oxford ethnography and education conference …...an ethnographic study into lengthening...
TRANSCRIPT
OxfordEthnographyandEducation
Conference2019
Abstracts
JanusHolstAaenandRikkeToftNørgård
EthicalFabricationinEducationalEthnography
Thispaperreconsiderswhatbeinganethicalresearcherineducationalethnographymightsignifyandinvolve.
Throughtheconceptofethicalfabrication,theauthorsproposethatthepracticeofethicaleducationalethnography
maybeunderstoodastheinterweavingandnegotiationoffourdifferentplanesofbeingethical.BuildinguponA.
Markham’sworkaroundethics,ethnographyandfabrication(Markham,2005,2006,2012),weusetheterm
fabricationtodenotethecreativeconstructionofethnographicwork,thatdoesnotnecessarilyentailareproduction
ordelieveryoffactsandeventsfromthefield,butatthesametimeupholdsthetruthofthephenomenonin
question.Inthepaper,theauthorssuggestthatbeingethicalineducationalethnographycanbeunderstoodasthe
capabilitytonavigate:1)ethicsinrelationtotherulesorsystem(e.g.GDPR,informedconsentanddata
management),2)ethicsinrelationtobeingaresearcher(e.g.academicvirtues,phronesis,ethicalcharacter),3)ethics
inrelationtotheother(e.g.reciprocityintherelation,careethics,theethicaldemand),4)ethicsinrelationtotruth,
knowledgeorworld(e.g.performativewriting,evocativeethnography,styleastheory).Thepaperpresentsand
describesthisthroughexploringexamplestakenfromtheactualinsitulongitudinalpracticeofethnographyinthe
formofeducationalethnographyonStudentDarkness(Aaen,2018)andethnographicresearchonGameplay
Corporeality(Nørgård,2012).
Theethnographiccontributionofthepaperistwofold.Firstly,aconceptualframeworkforethicalfabricationin
educationalethnographythroughexplicatingandtheoreticallygroundingthefourdimensionsofbeingethical.
Secondly,thedescriptionofhowthisplaysoutinconcreteethnographicpracticebywayofemployingethical
fabricationasareflectivestrategyforbeingethicalalongthesedimensions.Takentogether,thispointstowardsthe
configurationofadeeperethicsineducationalethnographywherefabricationisusedasancritical-creativestrategy
toloosenthenoosethatiscurrentlythreateningtostranglebotheducationalresearcherandethnographictruth.
ManalMarzouqHAlharbi
AnethnographicstudyintoLengtheningkindergarteners’attentionspanthroughsmallgroupindividualized
instruction.
InSaudiArabia,thecontextforthisresearch,thereisaconcernaboutchildren’sattentionlevels,forexample,thereis
aviewthattechnologydistractionssuchas24-hourchildren’schannelsandinternet,andvideogameshaveanundue
influence.Asaresult,capturingandmaintainingyounglearners’attentionwithinclassroomactivitieshasbecomean
issuethathasbeenraisedbyparentsandteacherswhomIhavemetduringmyemploymentasaLecturerinearly
childhoodeducation.WhilstmostearlyyearsteachersinSaudiArabiatendtousewholegroupinstruction,this
researchsetsouttoexploretheeffectsofsmallgroupindividualizedinstructiononchildren’sattentionspanina
classroominSaudi,especiallythoseperformingatthelowerlevelofwhatisconsidereda“normal”attentionspan.
Thisethnographicstudyfollowedonekindergartenclassof30childrenaged5-6andthreeteachersforsixmonths.I
observedtheclasseveryday.Initially,thewhole-classwasobserved,thenafterthreeweeksasampleoffour
participantsthreeboysandonegirlwereidentifiedaschildrenwhometthecriteriaoftheresearchintermoftheir
limitedattentionspan.AswellasobservingandfilmingthechildrenImadeassessmentsoftheirattentionspan,
interviewedtheirparentsandteacher,andanalysedthechildren’sportfoliowork.FromhereIsetindividuallearning
plansandactivitieswiththeirteachertofindhowindividualizedinstructionmightimpactchildren’sattentionand
learning.
Theimpactofindividualizedinstructionandsmallgroupinstructionontheattentionspanofmainstreamstudentsin
theregularclassroomhashadinsufficientattentionintheliterature.Whilstattemptshavebeenmadetoresearch
andimproveattentionspaninchildrenwithADDandADHD,thereislessresearchaboutattentionspanand
instructionforneurotypicalchildren.Thisstudysetouttoaddressthisgapgiventhedifferencesbetweenthe
attentionpatternsofchildrenwhohavesuchchallengescomparedtoneurotypicalchildren.Sinceattentionspanisan
importantpredictorofchildren’slearningandfuturesuccess,thenimprovingattentionspanshouldbetothebenefit
ofthechildren.Aspartofthisstudy,Idevelopedatool(SCALE)tomeasuretheattentionspanofpreschool-age
childreninSaudi’sculture.
Thereislittleornoresearchthatcombinesanethnographiccasestudywithanintervention.Inthisstudymyrolewas
notatypicalethnographerrolethatwatches,listensandrecordsinformation.Instead,workingwiththeclassteacherI
suggestedanewindividualizedinstructionapproachandguidedtheteachertoplanandimplementtheactivities.I
thenobservedandrecordedtheinterventioninpracticeanddiscussedthechildren’sreactionwithchildrenand
teachers.Thispaperwillintroducesomeofthedatacollected,intheformofpicturesandfilminordertoexplainhow
thecombinationofanethnographiccasestudywithaninterventionenabledmetoexploretheimpactofthe
interventiononchildren’sattentionspanandlearning.
BirgitAlthansandHannesLeuschner
MaterialityofGenderandPedagogicalAuthority–Seatingarrangementsinclassroomsandthestagingof
“teacher-impersonations”
Aspartofthejointresearchproject“MateralityofGenderandPedagogicalAuthority–Inteferences“Materalityof
GenderandPedagogicalAuthority–InterferencesofBodysandThingsinEducationalInstitutions”wecarryout
ethnographicresearchinprimaryschools.Theprojectfocusesrelationsinbetween„object-bodies-spaces”(Taylor
2013:689).
Togointothecomplexinterwovennessofthingsandbodies,genderandauthorityineducationalinstitutions,we
operatewithKarenBarad’s(2003,2007)andDonnaHaraway’sconceptof“diffractivemethodology”(1988,1997,
2016)bothonthemethodologicalandontheanalyticallevel.Wewouldliketopresentanddiscussarenotesfrom
thefield,focussingonsituations“howthemundanematerialitiesofclassroomsdocrucialbutoftenunnoticed
performativeworkinenactinggenderedpower“(Taylor2013).Heretheclassrooomofaprimaryschoolinarural
environment„matters“withitsarrangementsofactive-andordinaryboards,embracingtheteachersandthepupils
desksandchairsinthemiddleoftheroomanditsframingand“staging”ofthespecialplacementofamale“childwith
specialneeds”.Theboy,describedbytheschoolasaggressiveandhyperactiveinhisbehaviourisplacedinacentral
spacebetweentheteachersandthepuplisdesks.Thefieldnotesdocumenttheperformativeskillsoftheexposed
malechildwithitsbodilyentanglementswithfurniture,workingpapersandtherulesoftheclassroominteractionsto
betterhisprimordialpoorpositioninclass–alwaysinoppositepositiontothechairofthemaleoberserving
researcher.Whiledoingso,justinhisusageofthemundanematerialities,thepupilisalwaysrespondingtothe
femaleteacher,enactingasasher“impersonation”,as–sometimesherauthorityundermining–corresponding
“littleteacher”.
RespondingtoCarolTaylor’sexamplesoftheperformanceofamaleteacher’sauthority(Taylor2013),wewouldlike
topresentherea“diffractive”analyzisofaperformanceofstudentsauthorityinaprimaryschoolclassroom.What
wewouldliketopresentanddiscusswiththeprotocolledexamplesfromthefield,focussingonsituationswherethe
borderbetweenresearcherandfieldbecomesremarkablythinistoquestionadichotomybetweensubjectiveand
objectivedata,topointoutthehumanandnon-humanmaterialityandtotheperformativityofperceptionin
ethnographicalresearch.
