Draws from studies in the sociology of scientific knowledge to create a new perspective for understanding school science. Merges ethnography and discourse analysis to study science-in-the-making in a physics classroom. Investigates local conceptual ecologies. Contains 55 references. (DDR)

Examines neo-Marxist and poststructural critiques of classical language planning (lp) for relevance to lp on behalf of minority languages. Criticisms suggest lp is conducted by elites governed by self-interest, reproduces rather than overcomes sociocultural and econotechnical inequalities, inhibits multiculturalism, espouses worldwide…

Addresses the relationship between educational theory and classroom practice using data from an ethnographic study of English as a Second Language (ESL) learning at a Canadian school. Outlines the conflict between two language ideologies shaping and being shaped by ESL teachers', assistants' and students' classroom practices. Discusses…

Considers the extent to which constructionist epistemology provides a solution for achieving a link between qualitative-ethnographic and cognitivist research on foreign language acquisition. Points to the validity of qualitative research provided that there is clarity and explicitness of process so that those who read research can carry out their…

Outlines an approach to cultural instruction in adult second language education called "culture exploration," which calls for the recognition of ambiguity embedded in cross-cultural encounters. Culture exploration consists of employing techniques of ethnographic participant observation in and outside the classroom and holding reflective,…

Examines the role of television advertising among unskilled female factory laborers in Bangalore, India. Demonstrates that television in the global city provides spaces for the expression of urban and gendered identities that could be accessed through the economic benefits of factory labor. Concludes that participatory communication and further…

Examines the ways in which literacy functions in institutional encounters and focuses on the ways literacy interacts with power and authority. Examines the enactment of literacy in medical encounters. Finds that institutional encounters enacting the discourse system of American medicine reproduce power and dominance in fairly predictable ways. (TB)

Documents a pilot study of the perceptions of two L1 Xhosa acting students and their teachers about learning to act in L2 English in an L1 English university drama department in South Africa. Seeks to identify perceptions of "good acting," and the degree to which these are contingent on perceptions of "good English" in theatre…

Used critical race theory to examine how black males could be placed "beyond love" in a competitive secondary school recognized for its supportive environment. Interviews, observations, and school-related data indicated that these students remained marginalized and oppressed. Suggests that attempts to transform black students' academic…

This ethnographic, baseline study explores elements of expertise that academic employee library trainers should have, including knowing how to learn about technology; how to understand information science; how to learn about trainees and develop effective training approaches; and how to negotiate organizational constraints. (Author/LRW)

Advances an approach to analysis of discursive intercontextuality through theories of space-time production. Argues management of multiple contexts within school-related discourse is an important means of discursively producing identity, agency, and power relations. Draws data from an ethnographic and discourse-based study of an extended school…

Reviews three books that (1) provide a systemic overview of schooling in Mexico in the 20th century, (2) present a critical ethnography of Mexican student culture and identity formation, and (3) incorporate analyses of indigenous cultural practices into cognitive theory. Reflects on the future of Mexican education in view of political corruption…

Looks at the ways in which a group of girls perceived themselves and how their perceptions and behaviors changed as they moved from the sixth grade to the seventh grade. Focuses on the ways that early adolescents develop their identities in school contexts. Concludes that the girls indicated that they were grateful for their occasions when they…

Explores, through critical performance ethnography, the performative constitution of whiteness in an introductory communication classroom. Suggests that white subjects often fail to see whiteness in action. Argues that race in general, and whiteness in particular, is a social communicative accomplishment--a performative constitution of identity…

A study of a coeducational outdoor/adventure program for 13- to 15-year olds at Shotmoor, England, where all participated in the same activities. The boys' beliefs about the abilities of girls were altered in a way that would not have occurred in a classroom. (DM)