Examines the communicative behaviors of subordinate groups with dominant social groups. Analyzes the following forms of communication performed by and seen from the perspective of a lower-statused person communicating with a higher-statused person: tomming, passing, shucking, and dissembling. (PD)

An ethnographic study of a post-1992 British university looks at how faculty respond to changing policies and take actions that, intentionally or not, have the effect of changing policy outcomes. Argues that greater understanding of academic behavior is needed and that researchers must understand how structural factors (educational ideologies,…

Describes and explicates Navajo educational communication practices at Navajo Community College. Finds that the educational philosophy "Sa'ah Naaghai Bik'eh Hozhoon" is integrated into curriculum and classroom by incorporating the following aspects of Navajo philosophy into lectures and assignments: focusing on a sense of place, on…

The eight chapters of this theme issue evaluate a large-scale intervention, the New York City Public Schools Integrated Learning Systems Project. The overall evaluation contains ethnographic studies of project schools, statistical investigations of outcomes in terms of student achievement and attitude, comparisons of system costs to other systems,…

Examines how young girls in a multi-aged primary classroom constructed gendered identities and meanings through interactions with books and televised soap operas that often distort their vision of reality and what it is to live as a female. Discovers that the girls interpreted story to make it fit into their already established ideas about…

Reports on an ethnographic study of college students' participation in an academic community, focusing on processes occurring in a residential college's week-long orientation: first day on campus; residence hall meetings; picnic and convocation; informal discussion of gender topics; dance; first day of classes. Examines issues of disorientation,…

Argues that the ethnographic interview gives teachers an insider's understanding of an aspect of a foreign culture and endows them with the insight to interpret the insider account from an observer's perspective. The article describes materials developed for inservice training and a pilot course that tested them with Irish teachers preparing to…

In Canada's Exemplary Schools Project, a national committee designed and coordinated 21 case studies. A committee member recounts decisions made about design and method, and highlights differences between method and methodology, as well as variations in conceptualization of qualitative research. Discusses the meaning of "exemplary,"…

Presents results from ethnographic fieldwork regarding a program to develop telematically delivered distance learning packages in Britain. Describes aims of the program, including building an infrastructure for distance learning and community development, to provide training software, and to identify limitations of attempts to break down economic…

A study examined young Mexican Americans' perspectives concerning their own ethnicity. Observations and focus groups with 30 Mexican American youths from a Southwest barrio indicate that respondents used racial terms to understand acculturation differences. Intense negative feelings were expressed about less- acculturated, Spanish-speaking…

Two-year ethnographic study with 25 working-class, 9th-and 10th-grade, black and Latino/Latina students to examine how they interpret and negotiate college-going processes. Findings suggest three interrelated strategies of negotiations: (1) challenging negative perceptions and expectations of urban youth; (2) "passing" academic…

This ethnographic study compared the classroom practices of low, moderately, and highly engaging third-grade teachers in eight Catholic schools. Findings indicated that in low engaging classrooms, teachers used many practices that undermined motivation. Moderately engaging teachers used many potentially motivating practices but assigned tasks that…

Examines some interactional details of a court case that took place in the Mexican community of Tenejapa. Suggests that courtroom behavior in Tenejapa uniquely allows for direct confrontation in a society where a premium is placed on interactional restraint. Explores the implications of this Tenejapan phenomenon for the relations between language…

Concerns of students at risk of dropping out of school in an urban setting were studied using innovative ethnographic methods. Students served as collaborators to tape dialogues between themselves and peers. Results for 77 dialogues among 61 individuals indicate the importance of pressure from outside and boredom within the school. (TJH)

Finds that, among five Zuni and Anglo primary teachers in Zuni Pueblo, ethnic group membership did not determine the extent of culturally congruent teaching behaviors. Suggests that ethnicity goes beyond mere ascription to encompass life experiences, language fluency, and cultural expertise. Contains 24 references. (SV)