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Evolving Ethics of Educational Research

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A Companion to Research in Education

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Abstract

This chapter argues that principles of ethical practice of educational research must be informed by broader epistemological and political analyses. Ethics and the relationship between researcher and researched have evolved as the vulnerability of participants has been recognised. Increased community participation in research as it has developed in educational participatory action research provides guidance because of: (i) its strong commitment to participation, and (ii) its active engagement in educational and social change that generates very challenging ethical dilemmas considered only tangentially by other research approaches. The history of advocacy for participation in educational research shows the articulation of ‘principles of procedure’ in ‘democratic’ evaluation and participatory action research. Some sub-practices of participatory action research are used to illustrate how ethical dilemmas of research and their links to educational practice can only be resolved through careful and disciplined self-reflection by participants.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See the horrendous scale of this at the Museum of Tolerance Multimedia Learning Centre http://motlc.wiesenthal.com/site/pp.asp?c=gvKVLcMVIuG&b=358201.

  2. 2.

    The edict ‘First, do no harm’ is sometimes wrongly attributed to the Hippocratic Oath, ethical beacon for medical doctors for centuries. The sentiment is there, and appears in other work by Hippocrates, but he may not be the author. The Latin version is ‘Primum non nocere’, sometimes attributed to the Roman physician, Galen.

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Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Drs Gina Curro and Nick Szorenyi-Reischl for comments on earlier drafts of this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia

    Robin McTaggart

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  1. Robin McTaggart
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Correspondence to Robin McTaggart .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia

    Alan D. Reid

  2. Faculty of Education, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

    E. Paul Hart

  3. Hamilton Campus, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

    Michael A. Peters

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McTaggart, R. (2014). Evolving Ethics of Educational Research. In: Reid, A., Hart, E., Peters, M. (eds) A Companion to Research in Education. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6809-3_61

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