Proposes that code switching (CS) and code mixing are natural phenomena that may result in increased competency in various communicative contexts. Both assets and deficits of CS are analyzed, and an ethnographic approach to the variable underlying CS is recommended. (32 references) (Author/VWL)

Examines the importance of goals and style in female competition. Describes an ethnographic study of 27 girls and 12 boys playing a ball game at a Quaker school. Finds that the girls used stereotypically feminine rhetoric to support aggressive competition. (FMW)

Discusses the effect of culture on creative drama. Provides an overview of the following features of creative drama in cultures previously examined: identification, mediation, transformation, empathy, metaphor and symbol, structures and dynamics, roles, communication, and audience. Summarizes emergent issues and relates them to the nature and…

Reviews the seven papers presented at a symposium entitled "Perennial Issues in Qualitative Research," part of the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (San Francisco, California, 1986), and included in this issue. Discusses the demonstrated usefulness of qualitative methods in educational research, and also…

Describes an ethnographic study of the electronic community comprised of masters and doctoral students involved in a seminar on networking. Ethnographic research facilitated observation and description of the networked learning community. The exploration of the cultural meaning of class events led to enhanced understanding of online education and…

Attempts to broaden the theoretical base and practical applications of multicultural education by examining the contributions of European American educators to the process. Advocates members of the dominant culture using their own lives as starting points for studying how that culture is maintained. (MJP)

Examines how multicultural education can alter the learning environment of a school and thereby influence student relations, attitudes, and behaviors. The author discusses study findings that show the need for educational theory and practice to pay more attention to minority group interrelationships rather than the interaction between the…

Maintains that storytelling is an ancient instructional method that can be used effectively by contemporary art educators. Presents a narrative by a six-year-old Navajo girl that describes a typical school day. Includes suggestions for using the story to teach about cultural differences and cultural change. (CFR)

This article describes an analysis of English-language needs of an oil company in the Middle East, exploring the role of ethnography in carrying out the holistic research necessary to obtain a clear picture of the company's needs. It includes a discussion of the project's findings and recommendations for language training. (11 references) (MDM)

This ethnographic study observed five hearing-impaired children in public settings with their mothers. It discusses the families' busy schedules, reaction of the mother to her child when out in public, reaction of the mother to strangers, and communication between the hearing-impaired child and institutional figures such as doctors and day care…

The development of communicative competence and the role of cultural context in the communicative interaction of four young Inuit children and their caregivers was studied ethnographically. Caregiver accommodations to Inuit children differed in many ways from those reported for White middle class North Americans. The paper calls for culturally…

In a microethnographic study of an elementary second-language (L2) classroom, one recurring event of the classroom, the "talking circle," is analyzed in terms of its topic development, social demands, and communicative dimensions. It is argued that L2 students need abundant practice in turn-taking, interrupting, and listening. (Contains…

Describes an ethnographic study conducted in a grade four classroom during language arts instruction to discover patterns of a traditional approach, a whole-language approach, or a combination of the two. Compares and contrasts traditional and whole-language approaches according to specific dimensions: concept of learning, curriculum, pedagogy,…

Explores the significance of listening to multiple voices in constructing the conversation that distinguishes our culture. Pluralism and multiculturalism are discussed in terms of concrete engagements with persons who have historically not been acknowledged. Learning to look through multiple perspectives helps young people build bridges to…

Documents the changes that occurred in one junior high school reading class as students prepared for a state-mandated test. Shows that discrepancies between the authentic instruction the students were used to and the rigid demands of the reading test were a shock to all involved. Maintains that authentic reading instruction deserves authentic…