The TC Institutional Review Board (IRB) receives a number of education research submissions every year, especially studies proposed in K-12 school settings. Researchers may wish to conduct research projects in school settings for a variety of reasons including (but not limited to):
- Analyzing the effectiveness or feasibility of implementing new curriculum
- Understanding student-teacher relationships or classroom interactions
- Comparing school/district settings and/or learning environments
- Evaluating student academic achievement or youth’s behaviors
While research with youth plays a vital role in the development and improvement of our education systems, there are specific considerations for researchers wishing to conduct studies in K-12 settings. The federal government has outlined special protections for youth involved in research, and researchers planning to conduct their studies in educational settings should consider the following guidelines.
Understand the Types of Consent (and Assent)
In order to prepare IRB documents, identify the research subjects and the appropriate consent (e.g., Obtaining Parent Permission, The Assent Process with Minors) documentation. If researchers will be accessing existing data, determine whether the data are student-level, teacher-level, or school-level. Researchers should also ensure that they have a comprehensive data security and access plan.
- Youth as the Research Subjects: Researchers planning to conduct studies in which youth under the age of 18 are the study subjects should seek both youth assent and parental permission prior to engaging in study activities. For school-based studies, parental permission and assent should be obtained before engaging at the study site.
- Teachers as the Research Subjects: Teachers should be consented before engaging in a research study. Even if a study is implemented on a school-wide basis, teachers should have the ability to opt-in to a study or disagree to participate.
- Researchers should always consider the burden their study will place on educators, administrators, and districts. To alleviate the burden on educators, researchers should coordinate with each teacher’s and the school’s schedule, communicate de-identified study findings, or provide free instructional insights based on observations. In reviewing a protocol, the IRB will weigh the burden on the school against the researchers’ plans to alleviate those burdens.
- If you are recording/observing classroom instruction, consider whether students will be involved in the observation. For example, researchers who are recording instructional methods may inadvertently capture students’ faces and voices. In these types of cases, researchers should either seek to mitigate the risk that non-participants will be in the research study, or include students as part of the research population and seek their assent.
- Student-Level Data: Any information that teachers, schools, or districts collect on students can be considered student-level data (e.g., assessments, demographic information). If researchers are accessing de-identified data, they should consider any risk to students if that data is exposed. A Data Release Form Template is often used if a researcher plans to access identifiable student-level data and should be signed by both the parent and student. The IRB reviews student-level data protocol requests on a case-by-case basis, and in some cases, in consultation with TC IT. The source(s) of the student-level data, how the data will be accessed, transferred, secured, and stored are all considered when reviewing data requests.
- Teacher-Level Data: Curriculums, instructional methods, lesson plans, and teacher reflections can all be considered teacher-level data. Researchers should seek a data release form from the teachers. Additionally, researchers should consider that some instructional materials and curriculums do not always belong to the teacher. Many curriculums are implemented on a school-wide level and are the property of the school to release, rather than the teachers'.
Exempt Categories May Not Apply to Youth
The Exempt Review category pertains to studies that pose no more than minimal risk to participants and meets requirements set forth by the federal government. However, research that typically meets requirements for Exempt Category 2 may undergo a higher level of review when conducted with youth. Exempt Category 2 includes interactions involving educational tests (cognitive, diagnostic, aptitude, achievement), survey procedures, interview procedures, or observation of public behavior (including visual or auditory recordings).
When youth are involved, however, “the use of survey or interview procedures is eliminated from this exemption, and so is research involving the observation of public behavior if the investigators participate in the activity being observed” (Research with Children FAQs, OHRP). According to this federal guidance, only research with youth involving “educational tests or observation of public behavior where the investigators do not participate in the activity being observed” will apply to this category. In order for the research to be exempt, researchers cannot interact with the students; teachers or instructors must be the ones providing the educational tests or activities. Finally, the educational tests or observations must be de-identified or non-identifiable in order to meet the requirements for Exempt Category 2.
Is the Study Really an Educational Activity?
Exempt Category 1 includes “research conducted in established or commonly accepted educational settings, that specifically involves normal educational practices that are not likely to adversely impact students’ opportunity to learn or the assessment of educators. This includes most research on regular and special education instructional strategies, and research on the effectiveness of or the comparison among instructional techniques, curricula, or classroom management methods.” Researchers applying under this category must consider if the proposed studies meet the requirements for typical educational practices. In other words, would the classroom activity (proposed in the study) occur even if no research was conducted at the site? In cases where the answer is yes, the study may fall under Exempt Category 1, as it is considered typical educational practice.
Partnering with Schools
All researchers planning to conduct their studies at a school must submit an unsigned School Permission Template with their IRB application. Once the research study is approved, researchers should have the school’s official (e.g., superintendent or principal) sign the form and upload it to their IRB protocol as a Modification.
For researchers working in New York City (NYC), consider if the school falls under the jurisdiction of NYC Department of Education (NYC DOE). TC IRB has developed a guide for researchers wishing to partner with NYC DOE schools. All researchers working in NYC DOE schools must be prepared to submit a research application to TC IRB and NYC DOE IRB. To ease the burden on researchers, TC IRB will accept applications and consent forms in NYC DOE IRB’s templates. Researchers working with other school districts should check the district’s policy on research and IRB requirements.
Education research can help administrators, teachers, or students find solutions to systemic problems that exist in education settings. For more information, explore these additional resources: