Research Paradigms.html The term ‘research’ is commonly understood to denote a systematic process of discovering more about a topic, using methods that are transparent and publicly defensible. Within this broad definition lie different strands of activity. A key distinction in education and development is between scholarly research and research conducted for consultancy or monitoring and evaluation purposes. Monitoring and evaluation (sometimes referred to as ‘M & E’) is chiefly used in relation to specific projects and usually focuses on the effectiveness of the project in relation to specified (and often narrow) goals. It is unlikely to be asking deeper questions or engaging with the debates in academic literature that scholarly research tends to be concerned with. Measurement and indicators 1 TEGINT Project The TEGINT project (Transforming Education for Girls in Nigeria and Tanzania) sought to address gender inequalities in schools and communities through three interventions: the establishment of ‘girls’ clubs’ in schools, of school committees and of participatory, gender-sensitive teaching methodologies. The monitoring and evaluation process, run at regular points during the programme, sought to discover the impact on particular outcomes such as girls’ enrolment and progression. Data collected annually for M & E included gender-disaggregated figures for enrolment by class, exam entry, exam passes, drop-outs, attendance, numbers of teachers and numbers on the school management committees. However, broader research conducted at the start and the end of the project, in conjunction with university partners, attempted to address more complex issues such as the relationships between girls’ club membership, community attitudes and girls’ empowerment (ActionAid 2012). Epistemological and political positions; decolonizing methodologies; different research traditions As a researcher, it is always important to consider which assumptions and political positions underpin one’s work. No research (and no researcher) is completely objective and without a position, no matter how unbiased they believe themselves to be. These are particularly important considerations when working on education and development. If the researcher is from a different educational background to that which is being researched, it may lead to some comparative bias, particularly if the context being researched is a developing country. Researchers may become overwhelmed with the deficiencies of the research context and be blind to positive aspects that may have been undervalued or lacking in their own education. It is also important to note that some methodological approaches explicitly and intentionally contain political positions and aims (e.g. feminist research). A number of theoretical and methodological developments since the 1970s have aimed to reveal and break down hidden assumptions in research. Postcolonial perspectives seek to question the extent to which certain educationa ...

1. Research Paradigms.html
The term ‘research’ is commonly understood to denote a
systematic process of discovering more about a topic, using
methods that are transparent and publicly defensible. Within
this broad definition lie different strands of activity. A key
distinction in education and development is between scholarly
research and research conducted for consultancy or monitoring
and evaluation purposes. Monitoring and evaluation (sometimes
referred to as ‘M & E’) is chiefly used in relation to specific
projects and usually focuses on the effectiveness of the project
in relation to specified (and often narrow) goals. It is unlikely
to be asking deeper questions or engaging with the debates in
academic literature that scholarly research tends to be
concerned with.
Measurement and indicators 1
TEGINT Project
The TEGINT project (Transforming Education for Girls in
Nigeria and Tanzania) sought to address gender inequalities in
schools and communities through three interventions: the
establishment of ‘girls’ clubs’ in schools, of school committees
and of participatory, gender-sensitive teaching methodologies.
The monitoring and evaluation process, run at regular points
during the programme, sought to discover the impact on
particular outcomes such as girls’ enrolment and progression.
Data collected annually for M & E included gender-
disaggregated figures for enrolment by class, exam entry, exam
passes, drop-outs, attendance, numbers of teachers and numbers
on the school management committees. However, broader
research conducted at the start and the end of the project, in
conjunction with university partners, attempted to address more
complex issues such as the relationships between girls’ club
membership, community attitudes and girls’ empowerment
(ActionAid 2012).

2. Epistemological and political positions; decolonizing
methodologies; different research traditions
As a researcher, it is always important to consider which
assumptions and political positions underpin one’s work. No
research (and no researcher) is completely objective and
without a position, no matter how unbiased they believe
themselves to be. These are particularly important
considerations when working on education and development. If
the researcher is from a different educational background to that
which is being researched, it may lead to some comparative
bias, particularly if the context being researched is a developing
country. Researchers may become overwhelmed with the
deficiencies of the research context and be blind to positive
aspects that may have been undervalued or lacking in their own
education. It is also important to note that some methodological
approaches explicitly and intentionally contain political
positions and aims (e.g. feminist research).
A number of theoretical and methodological developments since
the 1970s have aimed to reveal and break down hidden
assumptions in research. Postcolonial perspectives seek to
question the extent to which certain educational constructions
relating to the colonial and postcolonial eras may be
legitimizing the continuance of unequal global economic
arrangements and aim to reveal the assumptions and power
relations which pervade research conducted on ‘developing
countries’ by Western researchers (Mazrui and Mazrui 1996,
Tikly 1999). Tuhwai Smith, in Decolonising
Methodologies (2012), identifies research ‘as a significant site
of struggle between the interests and ways of knowing of the
West and the interests and ways of resisting of the Other’
(Tuhwai Smith 2012, p. 2). She discusses ways in which
research has been openly challenged by communities and
indigenous activists about ethnocentric assumptions, racist
attitudes and practices, and exploitative research. She, and
others, have suggested as a way forward the development of
alternative methodological approaches located in the ‘South’

