Last Updated on October 19, 2026 by Karl Thompson
The classic method for researching in classrooms is non-participant observation: in effect, the researcher sits at the back of the lesson the way an Ofsted inspector does on a lesson visit. HOWEVER, there are other methods available to the researcher who wants to study what actually goes on in lessons.
This post has been written for the Methods in Context question on AQA Paper 1 (7192/1), where classrooms are one of the research contexts the mark scheme rewards you for applying.
Researching in education
Pupils · Teachers · Parents · Classrooms · Issues in schools
How to use these in the exam: How to Answer Methods in Context Questions
What are classrooms like as a research setting?
Classrooms are closed environments with very clear rules of behaviour. In England in 2025/26 the average class had 26.1 pupils in primary schools and 22.6 in secondary schools, usually with one teacher and perhaps one learning support assistant. Lessons usually last from 40 minutes to an hour.
Strengths of non-participant observation in classrooms
The obvious choice of method for a classroom is non-participant observation, with the researcher taking on the role of the inspector at the back of the room.
There are so many students in one place, and potentially hundreds of micro-interactions in even a 40-minute lesson, that the observer has plenty to focus on. Classrooms are perhaps some of the most data-rich environments in education.
Arguably the most useful way of collecting observational data would be for the researcher to decide in advance what they are looking for, rather than trying to watch everything, which would be difficult. For example, they might record how many times the teacher praises which pupils, or how often disruptive behaviour takes place and how the teacher responds.
Students will probably be used to Ofsted inspections, or to other staff dropping in to observe lessons occasionally. So it should be relatively easy for a researcher to blend into the background and observe without being too obtrusive.
Classrooms are also usually organised in a standardised way: they tend to be similar sizes, with only a few possible variations in desk layout. That gives the researcher a good basis for reliability. Any differences they observe in teacher or student behaviour across classrooms or schools are probably down to the teachers or pupils themselves, not differences in the environments they are in (at least to an extent!).
Limitations of researching in classrooms
Gaining access could be a problem: not all teachers are going to be willing to have a researcher observing them. They may regard the classroom as their territory and think they have little to gain from an outsider watching them. HOWEVER, if the researcher is a teacher themselves, they might be able to offer some useful feedback on teaching strategies in return.
Teachers will probably act differently when observed. Think back to Ofsted inspections: teachers usually ‘up their game’ and make sure they are more inclusive and encouraging, and this is likely to happen whenever anyone observes.
Similarly, pupils may behave differently. They may be more reluctant to contribute because a researcher is present, or disruptive students may act up even more.
Classrooms are unusual, controlled environments, with only two roles (teacher and student) and clear norms, so neither teachers nor students may be fully themselves in them.
Finally, researchers can’t dig deeper and ask probing questions during a lesson, unless they take on the role of participant observer by becoming a learning support assistant. Even then, they would be limited in what they could ask if they didn’t want to disrupt the flow of the lesson.
Other ways of researching in classrooms
It’s not all about direct non-participant observation.
Researchers might choose a more participatory approach, by training as a learning support assistant or even a teacher, and doing much longer-term, unstructured observational research with students. This would let them get to know the students really well, and make it very easy to ask deeper questions outside lessons. The approach is covered in Participant Observation to Research Education.
The problem is that they would then be part of the educational establishment, and students may not want to open up to them for precisely that reason.
A further option would be to put up cameras and observe from a distance. HOWEVER, this might meet resistance from both teachers and students, and it would be more difficult to ask follow-up questions when reviewing recordings some time after the lesson took place.
How this comes up in the exam
In a Methods in Context answer, the item will often tell you that the research takes place in classrooms or lessons. You get application marks for linking the method to the points above: the data-rich setting, the observer effect on teachers and pupils, access, and the standardised layout of classrooms.
For a full past-paper answer set in classrooms, see Evaluate the strengths and limitations of using non-participant observation to investigate pupil behaviour in schools.
Signposting
This post has been written primarily for students studying research methods in context, as part of the AQA’s A-level Sociology course.
It is one of five posts on research contexts in education: Researching Pupils, Researching Teachers, Researching Parents and Issues Surrounding Researching in Schools cover the others.
Please click here to return to the Research Methods page, or here to return to the homepage – ReviseSociology.com.