Presenting an indepth examination of 12 working class families to determine what they did that either helped or hindered children in making the transition from basic literacy (the ability to decode written symbols) to advanced literacy (the ability to use writing for the acquisition of knowledge), this report focuses on 12 children, 1 from each…

An ethnographic study of language proficiency in the home and school languages of bilingual children was conducted. From a qualitative sociolinguistic perspective, language proficiency, the relation of linguistic performance to community language use and attitudes, and the correlation of the sociolinguistic findings on language repertoire with…

Using such ethnographic techniques as interviews, classroom observations, and videotape recordings, a study explored the impact of two kindergarten teachers' theoretical orientations to literacy (whole language versus mechanics/skills) on children's developing concepts of writing. Data analysis revealed that children in a communication/whole…

A two-part study intended to investigate what constitutes successful teacher response to student writing is described in this report. The described study consisted of a survey of response practices of 560 elementary and secondary school teachers who were among the most successful in their communities as judged by directors of the sites of the…

In a study of Teacher Corps implementation of multicultural education and collaboration components in inservice teacher education programs, four community sites and their schools were studied. This volume presents the case studies of each community in a narrative form. To preserve anonymity, the names of people and places connected with the study…

This paper discusses several interrelated features of microethnography that are relevant and useful for the study of bilingual schooling. It is argued that an interactional approach provides a powerful way to study systematically the organization of bilingual learning environment, identify areas of difficulty, and suggest concrete interventions…

A study of the written language that was produced within one junior high school social studies classroom over a 38-minute period was based on the assumptions that (1) written language is not only affected by the context of the communicative event in which it is involved, but is also involved in the construction of the communicative event; (2) the…

Television's role within the familial setting is the subject of a research program being conducted at the Universities of Hartford, Texas, and Utah, proceeding on the premise that television functions within a variety of environmental influences, all of which act in varying combinations to produce a wide range of effects within viewers. The…

Results from three small-scale investigations of specific aspects of bilingual schooling as well as results of a more traditional large-scale evaluation of bilingual education programs in downstate Illinois are presented. The three small studies were designed to assess natural language in the classroom, compare criterion-referenced versus…

An ongoing research project, Dimensions of Classroom Instruction (DCI) is described. The primary data source is a study of reading in nine second-grade classrooms using such observation techniques as categorical observation, ethnographic observation, and videotaping. Three major objectives for the project are stated: 1) developing methods of…

Offering a synthesis of research and thought on the notion of newsreading as a form of play, this paper focuses on newsreading as a symbolic action of incorporating cultural attitudes by reading a newspaper. Sections of the paper discuss the following topics: (1) play, culture, and communication--defining play in its cultural and communicative…

A study was conducted with 12 college-aged inefficient readers in a reading improvement and study skills course. Students were divided into types by the instructor, and the type of student who would do best with one of three types of independent projects was considered as a major question of the study. The student types were (1) gregarious and…

Investigators wrote proposals for research on the nature and learning of communicative processes in the elementary classroom. Three questions were addressed: (1) What is the nature of communication in the classroom? (2) How do students acquire the rules of classroom discourse? (3) What is the effect of inadequate learning of classroom discourse…

This collection of 260 dream texts from Zinacantan, Chiapas, Mexico, is an English translation of the original texts recorded in the Tzotzil (Mayan) language. The introduction discusses dreams as a centrally important, but much neglected aspect of Middle American cultures. The dreams of eleven Zinacantecs, two of whom were shamans, are included.…

This book discusses some of the functions, ends, or goals that language serves in religion; the various kinds of linguistic resources that are exploited; and some of the social processes that characterize the use of language. In section one, "Performance," three approaches to the description of verbal behavior are contrasted. This…