Ethics, education policy and research : the phonics question reconsidered

Ellis, Sue and Moss, Gemma (2014) Ethics, education policy and research : the phonics question reconsidered. British Educational Research Journal, 40 (2). 241–260. ISSN 0141-1926

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    Abstract

    This paper argues that direct control of the early years literacy curriculum recently exercised by politicians in England has made the boundaries between research, policy and practice increasingly fragile. It describes how policy came to focus most effort on the use of synthetic phonics programmes in the early years. It examines why the Clackmannanshire phonics intervention became the study most frequently cited to justify government policy and suggests a phonics research agenda that could more usefully inform teaching. It argues that, whilst academics cannot control how their research is eventually used by policymakers, learned societies can strengthen their ethics policies to set out clearer ground-rules for academic researchers working across knowledge domains and with policymakers. A stronger framework to guide the ethical interpretation of research evidence in complex education investigations would allow more meaningful conversations to take place within and across research communities, and with research users. The paper suggests some features for such a framework.

    Author(s):Ellis, Sue ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6521-5892 and Moss, Gemma
    Item type:Article
    ID code:42995
    Keywords:phonics , research ethics, literacy policy, early reading, knowledge mobilization, evidence-based education , Theory and practice of education, Education
    Subjects:Education > Theory and practice of education
    Department:Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) > School of Education > Education
    Depositing user: Pure Administrator
    Date deposited:26 Feb 2013 12:47
    Last modified:11 Jan 2020 04:12
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    URI:https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/42995
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