Ethical Research Proposal: Preschool Parents’ Views on 21st Century Education

PROPOSED TITLE OF RESEARCH:

Understanding Preschool Parents’ Perspectives and Expectations of 21st Century Education

British Educational Research Association [2018] BERA Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research are available here and British Psychological Society Code of Human Research Ethics [2021]

1. What aspect of making an impact on teaching and learning do you plan to research?

Aims to significantly impact teaching and learning by aligning educational practices with parents’ views and needs.

Aims to foster holistic development and improve engagement and motivation by involving parents more actively in their children’s education.

2. Why do you want to focus on this?

The focus of the research is to explore and understand the perceptions and expectations of preschool parents in Malaysia towards 21st-century education. This study aims to gather qualitative insights into how parents view current educational practices and their aspirations for their children’s early education in the context of preparing them for future challenges.

The research questions for this study are:

• What is the perspective of preschool parents on 21st century education?
• What are the expectations of parents regarding preschool education?

Research objectives for this study are:

• To analyze preschool parents’ perspective on 21st century education.
• To identify the expectations parents have for preschool education in preparing their children for future academic and social challenges.

3. Who will be involved? Which age group? Staff? Parents? Local community? and why?] How will you choose the people involved?

Parents are chosen for this study because their involvement and perspectives are critical to understanding and improving educational practices. Their insights can help to create a more holistic and effective approach to education that meets the needs of all stakeholders involved.

4. What is your chosen methodology? Why does this methodology suit the research you are proposing?

Chosen method: Interview

Qualitative: They provide in-depth exploration of participants’ perspectives, beliefs, and experiences. The face-to-face nature of interviews can build rapport and trust, encouraging participants to share more openly and honestly about their perceptions and expectations.

Limitations of the method:

• Time-consuming: scheduling, conducting the interviews, and transcribing responses require significant time and effort.
• Subjectivity: The data collected through interviews can be highly subjective, reflecting the personal biases and experiences of both the interviewer and interviewee, which can affect the reliability and validity of the findings.

5. What methods will you use? What actions will you be taking? Why have you chosen these methods? What are the limitations? What sort of questions will you be asking? What are the ethical issues, and how will you address them?

The chosen method is qualitative interviews. Below are the proposed interview questions:

• Q1: Can you describe your understanding of 21st century education?
• Q2: What are your expectations for your child’s preschool education?
• Q3: How do you believe preschool education can prepare your child for future academic and social challenges?
• Q4: What skills or knowledge do you think are most important for your child to learn in preschool?
• Q5: How do you perceive the role of technology in your child’s early education?

Ethical issues: addressing confidentiality and anonymity, ensuring that participants understand how their data will be stored and shared within the research team. Ensuring that participants’ identities and responses are protected by anonymizing data and maintaining confidentiality.

6. Consent of Parents: How do you plan to gain the consent of parents?

The parents need to opt in. The process is detailed in the Informed Consent Letter (Appendix 1).

7. Voluntary participation of children—how will you ensure that the children have voluntarily offered to participate and are not coerced?

N/A (not applicable for this study).

8. Data Protection: What strategies do you propose for storing, protecting, and disposing of the information you collect in the course of this research?

All materials will be stored in a password-protected file on the University iCloud until January 2025.

9. Anonymity: how will you ensure that the data you collect is not traceable to the provider or the pupils/students?

The data will be stored in College Cloud and only shared with the researcher’s supervisor. Participants will be kept anonymous, with pseudonyms used. The setting will not be named within the research.

10. Confidentiality: How will you ensure that you can adhere to confidentiality?

Confidentiality will be maintained through data anonymization and secure storage methods, only shared with the researcher’s supervisor.

11. How will you disseminate your findings with others?

Findings will be shared with the university supervisor until the research is submitted and passed by the exam board. Afterward, it can be shared with the setting.

12. Identify up to four texts that have informed your approach to research and choice of research methods.

• Aziz, Afiq. (2018). Embrace 21st-century learning… The Malaysian Reserve. Available at: Link.
• Unesco.org. (2022). Transforming lives through education. Available at: Link.
• Yoke, S., Ahmad, A., Yunos, R., Amin, J., Sulaiman, N., and Majid, F. (2019). Twenty-first Century Education: Are Malaysian Educators Ready for Implementation? International Journal of Innovation, Creativity, and Change. Available at: Link.

13. Identify up to six texts/sources that have informed your understanding of the aspect of education you are researching.

• Beeve, Kristin., Springer, Clint., and Paris, Jennifer. (2019). 1.4: Incorporating 21st-century technology in early childhood education. Available at: Link.
• Foster, Natalie. (2016). Home. Available at: Link.
• Kim, S. (2019). Improving 21st-century teaching skills: The key to effective 21st-century learners. Available at: Link.

14a) What do you consider to be the main risks to participants, and how will you address the risks?

To mitigate risks, ensure voluntary participation, confidentiality, and anonymity. Establish protocols for safeguarding children and supporting participants emotionally.

14b) What do you consider to be the main risks to you as a researcher, and how will you address the risks?

Ensure safety and emotional well-being, seek support if needed, and maintain professionalism to minimize risks.

15. Tutor signature for permission to upload SREP ethics template onto Moodle.

Name: Lim Min Jia

Date: [Date]

Signature: ___________________________

15. One of the following comments to be indicated on Turnitin feedback by SREP:

• 1. Research can proceed without amendments
• 2. Amendments need to be completed with sign-off from your supervisor
• 3. The form needs to be returned to SREP via Turnitin for further review on the Moodle page under ‘Resubmission.’

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