Barad,Karen(2003):PosthumanistPerformativity:TowardsanUnderstandunghowMattercomestoMatter.InSigns,
WomeninCultureandSocity:,vol28,no.3801-831.
Barad,Karen(2007):MeetingtheUniverseHalfway:QuantumPPhysicsandtheEntanglementofMatterand
Meaning.Durham:DukeUniversityPress.
Haraway,Donna(1988):„SituatedKnowledges:Thesciencequestioninfeminismasasiteofdiscourseonthe
privilegeofpartialperspective“,in:FeministStudies,14(3).S.575-599.
Haraway,Donna(1997):Modest_Witness@Second_Millennium.FemaleMan_Meets_OncoMouse.Feminismand
Technoscience.NewYork:Routledge.
Haraway,Donna(2016)Unrulypractices.DukeUniversityPress.
Taylor,CarolA.,(2013)Objects,bodiesandspace:genderandembodiedpracticesofmatteringintheclassroom,in
GenderandEducation,Routledge,25(6):pp.688-703.
Taylor,CarolA.;Ivinson,Gabrielle,(2013)“MaterialFeminisms:NewDirectionsForEducation”,inGenderand
Education,25(6):pp.665-67.
BirgitAlthansandHannesLeuschner
MaterialityofGenderandPedagogicalAuthority–InterferencesoftheResearcherandWhatisResearched.
Aspartofthejointresearchproject“MateralityofGenderandPedagogicalAuthority–InterferencesofBodysand
ThingsinEducationalInstitutions”wecarryoutethnographicresearchinprimaryschools.Togointothecomplex
interwovennessofthingsandbodies,genderandauthorityineducationalinstitutions,weoperatewithKarenBarads
conceptofAgentialRealismbothonthemethodologicalandontheanalyticallevel.Thisconceptisanelaborated
mergerofintenselecturesbyJudithButler,DonnaHarawayandthePhysics-PhilosophyofthequantumphysicistNiels
Bohr.BaradpicksupHaraway’sopticalkeymetaphorbycallingfora‘diffractiveapproach’insteadofa‘reflexive’one.
Onthemethodologicallevelthisapproachdeniesthepossibilityofapureobservationanditsunderlyingideaof
representativenessasakindofmirroring.Instead,ithighlightstheinterferencesoftheobserverandtheobserved.
Thereisnoobservationwithoutparticipation,andanyethnographyis,atleastpartly,anautoethnography.Bybeing
partofthefieldobservedbytheresearcher,theirownapparentfeelings,attitudesandreflectionsultimatelybecome
theirmostoriginalaccessandassuchavaluablesourceofdatawhichhastobeconsideredintheinterpretationof
anyotherdatacollected.
Whatwewouldliketopresentanddiscussareprotocolledexamplesfromthefield,focussingonsituationswherethe
borderbetweenresearcherandfieldbecomesremarkablythinandthustoquestionadichotomybetweensubjective
andobjectivedataandtopointtotheperformativityofperceptioninethnographicalresearch.
KathrinAudehmandJessicaSchuelein
PaperCupandGender.Ethnographicnotesontheperformativepowerofthings.
Inourpaperpresentationwewouldliketodiscussethnographicmaterialfromparticipantobservation.Ourprojectis
partofaresearchcooperationbetweentheuniversitiesofBraunschweig,LüneburgandHildesheim.Weanalyse
genderperformancesandtheirinterplaywiththerecognitionofpowerineducationatvariousinstitutions.The
Hildesheimprojectinvestigatesmaterialaspectsofyouthsocializationingenderrolesandpowerrecognitionatan
integratedcomprehensiveschool.Firstwewoulddescribeaclassroominteractionamongastudent’sgroup.Howare
malestudentsplayingwithapapercupduringabreakbetweenlessonsatschool?Ourdescriptionfocuseson
interferencesbetweenclassroom,student’sbodiesandthecup.Wewouldliketoshow,howtheseinterferences
establishacertainsocio-materialarrangement.InconnectiontothisdescriptionandreferringtoButler’sconceptof
performance,weinterpretthestudent’splayasaperformanceofgenderandstate.Finallywewouldreflectand
discussthecup’sperformativepowerattheOxfordconference.
Ournotionofperformativepowerincludesthreeperspectives.Thenotioniscentredbytheforcetoachievesymbolic
effectsaswellassocialeffectsatthesametime.Thiscentraldimensionwasdevelopedintwodifferentdirections.
Performativepowercouldbeseeneitherasthepotentialtosubvertisediscursivenormsandtodestabilisesymbolic
orders,or(incontrasttoit)asperformativemagic.Bourdieu’snotionofperformativemagicexplainsthereproduction
ofpowerfulclassifications,whichisbasedinincorporatedsocialexperiences,morepreciselyhabitualdispositions.
Correspondingtotheseperspectives,wewanttoofferanempiricallygroundedandtheoreticallyreflectedapproach
ontheperformativepowerofthings,whichreferstocurrentdiscussionsaboutposthumanperformativity.
KarenBorgnakke
Meta-ethnographicanalysisoftheprofessionalteacherroleanddidacticfunctionsinchanging-examplesfrom
1980’s–2010’s
Throughoutthelastdecades,theeducationalpolicydiscoursehassharpenedandthedominantlearningdiscoursehas
settheagenda.Inaddition,itpointstoreformsandfactorsthatoptimizelearningbyfocusingontheteacherandon
demandsfor'highprofessionalism'.Highteacherprofessionalismpromoteslearningandiscombinedwithfunction
expressedas‘learningmanagement’and‘digitalformation’.Digitalformationortechnacyisthenewraisond’etre
(Borgnakke2017a).Althoughthishypedpoliticalrhetoriciscriticized,weneedclarificationofwhat‘high
professionalism’meansintermsofteacherpractice,teacherroleanddidacticalfunctions(Borgnakke,
Dovemark,MarquesdaSilva,2017).Theoretically,theresearchbackgroundishighlightedinatensionbetweensocial
actiontheoriesandcriticaldidactics(Borgnakke,2017b).Empirically,thebackgroundisbroadeducationalfield
research,whichalsorefertoethnographicanalysistraditionsthatrelatetocriticaldiscourseanalysisandclassroom
research(Borgnakke2013,2018).
Backgroundforthispaperisethnographicstudiesconductedaslong-termfieldworkandfull-scalestudiescovering
compulsoryschool,uppersecondaryanduniversitylevel.Iusemeta-ethnographicanalysistounderstandand
describethepracticalconsequencesofeducationalchangesfocusingonteacherroleandfunctionsinchangewith
referenceto1)theinterdisciplinaryandproject-orienteduniversityenvironment(examplefrom1980s)2)School
developmentinelementaryschool(examplefrom1990s)and3)IT-basedclassesuppersecondaryschool(example
from2000s).FinallyIrefertocurrentcasestudiesonteachingintheprofession-orientedcontext.Givingasummaryof
thespectrumofthechangingteacherfunctionsthemeta-ethnographicanalyseswillsketchchallengesanddilemmas
forcurrentdevelopmentofteacherprofessionalism.
Usingmeta-ethnographicanalysisthefindingsfocusonfunctionsinchangeshowingthepracticalimpactofshifting
demandsduringfourdecadesrelatedtothepowerfulparadigmandshiftingpoliticaldiscourse.Thecross-caseanalyse
showconsequencesoftheshiftfromtheprogressiveprojectpedagogyparadigm(andthetrendsfrom1980s)
focusingtheinterdisciplinaryandproject-orientedcollaborativeworkandthe'new'teacherroleassupervisor,tothe
currentpowerfullearningparadigm(andthetrendsfrom2000s)focussingonIT-implementation,classroom
managementandlearningoutcomedirectedprocesscontrol.
