As a PhD student, who is not currently teaching, how can I get past the gatekeepers in schools (specifically high schools) to ask for teachers to participate in my studies? Schools now have a general email that they filter. They will not accept phone calls or direct phone calls. Help!
We had a problem recruiting teachers directly in Scotland through schools for an European Union funded project (details of the project on my home page) aimed at helping teachers to use more inquiry based methods in science education. I suppose it depends on the nature of your project and the way education works where you are, but we got round the problem by having an educational development officer working for a local educational authority to ask for recruits. He had the necessary authority and respect from (some?) teachers to invite participation. It might be harder to find this kind of support as a PhD student but perhaps your supervisor or other faculty members could recommend your work to someone in this sort of position. Good luck.
Holly McMillin Murtha I suggest for you to get an appointment to meet with the schools' principal/s, explain your research study/proposal, and get a permission to conduct your data collection (e.g., interviewing, surveying, etc. the faculty) in their school site/s . . . . etc.
You first have to decide what are the criteria for inclusion/exclusion in your study. How do they participate? What is the target population? Sample size? How do you want to recruit or screen? These questions assist in deciding if approaching on school is acceptable/representative or if you need from a large pool of possible participants. You might recruit through professional organization (though this changes the characteristics of the sample).
I have my criteria, etc. I'm just trying to get to secondary education teachers and classroom support staff. :)
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