The Politics of History: some methodological and ethical dilemmas in élite‐based research
- 1 February 1998
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in British Educational Research Journal
- Vol. 24 (1) , 5-19
- https://doi.org/10.1080/0141192980240102
Abstract
The last decade has seen a wide range of education policy reforms initiated at a macro‐level. In turn, these reforms have stimulated a rich, extensive literature describing qualitative educational research concerned with analysing macro‐education policy. In particular, education researchers have used élite interviews as a means of explaining education policy. This article shows the ways in which this literature was utilised to describe one of the most fiercely contested policies of the period, namely history in the National Curriculum. The article focuses upon the particular methodological and ethical challenges initiated by élite‐based research by considering the extent to which political influence was exerted over the policy‐making process relating to history in the early 1990s.Keywords
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