Intended to guide scholars who are new to qualitative research, this methods brief focuses mostly on what reviewers look for in manuscripts submitted for publication. The author acknowledges that reviewers' preferences likely reflect their theoretical perspectives, research-oriented coursework, mentors, and research and writing experiences. The…

Are you using interviews in your classroom? Carolyn Frank's new book on interviewing is a powerful tool for teachers and educational researchers. Through an anthropological frame, this book explains techniques for ethnographic interviews and observations in and out of the classroom. Carolyn Frank shows how teachers in particular can use…

This article reports on a study of apprentices in England and Germany designed to explore young people's learner identities over time and in relation to particular learning environments. The research adopts a multi-method ethnographic approach, combining biographical interviews with multi-site participant observation. The article problematises the…

This article identifies and discusses ethical dilemmas inherent when undertaking research with children or other vulnerable populations: power relations, risks and benefits, and informed consent and confidentiality (Maguire, 2005). Ethical dilemmas often arise when researchers attempt to merge the interests of their research and the interests of…

The purpose of this research was to examine teachers' perspectives on transitioning from a predominately whole to small-group delivery method during reading instruction. This study used a qualitative approach and nested itself in an epistemology of constructivism. The research operated under the umbrella of practice ethnography as it closely…

In this article, we employ multiple lenses to examine a state-funded teacher research institute designed to meld ethnographic and teacher research with anthropological and sociological studies of childhood. Planned as support for the work of teachers in reservation schools, the institute's classes, book talks, methods exercises, and subsequent…

Describes seminars in which researchers reported their findings to the high school teachers whose classes they studied. Interprets the experience from three orientations: different school cultures, the research team's role, and teacher power. (SK)

Ethnography is increasingly appealing to those who want to study their own literate society and their own discourse communities. As sensitivity to the role of context in the social construction of knowledge increases, ethnography is viewed as a particularly relevant approach for research in schools and classrooms. The participant observer, who is…

Describes the author's year-long analysis of one student's work to demonstrate her larger and ongoing research process in her classroom, as she investigated whether and how students were taking up the key inquiry-based processes that serve as a foundation for learning across disciplines in her classroom. (SR)

Reports a two-phase ethnographic investigation documenting peer conference activity among fourth graders in a writing workshop. Investigates, in phase one, what happens in peer conferences and how that relates to instructional context. Investigates, in phase two, comments about revision, participant expectations, and use of peer comments during…

Articles and essays in this journal issue focus on explaining ethnographic (observation taking into account socioeconomic and cultural factors) research procedures and showing how this methodology can be applied to English classes and reported in ways useful to teachers. The first article, by Paul Diesing, provides background on ethnography. The…

Topics and methodologies used by researchers of teacher development activities are examined in this paper. Selected studies in educational research are analyzed and grouped into four areas. The first research design considered is the traditional empirical-analytic, or hypothesis testing paradigm, through which studies are conducted to test the…

This paper presents a model for a systematic method of training field workers in classroom research projects. The model was found to be necessary because classroom ethnographers have to hire and train others to gather data for research. According to this model, people are hired on the basis of personal skills in interpreting events and are trained…

Correctionist models of error, problem, and omission presume that Standard English (SE) is the sole language variety of America. America's classrooms, however, are neither culturally nor linguistically monolithic. Instead, they are diverse, and current teaching metaphors do not reflect the linguistic and cultural realities of the classrooms. This…

This serial issue contains eight articles all on the theme of "Becoming Teacher Researchers.""Becoming a Network of Teacher Researchers" (Scott Christian) discusses how portfolios of classroom work provide documentation and encourage more systematic teacher research involving established research techniques. "Identifying…