InthepaperItakeprecisiondifficultieswithmeintheperspectiveofclarifyingwhatteacherprofessionalismmeansin
acrosscaseethnographicanalysisfocusingonshiftingdemands,functionsandroles.Givingasummaryofthe
spectrumofthechangingteacherfunctionsthemeta-ethnographicanalyseswillsketchchallengesanddilemmasfor
currentdevelopmentofteacherprofessionalism.InspiredbyworkedexamplesgivenbyBeach,Bagley,Eriksson,
Player-Koro(2014)Hughes,Noblit(2017)Noblit,Hare(1988)Kakos,Fritzsche(2018)thepapercontributestodevelop
meta-ethnograhicanalysissharpeningthefocusontherelationbetweenthepoliticalmacro-,theinstitutionalmeso-
levelandtheteachingpracticalmicro-level.
AndreaBossen,GeorgRissler,andJuliaSteinwand
Whataboutcommonessandcommonality?
Currenteducationaldebatesaswellaspoliticalandsocialdiscourseon’increasingheterogeneityoflearninggroups‘
conceptualizelearninggroupsascombiningstudentswhodifferinmultiple(andmoreandmore)ways.Overall,these
debatesconsiderheterogeneitydifferently,oscillatingbetweenseeingheterogeneityandmultipledifferencesasa
chance,asachallenge,orevenasaproblem.Thesedifferentviewsspanfromtherelationofheterogeneityto
educationalandlearningprocesses,educationalcareers,aswellaseducationalinstitutesandinstitutionalactors(cf.
Budde,2012).Educationalresearchondifferencesandinequality(cf.Diehm,Kuhn&Machold,2017)quadesignalso
focusesonarangeofdifferences.Duetotheirmulti-methodicalcharacteristic,researchapproacheswithan
ethnographicalfocusareconsideredeminentlypowerful,particularly,forobservingthe(re)productionofdifferences
ineducationalfields.Anadditionalstrengthofethnological-directedresearchapproachesistheideaofahistorical
basicfigureof’theforeign‘or’theother‘andthecorrespondinglongtraditionofexaminingthe(re-)productionof
differencesitself(cf.Tervooren,Engel,Göhlichetal.2014,S.9f.).
Notonlyinethnographybutalsoineducationalresearchasawhole,examiningtheconstructionofdifferencesand
differentiatingcategorieshasalongtraditionandismarkedoneofthecentralfocusesofeducationalresearchsince
the70’satleast,andthisisregardlessoftheappliedmethodine.g.theethnographicalresearchprocess:i.e.whether
itisdeductiveand—inaddition—accompaniedbyreificationrisk,orinductiveandhencefocusingonfieldinherent
linesofdifference,orabductive,andthereforeusingcombinedandoscillatingvariantsofthefieldofresearch(cf.
Budde,2014;Fritzsche&Tervooren,2012)Withoutquestioningtheimportanceandrelevanceofthisperspectiveon
thesociocultural(re-)productionofdifferencesandinequalitywewanttostress,thatitmightbesupportingthe
discourseofincreasingheterogeneityandevenitsinterpretationasproblematical.Furthermore,itneglectsthe
empiricalreconstructionofcommonsandcommonality(cf.Dietrich,2017;Ricken&Reh,2014),amongstothersasa
wayofprocessingdifferenceandinequality.Hence,wewanttosuggestawaytofocuson’commons‘|’commonality‘
asafundamentalbutoftenuncared-forwayofhandlingdifferencesinsocialpractices.Hence,thecurrent
contributionwilltakeanexploratory-ethnographicapproachaimingatastrongerfocusingon‘commonness‘and
‘connectedness‘ofstudentsconsideredasmoreorlessdifferent.
Onecriticalpartofsuchadiscussionwouldbethereflectiononthequestionoftowhatextentperceptionand
observationinethnographicalresearchessentiallyoperatebasedondifferentialsettlements.Furthermore,suchan
approachincludesquestionsaboutthesignificance,subjectivityandmeaning,whichaimtoprovokefurtherthinking
abouttheorder(ing)of’commonness‘and’commonality‘.Usingasortofdisconcertmentstrategy,weattemptto
explorewhatis‘seen‘(butalsooverseen)whenthe(re-)productionofdifferenceisbeingoverlooked,or,atleast,
whenthefocusisshiftedfromdifferencesandinequalityto’commonness‘|’commonaltiy’.Byapplyingapractice
theoretical-drivenanalysis,weattempttotentatively,openly,andempiricallyconstruct
’commonness‘|’commonality‘,withoutpresupposingwhatismeantbyit.
References:Boer,Heikede/Reh,Sabine(2012):BeobachtunginderSchule–Beobachtenlernen.Wiesbaden:Springer
VS.Budde,Jürgen:ProblematisierendePerspektivenaufHeterogenitätalsambivalentesThemaderSchul-und
Unterrichtsforschung.In:ZeitschriftfürPädagogik58(2012)4,S.522-540.Diehm,Isabell/Kuhn,Melanie/Machold,
Claudia(2017):Differenz–Ungleichheit–Erziehungswissenschaft.Verhältnisbestimmungenim(Inter-)Disziplinären.
Wiesbaden:SpringerVS.Dietrich,Cornelia(2017):ImSchattendesVielfaltsdiskurses:Homogenitätalskulturelle
FiktionundempirischeHerausforderung.In:IsabelleDiehm;MelanieKuhn;ClaudiaMachold(Hrsg.):Differenz–
Ungleichheit–Erziehungswissenschaft.Verhältnisbestimmungenim(Inter-)Disziplinären.Wiesbaden:SpringerVS,S.
123-138.Fritzsche,Bettina/Tervooren,Anja(2012):Doingdifferencewhiledoingethnography?ZurMethodologie
ethnographischerUntersuchungenvonDifferenzkategorien.In:Friebertshäuser,Barbara/Kelle,Helga/Boller,
Heike/Bollig,Sabine/Huf,Christina/Langer,Antje/Ott,Marion/Richter,Sophia(Hrsg.):FeldundTheorie.Opladen,
Berlin,Toronto:BarbaraBudrich.S.25-39.Linebaugh,Peter(2008):Themagnacartamanifesto.Libertiesand
commonsforall.Berkeley,L.A.,California:UniversityofCaliforniaPressRicken,Norbert;Reh,Sabine(2014):Relative
undradikaleDifferenz–Herausforderungen.
IvaCapova
DiscipliningthroughSchooling.Children’sperspective,experienceandengagementwithschool-baseddiscipline.
Thecaseofthefirstgenerationschool-goersinruralBihar,India.
Since2000stheIndiangovernmenthaslaunchedthenationaleducationprogramoffreeandcompulsoryeducation
forallchildrenagedfrom6to14years.Thiswasforthefirsttimethatsuchaneducationprogramaimedatthewhole
country’spopulation.Thestate"offer"ofeducationmeetssincethenwithrisinglocalaspirationsfromilliterateand
semiliterateparentslivinginruralareas.Notonlytheyoftenseeschoolasanopportunityforupwardmobility,but
theyalsoperceiveitasaninstitutionpromotingatthelocallevel"development"and"modernity",andabletoform
futurecitizensbyteachingthem"goodmanners".Theschool-baseddisciplineislocallyseenandvaluedasan
importantpartoftheschoolingprocessanditisbelievedtohaveatleastdoublepositiveeffect:Ontheonehand,
onceinternalized,itislikelytoenablechildrentoaccedetolucrativejobs,ontheotherhanditisconsideredtofurnish
childrenwithgoodbasisformoralityandhencemakethem"goodpeople".
Thecontributionisbasedonamulti-caseethnographicsurveysituatedintwovillagesinBihar,thelowestliteracy
stateofIndia.Iconducted12monthsfieldworkstudycomposedofdailyclassroomparticipantobservationsin4rural
governmentprimaryschoolsinverypoorareas,ofobservationsinsidefewfamiliesandinterviewswithprimary
schoolteachers,parentsandchildren.Childrendon’tappearonlyaspassivesobjectsofdisciplinaryinculcationand
moulding,buttheyrespondtotheschooldemandofdisciplinebyalargearrayofstrategies,negotiationsand
judgments.Bypartialorcompleterejectingofschoolingorresistancetoitsdisciplinaryrules,thesepoorchildrenare
oftenforcedtoengagewithdifferenttypeofdiscipline,especiallythelabourdisciplineorhouseholdchoresdiscipline.
