Documentary Research in Education, History and the Social Sciences
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Documentary Research in Education, History and the Social Sciences Documentary sources have become increasingly neglected in education and the social sciences, while historians use them but often take them for granted. This book seeks to emphasise their potential value and importance for an understanding of modern societies, while also recognising their limitations, and explores their relationship with other research strategies. This up-to-date examination of how to research and utilise documents analyses texts from the past and present, considering sources ranging from personal archives to online documents and including books, reports, official documents and printed media. This comprehensive analysis of the use of documents in research includes sections covering: • Analysing documents • Legal frameworks and ethical issues • Records and archives • Printed media and literature • Diaries, letters and autobiographies Documentary Research covers everything you need to know to make effective use of this important research technique and will be a valuable resource for all students, researchers and academics carrying out extensive research, particularly in the areas of education, history and the social sciences. Gary McCulloch is Brian Simon Professor of History of Education at the Institute of Education, University of London. Social Research and Educational Studies Series Series Editor: Professor Robert G.Burgess‚ Vice-Chancellor‚ University of Leicester 1 Strategies of Educational Research: Qualitative Methods Edited by Robert G.Burgess 2 Research and Policy: The Uses of Qualitative Methods in Social and Educational Research Janet Finch 3 Systematic Classroom Observation: A Guide for Researchers and Teachers Paul Croll 4 Investigating Classroom Talk A.D.Edwards and David Westgate 5 Getting to Know Schools in a Democracy: The Politics and Process of Evaluation Helen Simons 6 Doing Sociology of Education Edited by Geoffrey Walford 7 Collaborative Action Research Sharon Nodie Oja and Lisa Smulyan 8 The Ethics of Educational Research Edited by Robert G.Burgess 9 Doing Educational Research in Developing Countries: Qualitative Strategies Graham Vulliamy‚ Keith Lewin and David Stephens 10 Qualitative Voices in Educational Research Michael Schratz 11 Speaking the Language of Power: Communication‚ Collaboration and Advocacy (Translating Ethnography into Action) Edited by David Fetterman 12 Narrative Analysis Martin Cortazzi 13 Investigating Classroom Talk (Second Edition) A.D.Edwards and D.P.G.Westgate 14 Researching Education Policy: Ethical and Methodological Issues Edited by David Halpin and Barry Troyna 15 Constructing Educational Inequality: An Assessment of Research on School Processes Peter Foster‚ Roger Gomm and Martyn Hammersley 16 Understanding Social Research: Perspectives on Methodology and Practice Edited by George McKenzie‚ Jackie Powell and Robin Usher 17 Doing Research about Education Edited by Geoffrey Walford 18 Being Reflexive in Educational and Social Research Edited by Geoffrey Shacklock and John Smyth 19 Biography and Education: A Reader Edited by Michael Erben 20 Practitioner-Based Enquiry: Principles for Postgraduate Research Louis Murray and Brenda Lawrence 21 Realism and Educational Research: New Perspectives and Possibilities David Scott 22 Documentary Research in Education, History and the Social Sciences Gary McCulloch Documentary Research in Education, History and the Social Sciences Gary McCulloch LONDONANDNEW YORK First published 2004 by RoutledgeFalmer 11 New Fetter Lane‚ London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by RoutledgeFalmer 29 West 35th Street‚ New York‚ NY 10001 RoutledgeFalmer is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. “ To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to http://www.ebookstore.tandf.co.uk/.” © 2004 Gary McCulloch All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data McCulloch‚ Gary. Documentary research in education, history, and the social sciences /Gary McCulloch. —1st ed. p. cm.—(Social research and educational studies series; 22) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-415- 27286-6 (hardback: alk. paper)—ISBN 0-415-27287-4 (paperback: alk. paper) 1. Social sciences—Research—Methodology. 2. Social sciences— Archival resources. 3. Education— Research—Methodology. 4. Education—Archival resources. 5. History—Research— Methodology. 6. History—Sources. I. Title. II. Series. H62.M3336 2004 300′.72–dc22 2003027012 ISBN0-415-27286-6 (hbk) ISBN0-415-27287-4 (pbk) Contents List of Case Studies vii Series Editor’s Preface viii Preface and Acknowledgements ix 1 Introduction: Reading between the Lines 1 2 Paper Tigers: Social Research and Documentary Studies 10 3 The Joy of Life: Doing Documentary Research 25 4 Behind the Scenes: Records and Archives 44 5 On the Record: Printed Media and Literature 64 6 Life and Times: Diaries‚ Letters and Autobiographies 86 7 A New Leaf: Connections and Conclusions 109 Bibliography 113 Index 122 Case Studies 1 The Polish Peasant (1918–20) 13-15 2 Charles Clarke on elitism (2002) 33-35 3 Parent’s letter to the Minister of Education‚ New Zealand (1984) 50 4 Congressional Record‚ USA (May 2003) 72-75 5 Daily Mirror‚ Labour peer’s a class apart (October 2002) 78-79 6 Tony Benn and the ‘Great Debate’ on education (1976) 93-94 Series Editor’s Preface The purpose of the Social Research and Educational Studies series is to provide authoritative guides to key issues in educational research. The series includes overviews of fields, guidance on good practice and discussions of the practical implications of social and educational research. In particular, the series deals with a variety of approaches to conducting social and educational research. Contributors to the series review recent work, raise critical concerns that are particular to the field of education and reflect on the implications of research for educational policy and practice. Each volume in the series draws on material that will be relevant for an international audience. The contributors to this series all have wide experience of teaching, conducting and using educational research. The volumes are written so that they will appeal to a wide audience of students, teachers and researchers. Altogether the volumes in the Social Research and Educational Studies series provide a comprehensive guide for anyone concerned with contemporary educational research. The series includes individually authored books and edited volumes on a range of themes in education including qualitative research, survey research, the interpretation of data, self-evaluation, research and social policy, analysing data, action research and the politics and ethics of research. A major gap in the methodological literature in education, history and the social sciences is a detailed treatment of documentary materials written by a researcher who has extensive experience in this field. Gary McCulloch’s volume closes the gap through his analysis of methodological issues associated with documentary evidence. His focus is upon written documents that are produced in the course of everyday life rather than those specially commissioned by researchers. His book will be of value to a wide range of researchers working with documentary evidence, who will be able to draw on his experience in this authoritative work. Robert G.Burgess University of Leicester Preface and Acknowledgements This book draws on over twenty years of research experience based mainly on documentary sources of different types, involving first a doctorate in modern political history, and subsequently research in the history of education and on contemporary policy issues. It is also based on my experience of teaching research methods at undergraduate‚ Master’s and doctoral levels, and from many discussions with students whose research I have supervised. Third‚ I have tried to learn from my professional experiences in Britain and New Zealand, as well as from a range of international literature that I have encountered during this time. Some of the material in this work draws on externally funded research projects in which I have been involved. These are an Economic and Social Research Council project on professional cultures of teachers and the secondary school curriculum (000234738), and Leverhulme Trust projects on ‘Education and the working class’ (F/118/AB) and The life and educational career of Sir Cyril Norwood (1875–1956)’ (F/118/AU). I should like to thank copyright holders for kindly giving permission to reproduce material currently under copyright for the purposes of this book. May I also take this opportunity to give my sincere apologies to anyone whom I have not been able to contact. This is also a suitable opportunity to thank the many librarians and archivists in different institutions who have enabled me to carry on my research, in particular those at the University of Sheffield, the Institute of Education London, the University of Leeds, the University of Cambridge‚ Lancaster