This paper critically analyses and aims to denaturalise models of identity that circulate in discourse about vocational education in the Netherlands. It is argued that discourse about the vocational track is characterised by a pervasive focus on deficits, framing vocational education as unprestigious, and its students as unintelligent and…

In the context of the distinction between normative and descriptive approaches to the relationship between science and religion, this article discusses the recent work of the sociologist Elaine Ecklund. It reviews four of her published outputs, summarising her data concerning the views of religious people and professional scientists, including…

Drawing on a year of participant observation in an untracked, diversifying middle school, I examine how sixth graders positioned themselves and were positioned by others as "smart" or "not smart." I focus on peer interactions during cooperative small group instruction, identifying the material, relational, and ideational…

This paper explores the experience and impact of participation in afterschool oral improvisation workshops -- bertso workshops -- for young Basque speakers. Drawing on participant observation and in-depth interviews among young people in the Northern Basque Country, the researcher, a practicing improviser, bertsolari, herself, argues that the…

In this qualitative case study, we used participant observation and interviews to examine Violet, a Flemish string youth orchestra. In doing so, we identify the qualities that constitute an 'eclectic' ensemble space, herein defined as a musical environment that uses a blend of informal and formal learning practices. Moreover, we emphasize how…

The indigenous Riddu Riddu Festival, organized yearly in the village of Olmáivággi/ Manndalen (Sápmi/Norway), presents the cultures of Sámi people and indigenous peoples across the world. A study of the activities offered at Riddu Riddu over an eleven-year period (2009-2019) carried out. Through fieldwork (forty-six in-depth interviews,…

This qualitative study examines how notions of sociopolitical membership and belonging are constructed in conversations about cultural difference. Drawing upon nine months of participant observation, informal conversation, and interviews with transnational youth at two U.S. high schools during the 2013-2014 academic year, my analysis highlights…

Transnational distinction is highly relevant in an age when western degree inflation intersects with harsh gender expectations for Chinese women student migrants, a significant group of players in the scene of UK higher education. Drawing on participant observation and interview data and building on existing theories of cultural capital, this…

With the help of digital media and networking technologies, today's learners are increasingly participating in the consuming, producing, and disseminating of new meanings in various modes such as text, image, sound, video, or all together--particularly in online communities--forming new identities as knowledge producers. By using online…

The ethnographer's embodied action during research is a complex of habit, belief, social and institutional positioning, and intention. This article examines what urban anthropologist Wacqaunt calls 'carnal sociology' and considers its implications for ethnographers of religious educational spaces. Contemporary ethnographers of education have…

This article presents original research into International Baccalaureate international schools' directors in Western Europe, based on multiphase contact with six director participants over two years and employing an aspect of critical-phenomenology. Successful leadership in this context responds to market demands with a commodification of Anglo…

This study examines the impact that producing a print newspaper using cell phones had on marginalized students in a high school journalism classroom. Analysis of data from participant observation, artifact analysis and student interviews revealed that a) students negotiated cell phone use for educational purposes, despite school bans on such…

The purpose of this instrumental case study was to examine the musical and cultural underpinnings of the Kanikapila Island Strummers, a community 'ukulele group that celebrates Hawaiian ethos through music and dance. Specifically, this research underscored the Kanikapila Island Strummers' musical practices, the narratives of Hawaiian culture as…

Increasing rates of migration to the global West are focusing attention on the experiences of young migrants in schools. Too often, these young people are identified in terms of linguistic deficiency but this obscures the skills, experiences and expectations of formal education that they have developed before or during their migration. This…

Our understanding of the transition from school to work has traditionally been underpinned by a three-stage model. This is one in which the first stage is a preparatory one, where the focus is on school, followed by a second transition stage and ending in a third stage, the successful entry to work. This is a model that has been challenged by work…