Schooldisciplinecanthereforebeseenandexperiencednotonlyaslong-termconstraintleadingtoadurableshaping
ofpersonalconducts,butalsoaspotentialaccesstosomeresourcesofwhichchildrencanbenefitonlyiftheyadopt,
inacertainextent,schoolconformedself-discipline.Finally,theinequalityintheIndianschoolsystem,evenamong
thegovernmentprimaryschools,canbeobservedonthebasesofthedegreeofseverityofdisciplineappliedand
required.Infact,thesedifferencesarecorrelatedtothesocialcomposition(casteandsocialclass)ofpupilsofeach
schoolaswellasitsemplacementinthevillage.
ThroughthelensesofagrassrootsapproachtoprimaryeducationintheIndianvillages,thepaperproposestoplace
thefocusonthechildren’sperspectiveandeverydayexperienceofschooldiscipline.Itcombinestheethnographic
materialofdisciplinarypracticesoftheclassroomaswellastheirrepercussionsinthehouseholds.Inparticular,we
willtrytounderstandhowandtowhatextentchildrenengagethemselves,copewithorrejectthedisciplinaryrules
demandedbytheschool.Whatarethedisciplinarypracticesofteachersintheclassroomandtheindividualattitudes
ofschoolchildrenthatchildrenconsidereffectiveandprofitabletoensurethesuccessfulschooling?How,outofthese
judgments,dotheysymbolicallyorganizethesocialorderoftheIndianschoolsystemandtheindividualchancesof
educationachievement?
LucindaCarspecken,BarbaraDennis,SurparnaBose,DajanaePalmer,PoojaSaxena,SamanthaSilberstein,and
PengfeiZhao
DigitalMigratingwithWomenWeLove:AFeministEthnography
Ethnographyandeducationarebothpracticesinbordercrossings,inmigrating,locatingandrelocating,
metaphoricallyandphysically.Inthisethnographicstudy,wemovebetweendeeplypersonalnarrativespacesand
broadlydigitalinteractiveones.Asbothanethnographicandeducationalendeavor,ourfeministprojectadvancesthe
valueofunderstandingthelivesofwomenwelove,andofcreatingaglobalspacewhereweandtheycanconnect
with,reinforceandlearnfromoneanother.
Historicallywomenhavecollectedtheirstoriestobuildcommunity.Ourproject,“WomenweLove”,emergedina
timewhen#MeTooandotherwomen’smovementsofferednewplatformsforwomentotelltheirstories,andwere
buildingnewnetworksoflocalandglobalsupport.ItwasconceivedbymembersoftheFeministResearchCollective
intheSchoolofEducationatIndianaUniversity,asawaytohonorsomeofthewomeninourlives.Wedrawon
ongoing,intergenerationalrelationshipsandsharedactivitiesinourownpersonallives,andhavealsoincorporated22
hoursofrecordedconversationandnarrativeinterviewswith10womenwelovesofar,spanning8countries.Weuse
acombinationofimages,sounds,videos,digitaltools,narrativesandpoemstoconveythesewomen’sexperiences.
TheCollectivehasadoptedanonlineapplicationcalledStoryMap,whichenablesustopresentinformationthrough
multiplemedia.Oursitewillbeinteractiveandtherewillbeliteralaswellasfigurativemapstoshowhowthe
women’sstoriescriss-crosstheglobeandcriss-crosstime.
Weareworkingtowardsestablishingaglobalethnography.Feministethnographyemphasizestheimportanceof
representingwomen’slifeworlds,ofteninnarrativeforms.Atthesametimethateachworkcentersaroundawoman,
theWomenWeLoveProjectchallengesthewaysweexploretheirlivesbylocatinganddislocatingtheirstories
simultaneously,byengagingindeeplypersonalandgloballyspaciousways,bymigratingwiththembutnevertaking
themover.Eachoftheirlifeworldsisjuxtaposed,paralleled,woventogether,andechoedwithothers’,ratherthan
beingsealedoffinisolation.Thestoriesaredislocatedbecausewecreatepossibilitiestoshakethecenterofeach
narrative.Thelocationsofeachstoryareporous–thewomencanbeseensimultaneouslyatthecentersoftheirown
livesandattheperipheryofothers’lives,crossingbordersandmigratinginadigitalizedworld.
Thismethodalsoworkstowardhorizontalratherthanhierarchicalrelationshipsamongandbetweenresearchers,
participantsandreaders.Readerscantakeanystoryorvideoorimageorsongasastartingpoint,andaddtheirown.
TheresearchersintheCollectivethemselvesspanarangeofages,races,nationalities,sexualorientationsand
academicroles,andalthoughtherearelinksbetweensomeofthecontributions,theseareaddedpiecemeal,in
differentstyles,andinconsultationwithparticipants.
WomenWeLoveexploresnewpossibilitiesforresearchinadigitalworld–enablingconnectionsacrossspaceandtime,
acrossmedia,amongtheresearchersandacrossthedividebetweenresearcherandparticipant.
Weareinthebeginningphasesofadigitizedethonography.Althoughwewillnotdiscusstheempiricalfindingsinthis
presentation,wewanttoindicatehowthesewillemergefromourmethodologicalapproach.Recentethnographic
literaturehasblurredlong-heldbinaries,suchaslocalversusglobalandfamiliarversusunfamiliarfieldsites.The
WomenWeLoveprojectaffordsusfurtheropportunitiestoblurboundaries;betweenactualandvirtualworlds,
betweencentersandmargins,andbetweenvisceral,affective,creativeandcognitivewaysofknowing.
Ethnographyandeducationarebothpracticesinbordercrossings,inmigrating,locatingandrelocatingmetaphorically
andphysically.Inthisethnographicstudy,wemovebetweendeeplypersonalnarrativespacesandbroadlydigital
interactiveones.Asbothanethnographicandeducationalendeavor,ourfeministprojectadvancesthevalueof
understandingthelivesofwomenwelove,andofcreatinganinteractiveglobalspacewhereweandtheycanconnect
with,reinforce,question,transform,teachandlearnfromoneanother.
AbismritaChakravarty
LearningtobeaMonk:StudyoftheTeachingandLearningPracticesataHinduMonastery.
Thispaperisanethnographicenquiryintotheteaching-learningpracticesatmonasteriesoftheVaishnavitetradition
calledsatras,thatarelocatedinAssamineasternIndia,tounderstandhowmonks(bhakats)produce,preserveand
performtheiridentitiesandbecomelegitimatemembersofacommunityofpractice.Youngboysareinitiatedinto
monkhoodatthesatraandareexpectedtopracticelifelongcelibacyandaformofdevotionthatemploysthe
mediumofdanceanddramatodisseminatereligiousideas.Learningto‘be’abhakatinvolveschangesinbodily
dispositions,speech,consciousnessandanembodimentoftheartformsthatevolvedatthesatra.Bhakatsarenot
‘objectsofantiquity’butagentialsubjectsnavigatingdifferent,overlappingsocio-politicalfieldslikeschools,the
professionalarenaofperformanceartsandtheritualspace,andtheirlearningencompassesallthesedifferent
encounters,assimilationsandexchanges.ThroughtheresearchIenterandimmersemyselfinspacesoflearning
‘outside’formalinstitutionslikeschoolstoexplorethevariousmodalitiesandimaginariesoflearning.IndoingsoI
examinetheirimplicationsonidentities,thenatureofknowledgeanditsreproduction.
