the context of a just and equitable society (May, 2001, p.56; O'Toole, 2006, p.77) and not as a “source of data for analysis” (O'Toole, 2006, p.77). To paraphrase Evans and Jakupec’s (1996) argument, the validity of a research depends on its moral principle of respect of the

people involved. It is not ethically tolerable to abuse the participants’ personality, self-purpose or self-determination (ibid, p.73). This ethical expectancy becomes particularly urgent for the educational research, which engages and invites “people to take part in, or undergo, procedures that they have not actively sought out or requested” (Guilemin & Gillam, 2004, p.271).

Researchers in education need to be aware of the principles and the guidelines of legitimacy and thus, be responsible and accountable for the design and the methods they use, because they are the ones who are the main determinants of the ethical standards of their studies (Anderson & Arsenault, 1998). Simons (2009, p.98) explains the important role of ethics as principles and rules that define the relationship between the researcher and the participants, while she claims that this relationship should be characterised by a sense of trust and respect towards the latter’s dignity and integrity.

In an alternative line of argument, Pring (2001) suggests that instead of equating ethics with rules, principles or codes, it is of paramount importance to consider the impact of the researcher’s virtues, which he calls the “general dispositions to do the right thing at the right time” (p.150), because researchers “[require] very special sorts of virtue, both moral and intellectual” (ibid, p.151), therefore, their ethical practice depends “on the sort of people they are” (Pring, 2003, p.63). Pring (2001) explains that these sorts of virtues entail “the disposition to search for the truth”, “impartiality”, “openness to criticism and co-operation”, “resistance to the blandishments or attractions which tempt one”, “courage”, “honesty”, “concern for the well-being of those who are being researched”,

“modesty”, “humility”, “trust”, and the “ability to keep promises” (ibid, p.151- 152).

Some important ethical considerations made prior to the commencing of

this project were the acquisition of access to the three primary schools in which the project was eventually conducted, and the acceptance by those people whose permission was needed (Cohen et al., 2007, p.51). Access to the schools was first granted by the Ministry of Education in Cyprus to which I submitted an application form detailing the features of my research (the conceptual and procedural frameworks of this inquiry; the rational of the study; the research methods; the place; the duration; the participants; a brief description of the aims and the activities designed for the project and potential risks of the research) (ibid). Once permission by the Ministry was granted, I requested permission from the head-teachers and the class teachers, with whom I met to present my project. Finally, I sought the approval of the parents or legal guardians of the children- participants by means of a written form. In the form I explained that the project was part of my doctoral degree and that its findings were subject to publication; moreover, I stated that a number of participant observations prior and during the research, as well as video and audio recordings and interviews were required. An Ethical Approval form was also obtained by the University of Warwick after my upgrade exam in November 2011.

Informed consents not only concerned the legal guardians, school

authorities and parents, but also all the children who would participate in the research with respect to their rights to self-determination, freedom and

vulnerability (Piper & Simons, 2005, p.56; Cohen et al., 2007, p.52). In my case, because of the age of the participants (9 years old), I chose to orally inform the children of the nature of my project as well as what was expected of them. Although the information I provided the children with was clear, it was briefer compared to the in-depth, comprehensive analysis I presented their parents and teachers with; at the same time, I placed emphasis on the fact that we were going to do some drama workshops as an alternative way of learning. This was compliant with Stenhouse’s (1988) statement that “the urge towards more covert strategies comes from those who fear that the respondents of subjects who understand the research in which they are involved will be influenced by this knowledge” (p.217), while the head-teachers and the class teachers agreed that this approach could improve data validity. It is worth mentioning that when I sought the children’s consent, I clarified to them that they should not feel obliged to participate and that they could withdraw from the study at any time (BERA, 2004). As a researcher, I was aware that this is not very applicable in practice due to the potential capture in the class group (Babbie, 2004). However, just four participants stated at the beginning that they were not sure whether they would like to participate, because drama was something new to them. I encouraged them to observe the sessions and participate whenever and if they felt like doing so; it only took a few minutes of the first session to convince them. Overall, all children were willing to participate (BERA, 2004).

Another basic principle adopted in this project was the children’s right of “privacy”, a right that refers to “controlling other people’s access to information

about a person” (Johnson & Christensen, 2008, p.118), which entails the notions of the sensitivity of information. This concerns the degree to which the data collected is personal, the degree of privacy of the setting where research unfolds and the dissemination of information, in other words, the potential to identify the participants based on the information they offered (Crandall & Diener, 1978, cited in Cohen et al., 2007, p. 61). To safeguard the right of privacy, I use anonymity within which “the identity of the participants is not known” (ibid) and the data is kept confidential (ibid); also, pseudonyms were used for children and their teachers in the data analysis (observations, written activities, interviews) instead of names (Hitchcock & Hughes, 1995, p.49). The only real names used are those of my critical friends, who granted me the permission to do so (ibid).

All the observations and interviews were conducted in public settings while I assured the participants that the findings of the study would remain confidential, in the sense that the connections between the data provided and their identities would not be publicised (Johnson & Christensen, 2008, p.119). While interacting with the children, I was careful not to pose questions that might make them feel uncomfortable or harm them in any way prior, during or after the workshops by unveiling information that would embarrass them or jeopardise sensitive data such as their personality, background, origins and relationships (Babbie, 2004). Likewise, when designing and carrying out the interviews, care was taken not to make the children feel in any way uncomfortable, through questions that might have negative or unpleasant connotations or put them on the spot, while avoiding bias and securing the right of refusal at any stage to respond

to particular items in the interviews (see appendix 5 for an example of this). As far as the interactions with the children are concerned, I sought to speak to their teachers about them prior and during the sessions in order to treat each of them appropriately in the classroom, while taking their individual personalities into consideration (Cohen et al. 2007, p.258). The consideration of above-noted ethical issues was important to the validity and reliability of the data (BERA guidelines, 2004).

4.6.9. Data Analysis and Interpretation