3. (e.g. Halai and William 2011, Park 2011, Robinson-Pant 2013).
Different approaches: Choices and decisions for the researcher
There are a number of research approaches that involve
purposively designed strategies to explore specific educational
issues in depth. The first two in this section are primarily
quantitative approaches and the remainder, qualitative.
Large-scale surveys
Large-scale surveys aim to capture information about
educational circumstances from a wide constituency for
comparison and analysis, possibly involving surveys of
educational conditions in one location across a number of time
periods. They may also have a cross-national element, allowing
comparison between different countries: for example, data
compiled and published by UNESCO in the EFA Global
Monitoring Reports and also data from the OECD’s Programme
for International Student Assessment (PISA), which has been
running (and expanding) since 19971. Such surveys can cover
thousands or even millions of individual children, although
other projects may be considerably smaller. They may involve
the collection of basic educational data (e.g. enrolment,
transition, achievement) or more specific questions tailored to
particular research agendas, administered via interviews or
questionnaires.
Surveys offer some unique and distinct benefits. The scale of
data collection attempts to give an overall picture of a particular
context and may allow for greater generalizability as well as
comparisons over location and/or time. Information that can
suggest research questions can be assembled: for example, data
to explore teacher effects on student achievement might be
suggested by information on teacher qualifications and exam
results.
However, there are limitations. Because of the scale of data
collection and the claims to generalizability, it is important to
scrutinize the underlying assumptions, especially in terms of
sampling (have any significant groups been omitted?); the
validity of questions (what factors might influence how

4. questions are understood and answered truthfully?); and
reliability (will different groups understand and respond to the
questions in the same way?). Surveys are highly demanding in
terms of time and resources, and for this reason, longitudinal
studies, which trace the same individuals over time, are rare
(Foster et al. 2012, p. 722).
Broadfoot (2004) warns about some disadvantages in relying on
statistical data in education. There are dangers in placing too
much emphasis on league tables and ‘rankings’, which may only
be based on relatively small differences in scores, and reflect
only certain aspects such as exam achievement, as opposed to
scrutinizing the actual quality of education. Statistical data
must be analysed and interpreted correctly, and we must be
wary of their manipulation for particular political agendas to
present something in the best possible light. It is also important
to beware of the tendency to recourse to numerical data in the
mistaken belief that it is more trustworthy or meaningful; there
are many instances where other forms of data would be more
appropriate for particular research questions. Comparing such
educational data across developing countries may be
particularly problematic for a number of reasons, such as the
varying reliability of data collection, significantly different
political and economic trajectories and varied social and
cultural contexts.
Measurement and indicators 2
Young Lives Project
A prominent example of a large-scale survey is the Young
Lives project, an international study of childhood poverty,
covering 12,000 children in Ethiopia, India, Vietnam and Peru.
It is a rare example of a longitudinal project studying education
in developing countries and combines regular quantitative
surveys of the children and their care-givers with in-depth
qualitative research on a sub-sample. The main themes explored
are the nature and extent of inequalities between groups of
children; the influences of different aspects of poverty on child

