In this article, we discuss an ethnographic case study of the teaching practice (practicum) experience of a student teacher, Lynn, in a university partnership school in mainland China. Drawing on Activity Theory, we conceptualise Lynn's practicum as boundary-crossing between two different activity systems: those of the school community and the…

This microethnographic case study discusses the effects of translating and revising documents for an English-medium master of science in engineering programme in terms of workload and value for English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teacher development, integration, and enculturation. During the changeover from the diploma to bachelor-master…

Effective history teaching includes ample opportunities for students to develop historical thinking skills and habits of mind which encourage them to learn content beyond simple acquisition of facts. Covering the profound topic of segregation by employing multiple perspectives and encouraging investigation beyond the traditional narrative provides…

For more than a decade, the professional development literature has shown that most teachers are not adequately prepared to teach English learners (ELs)--that holds true for both specialist and mainstream teachers (see, for example, August & Hakuta, 1997; Beykont, 2002). Research that focuses on professional development for teachers of ELs,…

With dual language learners falling behind their same-age peers at the beginning of kindergarten, understanding how school experiences can enhance language learning is critical. This study demonstrates how play among preschool-aged children can foster English language learning. Using an ethnographic approach, one classroom composed of two teachers…

Storyboarding is one common strategy used in teaching young people digital media. This paper argues that in adolescents' literacy practices, they engage in production on the go. The metaphor is described in this paper to put forward the argument that storyboarding can be a retrospective and redundant literacy activity in adolescents' school…

Through observation, questionnaires and, particularly, ethnographic interviews with parents, pupils, teachers and community organisers associated with a Yemeni complementary school, this paper develops a portrait of language repertoires, practices and preferences in a Yemeni diasporic community in a northern English city. Also investigated are the…

The purpose of this autoethnographic narrative inquiry was for the researcher to describe and explain how he discovered, constructed, and refined his sense of moral purpose as a principal during his seven-year tenure at Orange Pines Middle School. He inductively analyzed and reflected primarily on self-authored texts tied to critical professional…

The aim of this article is to expand the dialogue about how contemporary scholarship on the intersections between youth, literacy, and popular culture might inform literacy teacher education. Specifically, this article is designed to (a) orient literacy teacher educators who may be somewhat unfamiliar with this particular line of scholarship to a…

Residential neighborhoods adjacent to a higher education institution are home to diverse groups of people who share neither a common sense of community (McMillan & Chavis, 1986) nor the same degree of attachment to place (Low & Altman, 1992). These neighborhoods are characterized by transience and a lack of cohesion. They are highly prized…

This paper shows how a group of young people and researchers, through their reading of images, performed "identity work" within discourses of the body and gender in physical education. To explore young people's identity narratives and physicality, the researchers used an ethnographic method using photo-elicitation. Findings in this study showed…

Forms of White oppression in the United States are hierarchically evaluated through male-dominated society. This paper concentrates on a different perspective--White, female privilege through the experiences and self-reflections of narratives from three geographical perspectives--rural, urban, and international. Within the theoretical frameworks…

The work highlighted in this essay focuses on an ethnographic study of a group of African American women, members of Phenomenal Women, Incorporated, who come together not necessarily to read and write, but who, in their "sista space"--their club--often read and write when they come together. In this space, they promote self-help through reading…

This essay about the work of a famous anthropologist is an attempt to illuminate one way that researchers could apply their findings about the behavior of people in particular groups to ethical considerations of social relations. I argue that Gregory Bateson (1904-1980) is a good example because he applied a few seminal ideas to a wide range of…

Africans, especially the Senegalese, have been the largest visible immigrant group in the United States (US) over the last 30 years. The cultural understanding necessary for effectively providing for their mental and other health needs is limited. This article involves a first-person phenomenographic (Marton 1986) account of an investigation of…