Research Methods in Education

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-One - Additional Resources

Box 21.1 : Dimensions of role-play methods

FORM CONTENT

Set:

Action:

Dependent variables :

imaginary

performed

scripted

improvised

verbal

behavioural

Person : self v other

Role : subject v another role

Context : scenario

other actors

audience

Source: Adapted from Hamilton, 1976

Box 21.2 : The Stanford Prison experiment

The study was conducted in the summer of 1971 in a mock prison constructed in the basement of the psychology building at Stanford University. The subjects were selected from a pool of 75 respondents to a newspaper advertisement asking for paid volunteers to participate in a psychological study of prison life. On a random basis half of the subjects were assigned to the role of guard and half to the role of prisoner. Prior to the experiment subjects were asked to sign a form, agreeing to play either the prisoner or the guard role for a maximum of two weeks. Those assigned to the prisoner role should expect to be under surveillance, to be harassed, but not to be physically abused. In return, subjects would be adequately fed, clothed and housed and would receive 15 dollars per day for the duration of the experiment.

The outcome of the study was quite dramatic. In less than two days after the initiation of the experiment, violence and rebellion broke out. The prisoners ripped off their clothing and their identification numbers and barricaded themselves inside the cells while shouting and cursing at the guards. The guards, in turn, began to harass, humiliate and intimidate the prisoners. They used sophisticated psychological techniques to break the solidarity among the inmates and to create a sense of distrust among them. In less than 36 hours one of the prisoners showed severe symptoms of emotional disturbance, uncontrollable crying and screaming and was released. On the third day, a rumour developed about a mass escape plot. The guards increased their harassment, intimidation and brutality towards the prisoners. On the fourth day, two prisoners showed symptoms of severe emotional disturbance and were released. On the fifth day, the prisoners showed symptoms of individual and group disintegration. They had become mostly passive and docile, suffering from an acute loss of contact with reality. The guards on the other hand, had kept up their harassment, some behaving sadistically. Because of the unexpectedly intense reactions generated by the mock prison experience, the experimenters terminated the study at the end of the sixth day.

Source: Adapted from Banuazizi and Movahedi, 1975

Box 21.3 : Critical factors in a role-play: smoking and young people

Roles involved : young people, parents, teachers, doctors, youth leaders, shopkeeper, cigarette manufacturer.

Critical issues : responsibility for health, cost of illness, freedom of action, taxation revenue, advertising, effects on others.

Key communication channels : advertisements, school contacts, family, friends.

Source: Adapted from van Ments, 1983

Box 21.4 : Categorization of responses to the four video extracts

Level Description

(Score)

0No response or nothing which is intelligibly about the ‘ways in which people treat one another’ in the extract. Alternatively this level of response may be wrong in terms of fact and/or in interpretation.

1 No reference to racism (i.e. unfairness towards visible ethnic minority pupils) either by the teacher or by pupils, either implicitly or explicitly.

2 Either some reference to pupils’ racism (see level 1 above) but not to the teacher’s, or, reference to racism is left unspecified as to its perpetrator. Such reference is likely to be implied and may relate to one or more examples drawn from the extract without any generalization or synthesizing statement(s). The account is at a superficial level of analysis, understanding and explanation.

3 There is some reference to the teacher’s racist behaviour and actions. Such reference is, however, implied rather than openly stated. There may also be implied condemnation of the teacher’s racist behaviour/actions. There will not be any generalized statement(s) about the teacher’s racism supported with examples drawn from the extract.

4 At this level the account will explicitly discuss and illustrate the teacher’s racism but the analysis will show a superficial knowledge and understanding of the deeper issues.

5 At this level the account will explicitly discuss the teacher’s racism as a generalization and this will be well illustrated with examples drawn from the extract. One or more of these examples may well be of the less obvious and more subtle types of racist behaviour/ action portrayed in the extract.

Source : Naylor (1995) (unpublished)