research in general

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Home : 2002 : August : 12

research in general
By Cathy-Dee

It may not be necessarily that we are ignoring the research, it may just be that we simply do not agree with it or that we question the validity of the research in general. As others pointed out in the post below, quite
often research can be written to prove the point of the researchers. This does not mean it is not true, but it also doesn't mean it is true.
Too often research is quoted to support one's belief or statement without really looking hard at the research. And while I completely agree with you that teachers should at least be aware of what some of the researchers are saying. It is not always

that easy to put in all that extra time to really research the research.

Classroom management and discipline is by far one of the most researched areas in education today. There are literally thousands of articles, hundreds of books, and just as many programs all claiming to be the answer to classroom management. Sometimes they agree, often they do not.

Teachers are in the field - we are conducting research on a daily basis. If in my classroom I am able to keep my students on task, control most behaviour problems including some of the more "outstanding behaviours", teach what I am suppose to cover and I do not have major concerns regarding the behaviours in my classroom then there really is no reason for me to change what I am doing.

Now of course if research comes along that seems legitimate and which I can agree with then by all means I would change and I truly believe most teachers would as well. I think many of the comments that were made (mine included) that talked about "why change because the theories are always changing" are reflective of the fact that in education there are always extreme views and philosophies that are coming and going. I couldn't keep up with them even if I wanted to.

So yes, teachers should be aware of the research out there, but no they shouldn't feel compelled to change just because someone says what they are doing is wrong. In most cases if not all there will be another researcher who says what they are doing is right.

One of the main arguments in the last post was on extrinsic rewards. Here's what I found in one article

Behavior modification approaches. Many researchers (Brophy 1983, 1986; Cobb and Richards 1983; Cotton 1988; Crouch, Gresham, and Wright 1985; Docking 1982; McNamara, Harrop, and Owen 1987; and Moskowitz and Hayman 1976) have identified reinforcement (verbal, symbolic, or tangible) as effective in improving the classroom conduct of misbehaving students. Researchers have found that the provision of reinforcement does not undermine students' intrinsic motivation, provided the reinforcement is contingent on performance and given sparingly.

So by this research they have no problems with tangible rewards but caution how one uses them. I think that is simply common sense.

And yet here's another one that is not really for extrinsic rewards

Our beliefs influence how we use rewards. For those who believe that learners require a clear payoff, extrinsic rewards are an important ingredient in the learning process. There are programs that emphasize the use of extrinsic rewards for "good behavior," and educators who believe that external rewards and punishments are necessary usually feel comfortable using them. Others believe the use of extrinsic rewards is detrimental. Some researchers have found that the use of extrinsic rewards diminishes intrinsic motivation (Solomon et al., 1991). Educators who believe that their role is to help students develop personal control and enhance their intrinsic motivation to learn usually eschew programs that have a heavy reliance on rewards.

And who can say truly which one is more right. I'm sure if one could conduct their own study - of a large number of students - across all the different ethnic groups - across all the different socio-economic groups - rural vs city and so on you might be able to come up with a justifiable research that can be applied to almost all school settings. But we know that research is not handled that way, quite often it is a small group of students who are part of the research project and the results are not conclusive.