This yearlong ethnographic study of principals' leadership in Papua New Guinea high schools describes influences of imposing a bureaucratic school organization on principals' decision making in a communal society. Communal values of kinship relationships, "wantok" system, and "big men" leadership challenged principals'…

In the light of recent trends in educational assessment, language testing and the pedagogical discussion about new teacher roles, this article focuses on the skills and abilities required of a language teacher wishing to respond to these developments, with specific reference to the primary (elementary) foreign language classroom. A new concept is…

This article describes one urban classroom and the language and literacy practices jointly constructed by a veteran urban teacher, Lynn Gatto, and her 3rd grade students. Drawing from two ethnographic studies of Gattos 2nd-4th grade looped classroom, we argue that Gatto and her students use the interplay between strategies and tactics (De Certeau,…

BreastScreen (a free breast cancer screening service) has been implemented in Australia since 1991. Surveys conducted overseas consistently report that women of Chinese ancestry have low participation rates in breast cancer screening. Although Chinese women's use of breast cancer screening services has been investigated abroad, to date there are…

This article takes Anderson's (1999) "code of the street" as the context for studying science learning in an inner city American public school. It is proposed that a socio-cultural model of mind can help to explain how students in an urban chemistry class negotiate contradictory cultural codes. This analysis includes a consideration of…

This paper explores some of the more disturbing aspects of research on what was, at the time, the only state-funded alternative secondary school in New Zealand. Throughout the five years of research, New Zealand's school inspectorate, the Education Review Office, publicly released a series of highly critical reports on the school which resulted in…

Drawing on data from a three-year ethnographic study of Gypsy life in England, this article explores the experience and attitudes of Gypsy women regarding the home-school interface. Specific attention is given to the following: role expectations in the different contexts; changing perceptions of role in the face of economic and social change; the…

This paper is part of a broader study that draws on Wenger's (Wenger, E.: 1998, "Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity", Cambridge University Press, New Work) social practice perspective to investigate teacher learning. The study extends Wenger's complex model of interrelated components of learning (as meaning, practice,…

Preservice teachers are faced with many challenges when observing elementary classrooms and often jump to critical evaluation based on too little evidence. The authors wondered if preservice teachers could use observation methods from ethnography and sociolinguistics to delay their evaluations and interpretations of classroom practice and see from…

In the classroom, young people in their role of pupils are supposed to focus on and respond to the teaching plan. At breaks, the norms and rules may differ and are more similar to life outside the school. Peer rejection is part of this life. According to Swedish school legislation, schools shall counteract all forms of insulting treatment. Still,…

Geography is a traditional subject in Bulgarian education, both secondary and higher. Some of the most eminent Bulgarian scientists were geographers and theirs are many publications dealing not only with geography, but also with history, economics, ethnology, ethnography, political science, urban science and other disciplines. Major changes have…

This article is concerned with the nature of novice teaching principals' interactions in Queensland rural communities. Stories selected from case accounts are used to provide insights into the teaching principals' interrelationship with the community. The article concludes with a discussion of some implications for practice suggested by these…

This paper, based on an ethnographic study of an Israeli kindergarten, describes the practice of hugging, by the girls, of the teacher, and the latter's response to the girls' initiative. Based on Bourdieu's concept of "habitus" and the assumption that embodiment is crucial to social-cultural learning, the paper demonstrates the complex…

"Capoeira," the Brazilian dance and martial art, is now taught in many countries outside Brazil. Reflections on a year's fieldwork on capoeira teaching in the UK are used to make educational ethnography anthropologically strange. Issues of locality, noise, uncertainty and bodily contact are explored in a reflexive way. (Contains 7 notes.)

This article compares everyday life in French and English Key Stage 1 classes. It draws on ethnographic research in both countries to compare the experience of school children in various situations, ranging from learning to active participation in the life of the class. It suggests that socialisation in French and English primary schools develops…