Atthesatra,bhakatslearnabouttheworldandthereligiousphilosophythroughaformofapprenticeship.The
communityofpractitionersconstituealivingcurriculumandanembodimentoftheoraltradition.Whileritualsare
learntthroughperipheralparticipation,theartsfollowarigorous‘formal’learningprocess.Thereisastronglearner
centeredmodelwheretheapprenticestakechargeoftheirlearningandspecializeinareasoftheirchoicewiththe
guru’sencouragement.Theircraftandtrainingcannotbeunderstoodwithinamoral-spiritualuniversealonesince
politicalandeconomicinterventionshaveopenedupthewallsofthesatraandaddednewvaluetothearts.Bhakats
arepursuing‘formal’educationinschools,andperformingacrossdifferentplatformswhilenurturingcareersas
artists.Theiridentitiesaremultiple,negotiatedandinaconstantprocessofpreservationandreinvention,oftesting
boundariesbetweenwhatisandwhatisnotyet,locatedinthefracturesthroughwhichpossibilitiesemerge.
Thediscussionsthatemergefromthissingle-siteethnographicstudy,broadenthepurviewandsemanticfieldof
education,sothatitisnotjustunderstoodintermsof‘literacy’and‘numeracy’butalsointermsofidentityformation
andknowledgeproduction.Itthrowslightonthecomplexitiesandfluiditybetweenbinariesliketheformalandnon-
formaldomainsofeducationandhowtheyaremediatedthroughwebsofsignificance.Multiplemethodological
questionsareraisedaboutdoingethnographyinagenderedspacelikethemonasteryasawoman.Thestudyalso
drawsparallelsbetweenthesituatednatureoflearningatthesatraandthesituatednatureofethnographicworkand
howapprenticeshipoffersanethnographicpointofentry.Bothtakethe‘everyday’ritualsandconversationsassites
forrichobservations.Thereisadissolutionofthemind-bodydualismwherebodiesactivelyinteractwithand
experiencephenomenon.Thesecanbecriticalconsiderationsinthefieldofeducation.
MiriamK.Damrow
Genderdifferencesinparentalengagementonplaygrounds-comparingGermanandItalianparentalbehaviour.
ChildrenonplaygroundsinItalyandGermanymostlyrefertotheirparentswhenbeingonaplayground.Sofar,most
studiesonplaygroundsfocussedoninstitutionalplaygroundsinsteadonfreeonesandresearchedmainlychildren’s
interactionwitheachotherinnationalcontexts.Parentalengagementonfreeandpublicplaygroundshasbeen
understudieduptonow.Thisstudytriestofillthegapincludingandcontributingtoacomparativeperspectivein
ordertoanswerthefollowingquestions:whatdoparentsdoonplaygroundsinItalyandGermany?Doestheparental
engagementdifferregardinggender,quarter(inwhichtheplaygroundislocated)and/orageofthechild?How(ifat
all)doparentsinfluencetheirchildren’sbehaviouronplaygrounds?Videography(aspartoftheethnographic
framework)isusedtoanswerthesequestions.
Thisstudyisembeddedintoalargerprojectonchildren’suseofplaygroundsinEurope.Previousinvestigationsfound
ethnicseparationpatternsin2017appliedbyparentsinItalyandGermany.Inthisyear’sstudypart,parental
engagementisofinterest.ResultsfromobservationsonplaygroundsinItalyandGermanywillbepresented.All
observationtookplaceinearlysummerof2019(partlysupportedbystudents).Firstresultsfrom2017indicatethat
firstly,morefemalethanmaleparentswerebusyusingtheirsmartphones/tabletsorsimilarandthuspayingmore
attentiontotheirmobiledevicesthantowhattheirchildrendid.Secondly,fathersreceivedalotmoreattentionfrom
theirchildren(childreninvolvedtheirfathersmoreoftenintotheirplay,theywenttotheirfathersmoreoften,they
askedmoreoftenwhethertheirdadcouldcomealongandplaywiththemetc.).Thegenderdividewasparticularly
trueforparentalbehaviouronGermanplaygroundsinquarterswithalowsocioeconomicstatusin2017.
First,thiscontributionexploreshowethnographymightallowforanunderstandingofthewaychildren’sagencyis
promotedbytheirparentsthroughthewaytheyengageintheirchildren’sactivitiesonplaygrounds.Secondly,the
interwovenandinterrelatedworldsofparents(asadults)andtheiroffsprings(aschildren)mightrevealpossiblein-
depthunderstandingofpowerandcreativity.Asaconclusion,parentalengagementinchildren’splaymightbe
necessaryforthefurtherdevelopmentoftheirchildren.Thirdly,children’sidentityconstructionmightbeuncovered
byusingethnographicmethods.Moreover,theinterfacebetweentheethnographer,theobjectofknowingandthe
knownisalsoofinterest.
MarianneDovemark
TeachersandMigrantStudentsAdaptiontotheTemporaryLawonUpperSecondaryEducation
Previousresearchhasshownthatamajorityofmigrantstudentsatthelanguageintroductoryprogrammeends
outsideoffurthereducation(ErixonArreman&Dovemark2017).Severalstructuralbarrierssuchashighdemandson
knowledgeinSwedishandamaximumageforapplyingforanationalprogrammeattheuppersecondaryschool
hindermanymigrantstudentsfromenteringfurtherstudiesthoughtheyhavehighexpectationsonhighereducation
andareambitious(Dovemark&Beach2016).Accordingly,studiesshowanincreasingachievementgapbetween
migrantandnativestudents(Grönqvist&Niknami2017)andthisgaphasincreasedthelastdecades(Lundbladand
Linblad2018).
DuetothefactthatstructuralproblemsfacedbymanymigrantyouthswithintheSwedisheducationsystemwere
recognizedbytheNationalAgencyforEducation(2016b)andtoalleviatetheconsequencesoftheseproblemsthe
ParliamentofSwedenmadeadecisionregardingnewprovisionsintheso-calledlawonuppersecondaryeducation.
Thenewprovisionsmakeitpossibleformigrantstudentswhohavehadtheirapplicationsforasylumrejected,
toreceivearesidencepermittoundertakestudiesatuppersecondarylevel.Thatmeanstheycanfinishtheupper
secondaryeducationandafterthattheycanreceivearesidencepermit.Therearethoughmanyfactorswhichaffect
whetherastudentmaybeentitledtoaresidencepermitforuppersecondaryeducationstudies.Therulesare
differentdependingonwhetherthestudentisanasylumseeker,hasatemporaryresidence,orhavehadanasylum
applicationrejected.Therulesalsovarydependingonwhetheritisanunaccompaniedminor,whatuppersecondary
coursetheyareattending,and,insomecases,whenthefirstapplicationforasylumwasreceived.
ThispaperwillpresentsubstantivefindingsfromacasestudydoneintwomiddlesizecitiesinSwedenintwo
ethnicallydiversepublicuppersecondaryschoolswithmoreestablishedaswellasnewlyarrivedmigrantstudents.
Migrantstudents,teachers,principalsandcounsellorswithinthelanguageintroductoryprogrammehavebeen
observedandinterviewed.Thepurposeofthestudyistoprovidein-depthknowledgeaboutmigrantstudents’
possibleopportunitiesandproblemsintheshadowofthelawonuppersecondaryschool.Howhasthelawaffected
theeverydayworkatschool?Anethnographicthematicanalysisisdonewheretheintersectionalityofethnic
background,SES,andgenderwillbetakenintointheanalysis.
Thefirstfindingsshowthatteachersandotherschoolstaffoftenfindthemselvesinuntenablesituationswherethey
areforcedtoact“asjudges”thatdeterminethelivesofyoungpeople.Theresultsalsoshowsomecreativesolutions
tohelptheyoungmigrantstoreceivearesidencepermit.Ethnographicapproachesofferrichopportunitiestofindout
howschoolactorsmeetandrelatetonewpolicies,inthiscasehowteachers,studentsetc.areforcedintoanew
patternofactionstomeettherequirementswhenanewtemporarylawisimplemented.Fewstudiesaremadeinthe
educationalsettingofthelanguageintroductoryprogrammeswithinuppersecondaryeducationinSweden.
