Recommends that students conduct ethnographic studies of language in their own communities. Emphasizes that the focus ought to be conventions of speaking and writing, as well as conventions that govern the conduct, the "texts," of a culture. (RAE)

Describes a collaborative qualitative evaluation of a school-based curriculum project in an Australian elementary school that combined ethnographic, illuminative, and naturalistic methods. Examines the political processes that facilitated and impeded the evaluation process. (FMW)

Describes a university-sponsored school improvement project and how it is influenced by school community relations. Suggests an alternative model of schooling that conceives of the school as a community institution, accepts conflict between school and the larger society, and acknowledges communities' efforts in devising their own political…

Paper explores the idea of biography writing as a medium for teacher development and reflection, focusing on the ethnographic biography to provide student teachers with context in preservice education and describing a one-semester course in Switzerland in which student teachers were paired with experienced teachers to complete ethnographic…

Describes three methods for research on the second-language writing assessment process and the kinds of questions these methods can answer. Methods include direct observation, ethnographic observation, and studies of the relations between ratings and objective measures of various textual characteristics. (JL)

Investigates the administration of courses in English as a foreign language and reaction of students and teachers to the presentation of these courses. Students described activities in terms of linguistic elements and stated the purpose as accurate production, whereas the teachers' main concern centered on the conveyance of meaningful information.…

Seven noted researchers each describe a different orientation to research exemplified in their own studies and currently predominant in the teaching of English to speakers of other languages. The statements consider aspects of language behavior, frameworks for interpreting curricula or culture such as classroom interaction or ethnography, or…

An ethnographic research method taught as a way of studying different cultural groups in a social work curriculum is described. Students learn to be sensitive observers of cultures by conducting ethnographic interviews and forming assessments within a culturally relevant framework. Faculty, fieldwork instructors, and students see improved…

This article reviews basic issues of theory and method in qualitative research approaches to applied linguistics research, focusing on the ways in which qualitative research can contribute to an understanding of second-language acquisition and use. (83 references) (MDM)

Addresses problems of ethnographic educational research that lead to theoretical and linguistic difficulties often unresolved in research reports, such as the veneration of research participant/informants. Related concerns include researcher's position in the study, ethnography as a product of research, ethnography as textual practice, researcher…

Presents strategies to prevent substance abuse among young African-American males, using family and cultural storytelling techniques. A theoretical framework is included, and the techniques are illustrated in an ethnographic study of 20 African-American males (ages 13 to 18 years). The techniques seem generalizable beyond prevention to treatment.…

Ethnographic research methodology is reviewed as an emerging methodology in special education, with application made particularly to understanding regular classrooms into which students with learning handicaps may be integrated. Suggested descriptive questions for an ethnographic interview are given, for use in research investigations and in…

Examines the socialization process of physically challenged children mainstreamed in an elementary school program. Concludes that an open and flexible classroom environment encourages individual independence, adaptation, and acceptance. (FMW)

Feminist teaching practices, by questioning traditional epistemology and distribution of power, offer special advantages in the culturally diverse classroom, where the valuing of different perspectives is essential. A study of two feminist teachers demonstrates how they attempt to create new kinds of classroom cultures through mastery, voice,…

A theory is presented that postulates that people in all cultures use four relational models to generate most kinds of social interaction, evaluation, and affect. Ethnographic and field studies (n=19) have supported cultural variations on communal sharing; authority ranking; equality matching; and market pricing. (SLD)