A study examined one first-grade teacher's use of inquiry pedagogy to maximize literacy learning and teaching in her classroom. The setting for the study was a classroom in the Cleveland, Ohio, School District. In this classroom literacy events build upon students' prior knowledge and experience gleaned from their lives outside the classroom and…

Researchers have identified three variables to explain the diversity among children born to cocaine/polydrug using women: (1) the dysfunctional family histories of the maternal user; (2) the purity, dosage, and regularity of illicit drugs used during pregnancy; and (3) subsequent mother-child interaction following birth and during formative…

Considering teachers' thinking about a specific mathematical topic allows one to better understand the broader domain of teachers' mathematical thinking and its influence on teaching and learning. This paper explores the meanings and understandings communicated by one middle school mathematics teacher about mathematics and mathematics teaching in…

This study investigated effects of the application of Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) with four preschool children with developmental disabilities during interactions with three primary conversational partners. The study involved a multiple baseline (probe) across two children which was replicated across two additional children. Within that…

A semi-annual refereed publication of research and instructional practices in English/language arts and allied fields, preschool through adult levels, this volume of "Maryland English Journal" presents articles on a variety of subjects and showcases the work of young writers. Articles in volume 28, number 1 focus on ethnographic studies…

The role of context in learning has taken on a new significance in recent research in that it might account for the "lost learning" that should result from the school experience, but which does not appear on normative assessments intended to measure learning in areas explicitly valued by society. A naturally occurring microworld, or…

An ethnographic study investigated conversations during planning meetings and placement rating sessions for selecting and rating freshman composition placement exams. Planning meetings involved the administrative coordinator and two assistants selecting model essays, discussing the rubric, and confirming the final plans for the rating session.…

This book is based on ethnographic research carried out between 1965 and 1994 during eight visits to a tribal region in southwest Iran. The book weaves together local practices, cognitive categories, folklore, and anecdotes concerning all aspects of growing up to illuminate the world of children in the village of Deh Koh. The book describes how…

This article considers arguments for and against the use of coding systems in classroom-based language research and touches on some relevant considerations from ethnographic and conversational analysis approaches. The four authors each explain and elaborate on their practical decision to code or not to code events or utterances at a specific point…

This paper describes ethnosociology and provides an application of this interpretive research model in dealing with problems in rural special education. The expansion of rural special education knowledge should begin with discovering and elaborating on special education knowledge at the local theory level. Such inquiry would be based on the…

This paper reviews some of the issues in the new literacy studies and the questions, from an anthropological perspective, of self, person, and identity that affect literacy practices. It is suggested that in discussing literacy, it is better to start from a cultural viewpoint rather than an educational one. The traditional autonomous model of…

In a feminist classroom an instructor who acts as an "interested party" rather than an authority, fosters an environment of care and connection which can result in life-changing discoveries for the participants. Drawing on David Bleich's conception of a "socially generous research" that removes hierarchical barriers between…

This study considered three hypotheses: (1) cultures differ in the extent to which they represent infants as capable of vocal communication; (2) mothers' models of infant communication are influenced by their experiences in school; and (3) mothers' models of infant communication affect maternal responsiveness during the first 6 months of the…

A Toronto (Canada) study explored how low levels of schooling and literacy affected access of Latin-American adults to aspects of everyday life. Subjects were nine Spanish-speaking men and women, most with little or no formal schooling and varying levels of Spanish literacy. Analysis of data gathered in interviews revealed that the individuals…

The word "miftan" means "threshold" in Hebrew. The Miftan as an educational framework was conceived in Israel as a response to the needs of marginal male youth who are about to drop out or who have dropped out of the regular school system. Currently 42 Miftanim are operating in that country. This report presents ethnographic…