Discussed are outcomes of a collaborative project between university researchers, teachers, and principals which sought to develop a unique approach to research-based staff development. Topics include elements of and limitations on collaboration, role dilemmas and contradictions, teacher concerns about researchers'"hidden agendas," and…

Reviews an ethnographic study of female students in full-time secretarial courses in a college of non-advanced further education (NAFE) in England. The study explores the role of schooling in the transmission and maintenance of social inequalities and finds that classroom life encourages student conformity. (AF)

Examines key issues of creative drama among English-speaking children, Alberta Indians, and Australian aboriginal societies (second article in a series examining children's creativity in different cultures; see CS736752). (MM)

Identifies four confusions in conceptualizing diversity in the curriculum: the misidentification of what constitutes diversity, studying an artifact from the perspective of mainstream culture, homogenizing cultures, and exoticizing or fetishizing cultures. Proposes a "border consciousness" approach, emphasizing equal legitimacy and cross…

In Israeli school culture, the school class is a social group in which "gibush" or cohesion is cultivated. A highly cohesive class has clearly demarcated boundaries, has high integration, is internally undifferentiated, and presupposes particular conditions for formation. The gibush model reflects an ideal of communal participation and…

Describes an approach to college teaching in which anthropology contributes to constructing a problem-posing pedagogy. The following distinctive aspects of teaching anthropology are examined: (1) the teacher's anthropological stance; (2) ethnographic methods; (3) investigation of ethnographies; and (4) examination of interpretive theories of…

How computer-mediated communication through international communications networks and electronic mail can be used in foreign language education was investigated in a multisite ethnographic case study of 134 Finnish secondary school students learning English and foreign participants from British and U.S. schools. Introducing these technological…

Addresses the relationship between reader response and culture. Presents portraits of a teacher and her Black students and White students as they studied a series of African American literary texts, including Virginia Hamilton's "House of Dies Drear" (1968). The reading of this text marked a turning point for the teacher and students.…

Classroom communication in the second-language class is examined from an ethnographic perspective, highlighting the role of students in helping each other learn. Turn-taking, patterns of addressing teacher and peers, and different kinds of interaction that promote learning: cooperative; didactic; competitive; theatrical; personalized. (MSE)

Presents an account of how mathematics and science educators at a Australian university combined to produce a Mathematics/Science Learning Cycle (MS Learning Cycle) to provide a consistent approach to teaching in these two subject areas. Discusses background information, outcomes of using the MS Learning Cycle in teacher preparation and in the…

Examines the development of employment networks among undocumented Mexican migrants in Chicago (Illinois). The ethnographic study of about 100 immigrants indicates that kinship networks have lost importance for migrants seeking employment in Chicago. Presumptive causes for these changes and consequences for the average migrant are discussed. (SLD)

Demonstrates ways that a classroom teacher can get a distorted picture of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students and their resources and how viewing literacy in a social context illustrates the way relationships are negotiated. Suggestions are made for teachers to create ESL classrooms where the role of literacy in students' lives can be…

Critically assesses the methodology and conclusions of two British studies concerning gender imbalances in classroom participation. Finds the studies' generalizations too broad, and suggests that type of teacher attention would be more influential than quantity of attention, which these studies observed. Recommends a more cumulative development of…

Accounts of the experiences of 22 student teachers completing a final 10-week training practice in secondary schools were obtained through ethnographic interviewing. Developing a sense of belonging to the school's teaching community was a dominant theme. Recognition by teachers as colleagues and confirmation of teacher status by pupils were very…

Ethnographic data from a black middle-class Chicago neighborhood indicate that dense social networks fostered by residential stability facilitate informal supervision of neighborhood youth and enhance formal crime-prevention activities. Nevertheless, inclusion of gang members and drug dealers in networks of law-abiding kin and neighbors thwarts…