A microethnographic study examined the language functions and cultural traits of Mexican American children during sociodramatic play in a bilingual preschool classroom. Findings showed that children learn how to use social language by having the opportunity to practice it freely but with guidance. Suggestions were devised for evaluating children's…

The three books reviewed continue the time-honored tradition of observing life in schools. Each book offers a different perspective on this topic and provides stimulating ideas about how collaboration between school personnel and academic researchers can be accomplished. Each also raises questions about the meaning of doing ethnographic research.…

An ethnographic study of the attitudes of teachers, headteachers, and home/school liaison workers toward school-parent relationships in Britain showed that, despite desire for closer and mutually supportive relationships, psychological and government policy barriers often prevented their development. (SK)

Addresses an issue relevant to social science research: how to adjust conceptual orientations and methodological priorities to take into account apparently changing human experiences and priorities. Focuses on three confusing situations that confront ethnographers (the meaning of culture, the enthusiasm for ethnography, and the responsibility of…

Coded data from 108 organizational ethnographies identified the determinants of management citizenship behavior (MCB). Unstable product markets but product competition increases it. MCB reduces conflict between employees and managers and has a strong positive effect on organizational citizenship behavior. (Contains 93 references.) (SK)

Examines computer documentation writers' tactics for conceiving of their audiences. Describes and evaluates technical communicators' tactics for understanding audiences, constrained and supported by their organizations based on two ethnographic case studies and insights from activity theory. Discusses the advantages and limitations of each tactic,…

Recognizes the persistent science achievement gap between inner-city African American students and students from the mainstream and suggests that the imposition of external standards on inner-city schools will do little to ameliorate this gap because such an approach fails to address the significance of the social and cultural lives of the…

The study drew on Bernstein's theory and Moscovici's theory of Social Representations to investigate how children in classrooms with different types of structuration developed social representation of the curriculum. Comparable case studies were carried out in schools chosen to reflect three types of pedagogy according to Bernstein's typology.…

Data presented in a previously reported ethnographic research project indicated that an urban elementary school regularly subjects its students to dated curricular materials and supplies. As reported, this occurred even though the school had at its disposal updated and even state-of-the-art resources, such as computers, visual aids, curriculum and…

The purpose of the study was to describe and interpret a particular culture of boys with changing voices at the American Boychoir School by means of an ethnography. Themes that emerged were (1) the boys' own perceptions of the voice change process, (2) healthy strategies for singing through the change, and (3) psychological issues. Informants were…

This article draws on data generated from a 3-1/2-year ethnographic study of the interface between Gypsy culture and the educational system in England. The evidence suggests that Gypsy children have distinctive spatial orientations that are embedded in their own culture and life experience. These relate to issues revolving around degrees of…

This article looks at how far educational approaches to gender equity can be packaged and exported to developing countries. I analyze current discourses on women's education at international, national and local levels. Drawing on detailed ethnographic data from Nepal, I argue that issues around gender and education need to be addressed as…

The tendency in education writing on globalization has been to examine the congruence of educational policies in western societies and the international effects of global governance of education by powerful transnational institutions such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union. The authors tend to…

The struggles of children when faced with reading books written in either a second language or unrelated matter, is described through an example of a eight year old girl, Kelly, who previously loved books but later came to dislike it. The tool ethnography is used to critically examine her behavior and struggles in reading.

Over the past 10 years, sociologists have attended to the impacts of the Internet on youth subcultural coalescence, display, identity, and resistance. In this article, the authors develop a critique of this body of work, describing how existing research places undue emphasis on young people's experiences either online or offline and how a lack of…