While qualitative fieldwork in cross-cultural settings is central to human geography, there has been limited focus in the literature on the expectations and skills required to succeed as a field researcher in this area. Some practical advice is available for researchers who are new to cross-cultural fieldwork (e.g. graduate students, junior…

Presents a case study of anthropological field work in Jamaica to illustrate difficulties in carrying out this type of research. Argues that the anthropologist's failure to analyze and communicate field difficulties is a major barrier to establishing anthropology as an objective science. (MK)

This paper provides a general overview of the type of problems encountered in the field of research so that individuals who are contemplating conducting research in an underdeveloped country for the first time are better prepared, and hence, better able to complete their research. The paper recounts a female researcher's personal experiences in…

Reflections on the future of anthropology and education in this special section call for: (1) more theorizing about culture; (2) extending the "field" of fieldwork; (3) connecting work with broader topics in anthropology; (4) extending studies beyond compulsory education; and (5) looking at communicative and cultural development. (SLD)

Contends that qualitative research is now an acceptable and respected methodology in the various fields of educational research. Concludes that considerable imagination and flexibility is necessary when evaluating research into educational issues in developing nations. (CFR)

Culturally appropriate means of conducting language research among American Indians is critical for maintaining cooperation and for increasing the depth of data collected. The apprentice-elder and fictive kinship models used in research with two Siouan-speaking tribes are discussed, as well as their practical applications, the importance of…

Examines the interconnections between African Americans residing in deteriorating urban areas and the broader U.S. society. Focuses on the orientations of 10 men and 10 women in Detroit (Michigan). Interviews with participants suggest a dialectic in which they are both connected to and disconnected from mainstream society. (SLD)

This brief report from the Indigenous Mathematics Project focuses on the way in which numerical reasoning is changing in the Oksapmin community of Papua New Guinea as a function of participation in new social institutions: economic exchange with currency and enrollment in school. Each of these new institutions means that arithmetic problems are…