Module 1: What Is Educational Research?
Topic 3: Goldilocks And The Three Bears
Task
Having begun to get a handle on the different approaches to educational research, take a light-hearted look at the tale of Goldilocks And The Three Bears by answering the following questions:
1. If you were to research what happened to Goldilocks And Three Bears, what research questions might you pose?
· Who was Goldilocks?
· Who were the bears?
· Why were there three bears and not four or five? Does three have a special underlying meaning?
· Why were all the bowls of porridge different temperatures? Were they maybe cooked at different times?
· Could Goldilocks maybe have seen someone in the room when she was announcing that the porridge was “too hot” and “too cold”? Was she talking to someone? Who?
· Did the house really belong to the three bears or was it infact Goldilocks’ house and the bears were the ones who were the “unwanted visitor”?
2. How would you go about answering your question?
· In order to find out whom Goldilocks is and who the bears are, a relationship would firstly need to be developed.
· I would most likely undertake a qualitative study based on focus groups, interviews and obviously observation of both Goldilocks and the three bears. I think all three avenues would be highly helpful.
· An observation of the house would also assist in answering the question.
3. Would your study look different if you took a feminist perspective?
I think that without a doubt, such a study would look different if it was undertaken from a feminist perspective. It would most likely cover lines of thought such as:
· Why was Goldilocks described as a “little girl”? Is this suggesting that all girls are little?
· Why was the female portrayed as the “unwanted visitor”, “intruder” and somewhat “dumb”? Is this suggesting that all girls are silly and just wander into people’s homes?
· Why is Papa Bear given the role of “growling” whereas Mama Bear and Baby Bear simply “say” and cry”? Is this suggesting that “Mama’s” are incapable of growling and demonstrating themselves as big and tough? Or is Mama Bear “not allowed” to show such emotion?
· Did the bears think that because of their size they were “better” or more “superior” than “little” Goldilocks?
4. What would an ethnographic study look like?
An ethnographic – “report on social life that focuses on detailed and accurate description rather than explanation” (Babbie, 2014, p. 312) study of Goldilocks And The Three Bears might include the following:
· The story being told from Goldilocks’ or the bear’s point of view, focusing on things like her journey to the house for example.
· The questioning of taken for granted assumptions such as again the temperature of the porridge.
· Living in the shoes of Goldilocks or the bears for a week to really experience the story from a specific point of view.
5. How could you consider this from an animal rights perspective?
An animal rights perspective might see the following issues examined:
· Why is Goldilocks as a human allowed to just enter the bear’s house and do what she wants? For example eat their food, sleep in their beds and ruin their furniture.
· Why are bears living in a man-made house and not being encouraged to live free in the wilderness? Is someone (Goldilocks) in actual fact keeping them captive?
· If anything had happened to Goldilocks, an animal rights perspective would find it hard to have sympathy for her as it would be viewed as her own fault for interfering.
6. How could you design a study that could provide some general conclusions – is it possible or is the story too confined?
I think designing a study to provide some general conclusion would be a possibility. This could be achieved through a single study focusing on a single incident. A qualitative observation of the story would be a suggested approach. This would require watching the story play out a number of times taking particular note of variables such as bears, porridge, chairs, forest etc… various patterns, meaning and context.
Topic 4: Concept Map
Task
Create a concept map with Educational Research as the topic.
The concept map below demonstrates the range and complexity of educational research.
Reference List
Babbie, E. (2014). The Basics of Social Research. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.