Researching The Powerful In Education

Educationalists offer an overview of methods for researching those in positions of power. They focus on key issues with broad relevance to social scientists such as access, interviewing, data restrictions, ethical dilemmas and the role of theory.; This book is intended for academic and postgraduate researchers within education, sociology, social policy and politics as well as advanced undergraduates involved with research dissertations. The book's international appeal is enhanced by the contributions of US and UK authors.

Geoffrey Walford Aston University

Introduction; Chapter 1 A new focus on the powerful, GeoffreyWalford; Part 1 Researching central government policy-makers; Chapter 2 Researching Thatcherite education policy, GeoffWhitty, TonyEdwards; Chapter 3 Ministers and mandarins: educational research in elite settings, JohnFitz, DavidHalpin; Chapter 4 The Lords' will be done: interviewing the powerful in education, J.Daniel McHugh; Chapter 5 Researching the powerful in education and elsewhere, MauriceKogan; Chapter 6 Ethics and power in a study of pressure group politics, GeoffreyWalford; Part 2 Interpreting interviews; Chapter 7 Political interviews and the politics of interviewing, Stephen J.Ball; Chapter 8 The power discourse: elite narratives and educational policy formation, PeterW. Cookson, Jr; Part 3 Feminist perspectives; Chapter 9 A feminist approach to researching the powerful in education, Roslyn ArlinMickelson; Chapter 10 Researching the locally powerful: a study of school governance, RosemaryDeem; Part 4 Historical perspectives; Chapter 11 Research perspectives on the World Bank, PhillipW. Jones; Chapter 12 Interviewing the education policy elite, SharonGewirtz, JennyOzga; Chapter 13 Writing school history as a former participant: problems in writing the history of an elite school, SusanF. Semel; conclusion Conclusion; Chapter 14 Reflections on researching the powerful, GeoffreyWalford;