JohnDoyle
Somuchtooffer:AnexplorationoflearningandculturalwealthwithRomaSlovakpost-16students
PageHallisanareaofthelargeurbancityofSheffieldinthenorthofEngland.TheRomaSlovakcommunityinPage
HallisfromeasternSlovakiaandtheybegantoarriveinsignificantnumbersinrecentyears.Theareaconsistsof350
overcrowdedtwobedroomedterracedVictorianhousesinverypoorcondition,whichareavailableatalowcost
rents,butarenotsuitableforthelargefamiliesthathavesettledthere(Payne,2017).Theirlifestylehasbeen
perceivedascreatingproblemsforthemandthewidercommunityandthereisnegativemediacoveragethatisoften
experiencedbyRomacommunities(Okley,2014).Localpublicservicesdescribehighlevelsofhealthandsocialcare
needsandtheyhavesufferedahistoryofoppressionandexclusioninSlovakia(Payne,2017;Penfold,2015).This
researchsoughttounderstandhowacommunityofRomaSlovakwithamyriadofapparentproblemsyethigh
aspirations(Brown,2016)canprogresseducationally.Thefocusofthestudyispost-16RomaSlovakstudentslearning
EnglishinthenearbyHighTownCentre.
ThetheoreticalframeworkforthecurrentresearchisCriticalRaceTheory(CRT)(Yosso,2005;DelgadoandStefancic
2012;Gillborn,2015).CRTprovidesapositiveframeworkforbuildingonthestrengthsofcommunitiesandstudents’
capabilitiesthroughanappreciationoftheirculturalwealth.Culturalwealthistheresourcesanindividualbringsto
theeducationalcontextfromtheirhome,heritageandindividualexperience.Studentsfromdeprivedorexcluded
communitiessuchasRomaareoftenproblematised,withtheircultureseenastherootoftheireducationalfailure
andlowattainmenteffectivelytheirfault(Yosso,2005;DelgadoandStefancic2012;Gillborn,2015;Gonzalezetal,
2005).CRTidentifiesracismasthemainfactorinsuppressingthelifechancesofminoritycommunities(Delgado,
2002;Yosso,2005);thoughCRTrecognisestherearemultiplefactorsaffectingindividualsandmorethanonefactor
mayaffectanindividual,forexampleethnicity,race,gender,sexuality,ageandlifeexperiences.
Theresearchmethodologywasethnographicwithparticipantobservationovertwotermscapturinginfieldwork
noteshowculturalwealthwasusedinthissettingincluding:
• regularclassroomsessionsofuptosixteenstudents,
• informaldiscussionswithstudentsandteachersatbreaktimes,
• asocialevent,
• adaytriptothecitycentre,
semi-structuredinterviewswiththestudents,teachersandthecentremanager.
DatagatheringandanalysisappliedCarspecken(1996)criticalethnographyandLeCompteandSchensul(2010)
thematicanalysis.TheresearchdevelopedtheuseofYosso’s(2005)culturalwealthframeworktoexplorenotjustthe
"what"ofclassroomlearningbutthe"how"and"who";capturingthevoiceofyoungRomaSlovakstudents.Their
storywasinstarkcontrasttothestereotypesandimagesthatarecommonlysharedaboutthecommunity(Okley,
2014;Richardson,2014;O’Nions,2014).Theresearchfindingssuggestafocusonculturalwealthshouldinclude
relationshipsthatbuildtrust,confidenceandagencyandalsorecognisetheindividualityofstudents.Emerging
findingsweresharedwithsomestudentsinformallyandwiththeteacherstoinformlocalpractice.
AnjaSieberEggerandGiselaUnterweger
Conspicuouschildren.Anethnographyofprocessesofrecognitioninthekindergarten.
Thissubstantivepaperpresentsthefindingsofourresearchproject“ConspicuousChildren”whichwasfundedbythe
SwissNationalScienceFoundation.Duringtwoyearsofethnographicfieldworkwestudiedthepracticeofinclusive
schoolingintheSwisskindergarten,focusingonthepedagogicalhandlingofwhateducatorscall‘heterogeneity’.By
analysingthekindergartenteachers’dailypracticesandroutinesfromthefirstdayofschool,wecanshowhowthey
identifysomechildrenasbeing“different”.Theoreticallywefocusonprocessesofun/doingdifference(West&
Fenstermaker1995;Hirschauer2017).Welinkthisinteresttothequestionofrecognition(Butler1997)andthesocial
orderofthekindergarten.Weassumethatrecognitionisacentralstructuralmomentofpracticesandthatsubject
positionsarenegotiatedonthebasisofnormsofrecognizability.
Theideaofinclusiveschoolinggenerallyaimsattherecognitionofdiversity.Butitdoesnotaskhowdiversity,broadly
understoodas‘difference’betweenpupils,isenactedineverydayinteractions.Inourresearchwepreciselyfocuson
suchinteractions.Weshowhowexpectationsregardingthechildren’sperformancesareinterlinkedwithdifferent
ordersinthekindergarten:withtheinteractionalorder(e.g.bodilycontrol;adjustingown’svolume/voice),the
symbolicorder(e.g.self-andexternalcategorizing;theproperhandlingofspecifickindergartenartefacts)andthe
knowledgeorder(e.g.understandingandspeakingGerman,beingabletousescissors).Theseordersprovidea
powerfulframeworkforprocessesofun/doingdifferences,aswellasforprocessesofrecognitionandsubject
positioning.Thespecificnorms,valuesanddemandsoftheseordersareimposedonthechildrenand-lastbutnot
least-alsoontheirfamilies.Itiswithinthisframeworkthatchildrenbecomeconspicuousordifferent.Theframework
isalsoflexibleandisadaptedandperformedintheteachers’routines,dependingoncontextandcircumstances.We
arguethatthesocio-economiccontextoftheneighbourhood,thefamilysituationandotherfactorsalsoplayarole
regardingthespecificsoftheframeworksandtheproductionofconspicuousness.
Wevisitedthethreekindergartensovertwoyearsextensivelyandcollectedaheterogenousbodyofdata:fieldnotes,
fielddocuments,recordedteacher-parent-talks,interviewswithteachersandparents,photographsandaudio
recordings.Withthisabundanceofdata,weelucidatethepracticesandeverydaycultureofthekindergarten,which
hasanoutstandingpositionwithintheSwisseducationalsystem.Althoughpartofmandatoryschoolingfor10years,it
hasahistoryandidentityasbeingdifferentfromschool:morechild-centered,allowingchildrentoplay,butalso
preparingthechildrenforthetransitiontoschool.Withourethnographywetakeacloselookattheinnerworkingsof
thekindergarten,atthedailyroutinesoftheteachersandatinteractionalprocesseswhichleadtothesocial
positioningofchildren.HerebywefillavoidinthecurrenteducationalresearchabouttheSwissschoolsystem.
Referringtoourresearchquestionabouthowtheideaofinclusiveschoolingispracticallyperformedweareableto
showthecrucialroleofthelocalandorganizationalcontext.
AnitaEriksson
“Firstteachers”inpreschool–anethnographicinvestigationoftheimplementationofanewcategoryofpreschool
teacherassignment
Inrecentdecades,educationsystemsaroundtheworldhaveundergonemanychangesinordertoincreasethequality
oftheeducationalsystemandthestudent’sachievementofgoals.Intheargumentationabouthowthesechangesare
tobeachieved,theteacherisdescribedasplayingakeyroleandtheteachers’professionalskillshavebeen
highlightedasaveryimportantfactorforstudent’sperformance(Hattie,2009;McKinsey&Company,2007;
Skolverket,2014).InareportfromOECD(2011),careerpathsforteacherswashighlightedasasuccessfulwayto
achieveanincreasededucationalqualityandinseveralcountriescareerstepreformshasbeenestablishedlately.
