Statistics for Sociology: Methods in Context - Researching Teachers

-However, as a major part of the teacher's role is to 'put on an act' for pupils and others, teachers are often highly skilled at what Erving Goffman (1969) calls 'impression management' - manipulating the impression that other people have of us.

-The researcher may therefore have to find ways to get behind the public face that teachers put on.

-Erving Goffman (1969) also analyses how, as social actors, we behave differently when we are acting out a role 'front stage' as opposed to when we are backstage. Some researchers study teachers in their backstage setting - usually the staffroom.

-However, getting backstage with teachers poses particular problems - the staffroom is a relatively small social space and, because teaching staff are generally known to each other, a newcomer will stand out and may be treated with some suspicion.

-Teachers will be aware that any critical comments they make about the school where they work could affect their career prospects. As a result, they may be reluctant to answer certain questions honestly.

-However, the researcher may be able to overcome this problem by using observational methods rather than methods that involve asking direct questions, such as interviews or questionnaires.

-Headteachers may try to influence which staff are selected to be involved in the research and these may not be fully representative of all teachers in the school. For example, a head may hand-pick teachers who will convey a favourable image of the school - another example of impression management.

-The nature of the classrooms reinforces the power of the teacher - teachers often see it as 'my classroom', in which the researcher may be viewed as a trespasser.

-However, teachers are not fully independent, even in 'their' classroom. Heads, governors, parents and pupils all constrain what teachers may do.

-Researchers will need to develop a 'cover' if they intend to carry out covert investigations and this may mean representing themselves as a supply teacher or classroom assistant, for example. Although this gives researchers access, these groups have a lower status within school and other teachers may not treat them as equals.