Explains that Girlfriend Theology is a method of religious education by which women who have found power, voice, and authority might nurture resilience in adolescent girls within faith communities. Relates one ninety-minute story session and addresses seven theoretical assertions that arose during four other Girlfriend Theology sessions. Includes…

A case study of a large urban school district analyzed partnerships that brought together career-centered high school reforms. The initiative regularly convened partners and generated important conversations about educational options. Environmental conditions limited change efforts, including tensions between the school system and employment…

Describes the ethnography of communication as a viable, context- and culture-sensitive method for conducting research on classroom discourse. Provides an overview of the method and its role in applied linguistics research and then presents a study of discourse in mainstream high school classes with a large proportion of students who speak English…

Examines how boys and girls use features of stories to accomplish and restructure social identities within encounters. Finds that boys use stories to continue an ongoing argument while reshaping the domain of dispute. Finds that girls use stories to restructure alignments of participants in the current interaction and at some future time. (RS)

Investigates the role of social interaction in the literacy learning of three- and four-year-olds. Finds that children's self-selected literacy activities are rich contexts for literacy learning, and that social interaction provides context and motivation for literacy learning, and influences the kinds of literacy strategies children internalize…

Promotes the use of ethnographic techniques in planning field trips for British students to visit France, focusing on how to offer insight into and positive attitudes towards cultural differences the students may perceive and misinterpret while abroad. (CB)

Illustrates that ethnographic research is not antipathetic to controlled experimental or quasi-experimental research. Argues that qualitative and various kinds of quantitative research need to be used in productive symbiotic relationships. (RAE)

An ethnographic study of preservice teachers' professional perspectives indicated how important ethnographic methods are to study the complex process of teacher socialization. The article describes how preservice teachers create a practical philosophy of teaching and examines the psycho-social dynamics that underlie the development of professional…

Reports on an ethnographic project that investigated an English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) student's listening activities during one academic course at a university in the United States. Research findings suggest content-based listening classes could be helpful in ESL preparatory programs; guiding principles for course design are included. (49…

Results of immigrant student census data are used to describe school entry patterns and educational backgrounds of Mexican immigrant students. Interviews with recently arrived immigrant parents reveal educational and occupational expectations. Research and policy implications are discussed. (MW)

Based on a two-year ethnographic study of an English primary school, this article examines how its headteacher struggled to cope with rapid change while trying to maintain positive relationships within the school and with external groups. Focus is on (mostly positive) outcomes from liaison work with an affiliation of headteacher colleagues (the…

This paper addresses methods of training special educators in the skill of reflective thinking during immediacy situations in the context of a structured intervention at Haifa University (Israel). Discussion considers D. Schon's reflection-in-action model of decision-making and problem-solving modes and R. Eisikovitis's Ethnographic model.…

Discusses the ghosts and haunting in recent American fiction. Considers the similarity of function of ghosts in contemporary ethnic American literatures. Identifies a specific kind of ghost story, a "cultural haunting," that has recently emerged in large numbers in ethnic American literature. (HB)

"Tissue rejection," rejection of an instructional innovation because of poor fit, is analyzed to demonstrate the problematic nature of appropriate information collection and the need for ethnographic "means analysis" to inform project design. Tissue rejection is attributed to informal orders within a host educational environment and communication…

Three case studies of Third World development illustrate the usefulness of qualitative research methods such as CIPP (Context, Input, Process, Product), oneshot interviews, and grounded theory. Adjusting technology to people and cultures rather than changing people to fit technology is advocated. (SK)