InSweden,aCareerServicesforTeachers(CST)reform(Prop.2012/13:136)wasimplemented2013,aimingtoget
particularlyskilledteacherstostayinschoolandcontinuetoteachandtospreadtheirteachingskillstocolleagues,as
thisinturnwouldincreasethequalityofteachingintheSwedisheducationsystem.Withthisreformanewcategory
ofteacherswascreated,so-calledfirstteachers.Priortothereform,itwasstatedthatitwouldapplytobothpre-
schoolandcompulsoryschoolandthatfirstteachersshouldbeappointedinbothcontexts.However,whenthe
reformwaslaunchedandimplemented,thepreschoolwasexempted,andGovernmentgrantswereonlyawardedfor
assignmentsasfirstteachersincompulsoryanduppersecondaryschools.Despitethis,careerpathsforparticularly
skilledpreschoolteachers,i.e.kindsoffirstteacherassignments,havebeensetupinpreschools.Theresearchinthe
presentpaperdealswithquestionsaboutthe“firstteacher”assignmentinthepreschoolcontextandwhatkindof
tasksthatareincludedinthisassignment.
Dataproductionwasconductedthroughethnographicfieldwork(Walford,2008;Jeffrey&Troman,2004),overa
periodofsixmonthsatonepreschool.AsaresearcherIobservedplanningmeetingsinwhichtheheadofthe
preschoolandthree“firstteachers”participated,meetingsledbyfirstteachersaswellasotherkindsofrelevant
workplacemeetings.Fieldconversationsandinterviewswiththehead,firstteachersandotherpreschoolstaffwas
conducted,andpolicydocumentsrelatedtothefirstteacherassignmentwasanalysed.Theanalysisofdatahasbeen
theoreticallyinformedbyBourdieu's(1993)conceptsfieldandcapital.
Thefindingsshowthattheimplementationoffirstteachersledtoamorehierarchicalorganizationinwhichthe
preschoolteachersthatwereappointedwerepositionedbetweentheheadandtheotherpreschoolstaff,bothbythe
head,otherpreschoolteachersandchild-careworkers.Theheadexpectedthesepreschoolteacherstoberesponsible
fordevelopingthequalityoftheeducationalactivitiesandtheprofessionaldevelopmentoftheircolleagues.The
assignmentasafirstteacherscomprisedalotofdifferenttaskssuchaspedagogical-,leadership-andadministrative
ones.Theresultsoftheinvestigationcontributestotheknowledgeinthefieldofeducationalresearchandto
ethnographybyamethodologicaldiscussion.
BourdieuP,BroadyDandPalmeM.(1993)Kultursociologiskatexter,Stockholm:B.Östlingsbokförl.Symposion.
HattieJ.(2009)Visiblelearning:asynthesisofover800meta-analysesrelatingtoachievement,London:Routledge.
Jeffrey,B.&Troman,G.(2004).Timeforethnography.BritishEducationalResearchJournal,30(4)pp.535–548.
https://doi.org/10.1080/0141192042000237220
McKinsey&Company(2007).Howtheworld’sbest-performingschoolscomeoutontop.
http://mckinseyonsociety.com.
OECD(2011).OECDReviewsofEvaluationandAssessmentinEducation:Sweden2011[Elektroniskresurs].OECD
PublicationsCentre.
Prop.2012/13:136.(2013)Karriärvägarförlärareiskolväsendetm.m.,Regeringskansliet,Stockholm
Utbildningsdepartementet.
Skolverket.(2014)Vemärförsteläraren?Stockholm:Skolverket.
Walford,G.,(ed)(2008).Howtodoeducationalethnography.London:TufnellPress.
SallyCampbellGalman
Nicole’smotherisdead:“Playing”withdeathinpreschoolethnography
Thisisaresearchpiece,butIamconsideringexpandingandperhapsfocusingmoreonmethodologicalissues
dependingonthefeedbackIreceive.Thispaperexamineswhathappenswhenchildren’splaystories,specificallyin
thecontextofPaley’s“dramatimestories”(2004)ceasetobecuteandcharmingandinsteadincorporatethemesthat
manywesternadultsconsider“improper”(Jonesetal,2010).Inthiscase,thesuddendeathofa4-yearold’smother
becamethesubjectofnotonlyherowndramatimestory,butalsothedramatimeandotherimaginativeplay
storylinesofmanyotherchildrenintheclass.Fromthewrenchingmomentofitsfirsttelling,thestory“Nicole’s
MotherIsDead”sparkedaninterestindeaththatlastednearlysixmonthsinthepreschoolfieldsite:Following
throughtheotherchildren’sdeath-relatedstoriesandplay,totheinevitableoutcryfromparentsandcommunity
members,tothepreschoolteacher’sattempttointegratechildren’sinterestindeathintotheclassroomcurriculum,
thispaperreturnstothequestionofwhathappenswhenadultsseektotrulyheartheyoungestchildren,onlyto
recoil?Andwhatsensedochildrenmakeofthesereactionstotheirstories?
Theanalysespresentedinthispaperarepartofalargercorpusofdatafromamulti-yearethnographicstudyofa
diverse,ruralpreschoolinthenortheasternUnitedStates.Thedatawerecollectedprimarilythoughparticipant
observationduringfreeplayperiod,andaltogetherthisresultedinaround1000hoursofobservationinthepreschool
classroom.IemployJones,Holmes,MacRae&MacLure’s(2010)theoryofthe“improperchild”toframethepaper
andtobeingtoilluminatewhysomestoriesbecome“strange”andalarmingtoadults,andotherspassunnoticed.
Theysuggestthatsomechildrenbecome“improper”becausetheychallengeadults’conceptionofhowa“proper”
childlooksandbehaves.Theyare“nolongerknownsubjectswithintheadults’gaze[and]constituteacrisisbecause
theyarebetweentwocategorieswheretheyareneithersubjectnorobject...theyhavefallenfromwhatwithinthe
scopeoftheadultis‘possible,’‘tolerable’or‘thinkable’”(p.184).So,the“proper”childbecomes“improper”asa
functionofdisruptinganadult’smeaningsystem.Theideaofthe‘cleanandproper’childandhis‘cleanandproper’
storiesiscomplicatedbyapopularadultconstructionofchildascherub(Jenkins,1998;Lancy,2015)inthemidstofa
culturethatfrownsonchildren’s“precocious”knowledge,butstillallowsrealchildrentoliveinrealpoverty,hunger
andfear.Eschewingeasyromanticizing,reflectionsontheimportanceofattendingmeaningfullytochildren’sstories
concludethepaper.
AsIhavewrittenelsewhere(Galman,2018),preschoolethnographyisitsowncountry,andthecraftofobserving
smallpeopleandtheirsmallmomentswithintentionandrespectishonedoveralifetime.Thisprojectfallswithinthe
interpretivetraditionoftheethnographyofchildhood,alignedverymuchwiththe“tribesofchildhood”(James,Jenks
andProut,1998)orientationtothinkingaboutchildren’sculture.TothisendIseechildhoodas“anindependentplace
withitsownfolklore,rituals,rulesandnormativeconstraints...withinasystemthatisunfamiliarto[adults]and
thereforetoberevealedthroughresearch”(Jamesetal,1998,29).However,inthispaperandmyconfrontationwith
myownworriesabouttheintersectionofculturalidealsofthecherubicand“innocent”childandAmerican
contaminationrhetorictotheforelargerquestionsofhowanadultethnographercanbegintoseechildren’sculture
inanauthenticway.
Galman,S.C.(2018).NaptimeattheOKCorral:Shane’sbeginner’sguidetochildhoodethnography.London:
Routledge.
JamesA,JenksCandProutA(1998)Theorizingchildhood.Cambridge:PolityPress.
Jenkins,H.(1998).Introduction:Childhoodinnocenceandothermodernmyths.InJenkins,H.(Ed.)Thechildren’s
culturereader,1-37.NewYork:NewYorkUniversityPress.
Jones,L.,Holmes,R.,MacRae,C.,&MacLure,M.(2010).Improperchildren.InYelland,N.(Ed.)Contemporary
perspectivesonearlychildhoodeducation,177-191.NewYork,NY:OpenUniversityPress.