5. development; and the risks and opportunities for children of
economic and social change
(see http://www.younglives.org.uk/).
Experimental approaches: Quasi-experiments and randomized
control trials (RCTs)
Experimental approaches explore the effects of particular
interventions on a target population by manipulating one or
more independent variables and measuring the degree to which
this manipulation accounts for variance in outcome. A wide
range of experimental designs exist.
Randomized control trials (RCTs) have been imported from
medical research to apply to social policy and offer the
opportunity to explore the counterfactual (what would have
happened if we hadn’t employed those extra teachers/built those
schools/provided free uniforms, etc.). RCTs have recently
become popular amongst development agencies as they seem to
offer clear results to feed back into practice. They feature as
part of an agenda to discover ‘what works’, alongside other
measures such as impact evaluation and systematic reviews.
Quasi-experiments are generally regarded as less rigorous than
randomized control trials but are often used where it is seen as
not practicable or reasonable to randomly assign study
participants to the treatment condition. The researcher may have
some control over the treatment condition but uses criteria other
than randomness; or the researcher may have no control as to
which groups are assigned to the treatment condition2.
Proponents argue that they are important because policy ideas
need rigorous testing.
Despite their strengths, there are a number of disadvantages to
experimental approaches, and RCTs in particular have not been
introduced without controversy. The assumptions underlying the
research design and interventions must be scrutinized; and such
designs can be fairly resource-heavy, requiring a fixed
investment, generating evidence for a particular point in time
rather than giving a more continuous picture. While many
analyses are able to demonstrate strong associations between

6. certain input and outcome variables, demonstrating causality is
more problematic; strong correlation may be caused by latent or
confounding variables that are not being measured. Critics
argue that RCTs rarely provide useful evidence unless
accompanied by theoretical work which can explain what
determines the effects that have been observed (e.g. Deaton
2010, see also Morrison 2009). There can also be ethical issues,
particularly in RCTs, if the research design involves the
decision that one group would miss out on a potentially
beneficial intervention (or is exposed to a detrimental one).
Measurement and indicators 3
RCTs in Development
One example of how RCTs have been used in assessing an
educational intervention is in measuring the success of the
‘Progresa’ Programme which provided poor mothers in Mexico
with conditional cash transfers based on children’s enrolment in
school and access to healthcare3. RCT studies showed not only
that the grants had a positive effect on enrolment but were also
able to show which group saw the largest increase (girls who
had completed grade 6). It was partly on the strength of these
findings that the Mexican government decided to preserve and
expand the programme (Shultz 2004).
While RCTs can be helpful in demonstrating whether a
programme has had a particular impact, it can be difficult to
identify why an effect happened, as often attention is not paid
to participants’ motivations and the specifics of the context.
Morrison (2009) discusses a hypothetical example of CCTV
cameras being shown to reduce crime in schools; yet we do not
know why crime has fallen (have the cameras led to more
thieves being convicted, or encouraged thieves to look
elsewhere, or students to be more vigilant or bring in fewer
valuables?). Additional work is needed alongside to explain the
‘mechanisms’ behind the outcomes and give insight into
whether the initiative would achieve similar effects when
implemented elsewhere.

7. Ethnographic approaches
Ethnographic approaches involve the collection of qualitative
data through researchers embedding themselves in the field
research environment. The underlying principle guiding this
kind of research is the assumption that people have meaning
structures that determine much of their behaviour, and the
researcher aims to act as a participant-observer to
systematically uncover the meanings behind events and actions
of what counts as ‘cultural knowledge’. Much of this
methodology originated from anthropology and allows
exploration of the day-to-day life of the school, the school’s
aims and processes, the meanings that various stakeholders
attribute to them and the dynamics of its surrounding social
contexts.
Typically, data collection involves observing verbal and non-
verbal behaviour; scrutinizing the form and content of verbal
interactions; recording patterns of action and non-action; and
also may involve looking at documents, archival records and
artefacts. Conducting this kind of research in a rigorous manner
usually involves lengthy periods of time in the field.
In addition to the depths of understanding that ethnographic
analyses can offer, this approach may offer a greater
opportunity to investigate issues relating to power relations,
postcolonial concerns or neo-liberal agendas by exploring in
detail the operations and enculturating functions of schools in
particular social and historic contexts.
However, there is also an inevitable trade-off between being
able to gain deep insights through very focused data collection
by spending a prolonged amount of time in one particular
context, and the additional insights that can be gained by
comparisons between two or more contexts. Moreover, Brewer
(2000) has suggested that ethnographic approaches may have
been put under threat by globalization and the ‘disappearance of
the local under global processes’ (2000, p. 173).
A good example of ethnographic work in education and
development is found in Robinson Pant’s work, Why Eat Green

