A study explored how small groups of student readers interacted in a classroom over time to interpret short stories assigned by a teacher who functioned as participant/observer. The study focused on multiple readers in actual classroom situations to consider the relationship between the social and academic elements observable during day-to-day…

This paper contains descriptions of some of the specific kinds of capital that are needed, sought, and used within two academic science support groups for women and girls that aim to be gender-sensitive. The ways in which the capital (cultural, economic, symbolic, and social) is acquired, the ways in which the groups interacted with the larger…

Prior to the 1986 passage of PL 99-457, an extension of the special services coverage under the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, early intervention programs were primarily interventionist directed and child focused. The new legislation provided incentives for providing programs that were family-centered and family-driven. The goal of…

This paper describes and analyzes an incident which occurred during observation and videotaping of an eighth-grade language arts class. This classroom observation was part of an ongoing case study of an eighth-grade teacher of Native American heritage. The vignette that is presented describes a fist fight that occurred between two male students in…

This study was conducted in order to examine the efficacy of involving student teachers as naturalistic inquirers during their field experience. Such tasks as taking fieldnotes, doing simple qualitative analyses, writing brief summary reports, and learning to think critically about educational issues while learning to teach, is a very helpful…

Data were collected from two public secondary schools located in the northeastern United States in order to search for indicators of culture peculiar to each school. Culture was defined in terms of shared norms, values, beliefs, traditions, and patterns of activity. One school was small, was located in a rural area, enrolled about 500 students in…

LaGuardia Community College (New York) provides secondary education through its Middle College program, which includes comprehensive remedial programs for low ability students. During the 1974-75 academic year, two participant observers made over 400 observations of the Middle College's activities, focusing on: (1) instructional methods,…

Describes a student ethnography project designed to explore contrastive rhetoric, and help ESL and native language speakers become more conscious, proficient participants in academic discourse. The project was designed to let the teacher and the students play the roles of participants and observers. (RS)

This paper addresses the special problems in assessment of pupils who are congenitally or prelingually deafblind and who may have other disabilities, and argues that nonintrusive instruments and procedures are the assessment tools of choice. It contends that not enough attention has been given to developing, validating, and applying assessment…

This study investigated how "Classroom With a View" (CView), an interactive multimedia environment, affected education students' understanding of constructivist-oriented teaching. Student interviews and think-alouds before, during, and after CView sessions indicated that CView's integrated structure, content, and tools supported student learning…

Maintains that autobiography, as a form of qualitative research methodology, has the ability to incorporate a deep sense of the intricate relationships of the meaning and process of artistic practice and its embeddedness in cultural influences, personal experiences, and aspirations. Provides specific examples of how to use autobiographical…

Attempts to document the process of being immersed in the discipline of visual art making by presenting excerpts from an artist's studio diary. Includes post-diary commentaries on the excerpts and a discussion of how this process informed the artwork. Includes photographs of artworks produced during this period. (MJP)

Articulates an ethical and theological basis for ethnographic research in faith communities. Interviews with nine ethnographers reveal that both research and researcher are changed by the research act. Argues that ethnography is an opportunity for ministry that is empowering and educational. (MJP)

Considers the complete ethnographic project as a strategy for teaching qualitative methods. Describes an undergraduate class where students chose an ethnographic setting, gathered and analyzed data, and wrote a final report. Settings included Laundromats, bingo halls, auctions, karaoke clubs, and bowling leagues. (MJP)

Examines problems with representing poststructuralist research. Argues that researchers' positioning within major discourses governing education may have as much influence on what is seen in classrooms as does physical positioning. Challenges researchers to make explicit their underlying interests and agendas. Uses a study of gender-role…