Presents an intensive case study using ethnographic techniques to understand how teaching affects nonmainstream students, particularly Latinos. Suggests that much of the problem is students feeling out of place and notes that the writing teacher's role is finding ways to get students to come to class and motivate them to participate. (SG)

Examines the role of tension in the process of instructed second/foreign language acquisition on the basis of findings from a comprehensive ethnography of the 7-week intensive beginners' class in the summer French School of Middlebury College. This project completes and challenges the current research paradigm on language anxiety as it shifts the…

This case study examines the shifting bilingual preference of three French/English bilingual children over a 3-year period. Clarifies terms used to refer to bilingual preference. The children's fluctuating bilingual preference was accounted for in terms of three contextual domains: home (predominantly French-speaking), school, and community…

Discusses the growing interest in "ethnomathematics," an effort to embrace non-European methods of math in college courses, especially in teacher education courses. Proponents claim they are teaching the same concepts as in traditional math but adding new culturally sensitive reasoning skills. Critics suggest dangers in teaching "politically…

Studied the processes of change and adaptation experienced by mature undergraduate women students as they learned to become student teachers. The study, which reveals the complexity of adaptation for these mature students, benefited from the ethnographic research approach used to provide insights about the socialization of these students. (SLD)

Examines a Calcutta street child's experiences with vocational education within a broader historical framework of colonial and post-colonial discourses on formal education and the poor. Provides an ethnographic narrative of the child's experiences, exploring how colonialism, by establishing a modern education system and transforming children's…

Investigates the possible link between a classroom teacher's implementation of alternative literacy assessment and her classroom instruction. Illuminates the role that alternative literacy assessments can play in the classroom in terms of reflecting literacy task performance, presenting information on students' strengths and weaknesses, and…

Provides a survey on projects, authors, topics, and methods in recent ethnographic studies carried out in Germany and elsewhere. Describes embedding scientific student ethnography into a field of discourse. Concludes with a prognosis relating to the future perspectives of this segment of educational research. (CMK)

Observed friendships of sixteen 4- to 5-year-olds during their transition to school. Found that important shared activities for friends over the transition included birthday parties, overnight stays, resource sharing, and reciprocal or complementary play. Only two dyadic friendships survived over the transition. Children with friends did not make…

Discussion of the need for ethical computing strategies and policies at the K-12 level to acculturate computer hackers away from malicious network hacking focuses on a three-year participant observation ethnographic study conducted at the New Technology High School (California) that examined the school's attempts to socialize its hackers to act…

Examines three significant moments in a weekly reading and writing workshop to reflect on the problematic notion of "coming to voice" for African Caribbean girls aged 14 to 15. Concludes by sharing how the inquiry taught the author some salient lessons in listening to research participants' voices and on the politics and ethics of…

Takes a discourse-analytic approach to study the research that two managers carried out in an educational institution to produce and legitimate knowledge used for decision making. Shows that the writing and reading of notes taken during interviews conducted as part of the research was a crucial step in the construction of the knowledge in which…

The migration experience creates a unique set of challenges for families, which can result in intergenerational conflict and create the conditions for abuse or neglect. Alternatively, families can cope with these challenges in creative and seemingly contradictory ways, thus strengthening family relationships. This article introduces the process of…

In this article, issues of identity in second language (L2) learning are examined by using discourse analysis and ethnographic observations to analyze electronic bulletin board postings by ESOL students in a content-based class as they participated in discussions about gay rights and homosexuality. Drawing on notions of identity construction,…

Instances of intimidation and harassment of junior doctors and medical students have been widely reported in the literature. Studies to date have mostly focused on the incidence of perceived mistreatment and have not explored the causes of or responses to it. This article reports findings from an ethnographic study of a single British medical…