8. Cucumbers at a Time of Dying? (2001). This provides a rich
account of two adult women’s literacy projects in Nepal,
examining what kind of literacy is being promoted
by international agencies and exploring the women’s own
perceptions of their involvement in the classes, contrasting
these to those of the organizations delivering them. In doing so,
she offers a detailed interpretation of the ways in which
development ideologies are transmitted and transformed through
programme designs, teaching methodologies, delivery and
reception. Another recent example is Sriprakash’s work (2012)
on the introduction of child-centred pedagogies in low-income
contexts in India. Her study used ethnographic methods to
investigate how education reforms have been experienced in the
state of Karnataka, to explore the extent to which poverty and
inequality in rural communities can be addressed by child-
centred models and the politics behind such pedagogic reform.
Critical discourse analysis and policy analysis
Critical discourse analysis explores how social and power
relations, identities and knowledge are constructed through
written, visual and spoken texts. It is particularly concerned
with how power abuse, dominance and inequality are enacted,
reproduced and resisted. A key underlying assumption is that
language operates as a cultural tool, mediating relationships of
privilege and power within institutions, in individual
interactions and also through bodies of knowledge, with a
recognition that science and scholarly discourse themselves are
inherently part of and influenced by social and political
structures.
Critical discourse analysis is important in helping to unpack and
understand the power relations between individuals. It is also
very useful in analysing institutional policies, including how
policy is formed and interpreted at the many different levels of
implementation, for example between international
organizations, governments, and local bodies and stakeholders.
Methods for perusing how government policy operates and
wields power can involve the analysis of underlying symbols

9. and imagery of policy in the form of spoken statements,
publicity, posters and awareness-raising messages, photos and
films. Qualitative data is drawn on, although such analysis also
examines how quantitative data is used to gain authority and
legitimacy.
Researchers consider their own position in the creation of
knowledge and therefore existing power relations; research
questions may be implicitly influenced by dominant agendas,
and a critical position may itself become a dominant discourse
in time. While this approach may be successful at revealing
mechanisms that seem objectionable, it generally does not
suggest solutions.
Vavrus and Seghers’ study (2010) of poverty reduction policies
in Tanzania critically analysed how the concept of ‘partnership’
is conceived of by powerful international organizations; how it
is constructed in poverty reduction policies; and whether there
are genuine opportunities for agency and change in these
strategies. Their study reveals the multiple meanings attributed
to ‘partnership’ at different levels of policy, shows how the
concept is linked to particular elements of ‘revisionist neo-
liberalism’ and questions the extent to which the voices of the
poor are genuinely taken on board when they are not consistent
with existing reform plans.
Biographical and narrative research
Biographical and narrative approaches explore individual
experiences of events from the actor’s point of view. They can
investigate socio-historical phenomena, engage in cultural
analysis and critically reflect on the processes of research
through systematic investigation into individual life perceptions
and experiences, enabling multiple interpretations of complex
cultural contexts.
Interviews allow for collecting narratives and biographical data
from participants. Life histories may have a chronology; but
they may not record all events and may focus selectively on
critical moments and decisions for an individual, thereby
complicating factors, evaluation and reflection on outcomes.

10. The narrative analysis subsequently produced by the researcher
may include direct quotations from the participants; by ‘telling
a story’, these accounts can be extremely powerful, providing a
sense of human experience, authenticity and realism. The
analysis may also involve eschewing theory (see Farrell in
Martin 2003) in the belief that this can impose particular
interpretations and distort the intricacies and the complexity of
the context under study. It is interesting to note here also the
differing epistemological positions in various
qualitative approaches: narrative enquiry often is not concerned
with generating or clarifying theory; policy analysis may be
deeply concerned with theorizing across multiple contexts in
order to draw conclusions about inequality and development
(Martin 2003, pp. 112–113).
In a policy and intellectual climate which tends to privilege
large-scale quantitative research, narrative and biographical
analyses have the potential to foreground voice, reflexivity and
inter-subjectivity and can be particularly powerful for
researchers keen to engage with the perspectives of colonized,
marginalized and disadvantaged groups.
Nonetheless, there are some disadvantages; first, there are
difficulties in making comparisons with other contexts, since
through exploring the specific and abandoning theory, there is a
lack of conceptual apparatus with which to do so. Narrative
research may also pose particular dilemmas from a postcolonial
perspective: Fox (2008) argues that we need to question the
‘right’ of the researcher to represent, publish and benefit from
an individual’s narrative; it is also important to be aware of the
potentially inequitable power relationship between the
researcher and participant while addressing the dilemma of who
is seen as the most authentic and legitimate narrators,
particularly if they run counter to mainstream views.
Name:
Date:
Memo No:

11. Texts Analyzed:
Summary of Text:
Main Assumptions:
Questions or comments for discussion (e.g. What was
unclear/unconvincing/could be explored further? What seems
unrealistic, given assumptions you mentioned?):