EP946-10 Ethics Portfolio
Introductory description
The Ethics Portfolio module is designed to facilitate students on the MA Professional Education to carefully consider the challenges of researching ethically in schools as a practitioner, particularly with regards to how this might differ to teaching ethically. The process of completing the portfolio will help students work through common problems that teachers researching in school commonly face such as working with school data, negotiating the focus of their research with school leaders and working with vulnerable individuals. The module will facilitate students' preparation for the various conversations that need to take place in school with school leaders, colleagues, students and parents. Successful completion of the ethics portfolio will result in students' formal ethics applications being put forward to the ethics board. Prior to the module students will have already completed a draft of their Research Proposal.
Module aims
To prepare students for successful ethics application.
To equip students with the knowledge required to conduct ethical research as a practitioner in a school environment.
To enable students to demonstrate an understanding of the specific ethical challenges arising from their chosen research design and how to address them in their specific school context.
To help students anticipate the ethical issues they are likely to face in the processing of the data they ultimately collect as part of their research.
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
Teaching for the module will take place in four stages.
Completion of preparatory workbook on Moodle to introduce essential ethics vocabulary and to include completion of the Epigeum Certificate.
Attendance at a face-to-face teaching day where examples of specific practitioner research projects in school will be investigated from an ethical perspective so as to highlight the ethical challenges arising from different research designs.
Further online resources through which students can work independently and continue to consider what ethical practice in their specific context might involve.
2 x one-to-one tutorials with course supervisor
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Through the completion of a portfolio of work, by the end of the module students will be able to:Demonstrate a developed understanding of the ethical challenges arising from their chosen research design in relation to school-based research.
- Critically analyse the approach they are proposing to take in relation to ethical practice.
- Provide evidence of their ability to appropriately communicate the aims and scope of their research to relevant individuals within the community that they are researching.
- Demonstrate understanding and respect for appropriate processes for managing research participants data in line with school, university and government regulations.Confidently complete a formal ethics application for undertaking research in a school (or other relevant educational) context.
Indicative reading list
Alderson, P. and Morrow, V., 2011. The ethics of research with children and young people: A practical handbook. SAGE publications Ltd.
Banks, S., Armstrong, A., Carter, K., Graham, H., Hayward, P., Henry, A., Holland, T., Holmes, C., Lee, A., McNulty, A. and Moore, N., 2013. Everyday ethics in community-based participatory research. Contemporary Social Science, 8(3), pp.263-277.
Banks, S. and Manners, P., 2012. Community-based participatory research: A guide to ethical principles and practice. Durham, UK: Center for Social Justice and Community Action, Durham University.
Anderson, G.L., Herr, K. and Nihlen, A.S., 2007. Studying your own school: An educator's guide to practitioner action research. Corwin Press.
DuBois, J. (2002). When Is Informed Consent Appropriate in Educational Research?: Regulatory and Ethical Issues. IRB: Ethics & Human Research, 24(1), 1-8. doi:10.2307/3564025
Mockler, N., 2014. When ‘research ethics’ become ‘everyday ethics’: the intersection of inquiry and practice in practitioner research. Educational Action Research, 22(2), pp.146-158.
Thomson, P. and Hall, C. (2017) Place-Based Methods for Researching Schools (Bloomsbury)
Wyse, D., Selwyn, N., Smith, E. and Suter, L.E. eds., (2016). The BERA/SAGE handbook of educational research. Sage.
Subject specific skills
Skills in ethical research in educational contexts
Transferable skills
Provides a foundation for further research (PhD, EdD) and researching with children and young people in contexts outside of education.
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 1 session of 2 hours (2%) |
| Seminars | 1 session of 2 hours (2%) |
| Tutorials | 2 sessions of 1 hour (2%) |
| Work-based learning | 1 session of 4 hours (4%) |
| Online learning (independent) | 2 sessions of 2 hours 30 minutes (5%) |
| Private study | 85 hours (85%) |
| Total | 100 hours |
Private study description
Private Study to include any of the following relevant to the student's specific Research Design:
Completion of further relevant reading.
Investigation of available hardware and software for the managing and processing of research data and whether it meets with ethical guidelines.
Design of Institutional Consent form
Design of Participant Information letters (for colleagues, students and / or parents) and Participant Consent Forms
Design of Data Flow Charts
Design of Recruitment Materials
Design of Interview Schedules
Design of Questionnaires, and Interview Questions.
Completion of Risk Assessments
Completion of Ethics Application Form.
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You must pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group A1
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment component |
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| Ethics Portfolio | 100% | No | |
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A collection of relevant documents that will be assessed for their appropriateness to be taken forward for formal ethical review. |
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Reassessment component is the same |
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Feedback on assessment
Feedback will be returned to students on the Ethics Form B(2)
Courses
This module is Core for:
- Year 1 of TEPS-X3BC Postgraduate Taught Accountability and Quality Assurance
-
TEPA-X3AS Postgraduate Taught Professional Education
- Year 1 of X3AS Professional Education
- Year 1 of X3AS Professional Education
- Year 2 of X3AS Professional Education
- Year 3 of X3AS Professional Education
This module is Core optional for:
- Year 2 of TEPS-X3BC Postgraduate Taught Accountability and Quality Assurance