Experiments at Schools

X-Philes,

I have a question about doing experiments at schools. I assume it is unlikely that school teachers will ever let X-Philes administer surveys or other materials to an entire class at once. If someone has ever found a way to get a teacher to agree to this, I would be very interested in hearing how it was accomplished.

I assume that the norm involves something like one or two researchers (perhaps accompanied by a teacher's aide) performing their experiments in an unoccupied classroom, where children are sent one-by-one or two-by-two to the researchers. Can some of you with experience doing experiments at schools tell me whether it is generally the case that schools insist upon a teacher's aide being present for the entire research session? If so, is it necessary/desirable to compensate the school for the aide's time?

If those of you with experience doing this could offer any other helpful tips on how to make research in school settings work smoothly, I think everyone would appreciate it. Thanks.

Comments

[Eric Schwitzgebel]

It seems a shame to leave this plea hanging. I've never myself done work with minors, but I've seen proposals as an IRB member and both schools and IRBs are very protective of minors. The easiest way to have school-administered tests approved is either as tests of educational achievement or as activities that are educationally valuable in their own right. Taking the latter course, I could imagine a teacher and principal being positive about an offer to introduce issues in philosophy to the children, especially if you (or maybe a coauthor) have a connection to the school through a relative, such as a child attending the school. It really helps, I think, to have an inside connection. A survey could be given as an initial part of the instruction, as a kind of "pre-test" -- thus both educationally valuable in the context of introducing class discussion but also (as you would have to make clear from the outset) valuable as research data.

[James Beebe]

Thanks for the feedback, Eric.