Lancy,D.(2015).Theanthropologyofchildhood:Cherubs,chattel,changelings.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversity
Press.
Paley,V.G.(2004).Achild’swork:Theimportanceoffantasyplay.Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress.
ThomasGennen
Tracingcognitivedevelopmentthroughethnography:childrenlearningconceptsinSteinerschools
Anthropologicalapproachestoeducationcannotleaveunquestionedthetheoriesoflearningandcognitionthey
endorse,especiallywhenitimplieschildren.Whileuniversalisticandethnocentricassumptionshavesuccessfullybeen
criticizedinthisregard,currentapproachestendtobypassacrucialphenomenon:thepsychogeneticstructurationof
cognitivedevelopment.Itackletheissue,basedonanethnographyofhowchildrenfrom9to11learnconceptsin
Steinerschools.Steinerschool'spedagogicalsystemisderivedfromthecontroversialesotericdoctrineof
Anthroposophyandinvolvesthedevelopmentofspecific“spiritual”,cognitiveandbehaviouraltraitsinchildren.Every
lessonimplieslearningbydoing,directobservation,andartisticcreations,whileteacherstrytofacilitatepupils'
understandingsbyusingalotofmetaphorstomakethingsvividandstimulatepupils’imagination.Pupilsareexpected
toparticipateanddebateactively,aswellasexpressoutloudtheirreasoning.
Takingintoaccountcurrentdebatesincognitivesciences,myanalysisreliesonCultural-HistoricalActivityTheory.
Analysingdevelopmentwithinpracticalsocialactivities,thiscross-culturaltheoryconvincinglyshowedthatthe
ontogeneticdevelopmentofqualitativelydifferentformsofthoughtconsistsinthedevelopmentofspecificstructures
ofgeneralization.Inparticular,conceptualthinkingimpliesthecapacitytogeneralizeelementsofexperienceandto
mentallyexamineatwilltheseabstractedcontentsintermsofessentialfeatures(forms,functions,structures,etc.).
Duringafour-yearethnographicfieldworkintwoelementaryandprimarySteinerschoolsinBelgium,Iobservedhow
pupilscometounderstand,abstractandgeneralizeconceptualmeanings.Aspecialattentionhasbeengiventoaudio-
recordingpupils’reasoningandanalysingincontexthowtheymakecausallinks,generalizationsandabstractionswith
concepts.Ialsocomparedandanalysedtheirnotebooks,andconductedin-depthsemi-directiveinterviewswith
teachers.
ThediversityofpedagogicmeansusedinSteinerschoolshelppupilstoabstracttheconceptualmeanings,whilethe
varioussituationstheyareusedinviamultimodallearninghelpthemtogeneralizethem.Also,teachers’metaphors
seemparticularlyhelpfultopupils’understanding,consideringhowtheyappropriatethemwhenexplainingthe
concepts.Thus,teacherscontributetopushforwardpupils'“zonesofproximaldevelopment”regardingtheircapacity
tothinkinhigherlevelsofabstractionandgeneralizationbyusingconcepts.However,acloseranalysisofpupil’s
reasoningandverbalinteractionsindicatesthatiftheycometounderstandandusecorrectlyconceptsinvarious
situations,theystillstruggletouseanddefinetheminabstractandgeneralways.Theywouldrathermention
concreteexamplesorfeatureswhenaskingtodefinethem.Thissuggestsadevelopmentaltransitiontothecapacity
toproperlythinkinconcepts.
Thispaperaimstoovercomethecurrentuseofethnographyasameanstotracecognitivephenomenabackto
specificculturalpractices.Itshowshowethnographicmethodscanbeusedtodescribeandanalyseinrealsituations,
overlongtimescalesandinspecificsocio-culturalcontextshowcognitivedevelopmentoccurs,bytakingintoaccount
itspsychogeneticstructurationandconstraints.Beyondremindingusofsocio-culturaldiversity,theethnographyof
educationcouldthenplayacriticalroleindialoguewithcognitivesciencesregardingissuesofeducation.
LinaGrudulaitė
TheProspectsandChallengesofapplyingNarrativeEthnographyinEducation.
Thispaperpresentstheresultsofliteraturereviewaboutthemethodologyofnarrativeethnographyanddiscussesits
obscureoriginsandvariousconceptualizations.Themethodologicalpapercriticallydiscussestheresearchstudies
conductedinthefieldofEducation,whichusenarrativeethnographyastheirmainmethodology,anddemonstrates
itsrelevanceforconductingresearchstudiesineducationalsettings.Theprimarypurposeofthispaperistoreveal
variousprospectsandchallengesforresearchers,whomightbeemployingnarrativeethnographyasmethodologyfor
theirresearchprojects.
Theliteraturereviewrevealsthatnarrativeethnographyhasvariousconceptualizations.Twodominant
understandingsofnarrativeethnographyarefrequentlyappliedineducationalresearchstudies.Onemeaningof
narrativeethnographyisdirectlyrelatedtotheunderstandingofpersonalnarrativesassociallyembeddedinnarrative
practiceandenvironment.Itissignificantnotonlywhatisconveyedbystoriesbutalsohowandwherethestoriesare
constructed.Otherunderstandingisconnectedtorepresentationalpracticesoffieldworkanditsresults.It
emphasizestheimportanceofadialecticalrelationshipofethnographerwithresearchparticipantsandreadersof
ethnographiesandconcentratesonwritingpracticesofethnography.Despitetheirdifferences,bothviewssharealot
ofincommon.Theybothareinterestedinpersonalexperiencesofpeopleandhowtheycanbenarratively
constructed.Therefore,theyrecognizethepowerofstoriesinsocialconstructionofreality.
Theresearchersconductingstudiesabouteducationaltopicsoftenprioritizeoneorotherconceptionsofnarrative
ethnographyandnotconsistentlyclearlyindicate,whichunderstandingofmethodologytheyfollow.Theyalso
frequentlymanoeuvreontheestablishedborderbetweennarrativeinquiryandethnography.Theresearchers
conductingstudiesineducationalsettingsoftenfacechallengesclarifyingodontologicalandepistemologicalpremises
ofnarrativeethnography,justifyingtheirchoiceofmethodologyanddemonstratingtheuniquenessoftheapproach.
Theclarificationandcriticaldiscussionofphilosophicalpremisesandlinkageswithothermethodologicalapproaches
increasetheintegrityofresearchstudiesandhelptochoosesuitablemethodsfordatacollectionandanalysis.The
reviewalsorevealstheimmensepotentialofapplyingnarrativeethnographyforconductingresearchinEducationas
thismethodologycanmakeresearchprocessmoretransparentandethic.Themethodologyhelpstoexplore
educationalandlearningexperiencesasconstantlychanging,dynamic,co-constructedandembeddedinspecific
contexts.
Thispapercontributestoeducationandethnographybydiscussinganemergingmethodologyofnarrative
ethnography,itsorigins,conceptualizationsanditsapplicationinresearchstudiesconductedineducationalsettings.
Themethodologypaperrevealsvariousprospectsandchallengesforeducationalresearchers,whomightbe
employingnarrativeethnographyasmainmethodologyfortheirresearchprojects.
AmiraSarraHiouaniAndNorElHoudaKhiari
IsAlgerianEnglisha‘Centre’EnglishinDisguise?AnEthnographicStudyoftheCaseofAlgerianTeachersand
StudentsofEnglish.
BasedonthefindingsofanethnographicstudyatanAlgerianuniversityexploringlanguageteachingandlearning
ideologiesinrelationtoidentities,thissubstantivepapersetsouttoexplaintheconceptofAlgerianEnglishandhow
relateditseemstobeto‘Centre’Englishes.Italsoaimsatdemonstratingthediversemethodsusedaspartofthe
entireethnographicframeworkandhowacombinationoffieldworkobservations,informalinterviewsand
discussions,overheardconversations,focusgroups,semi-structuredinterviews,andrepertory-grid-basedinterviews,
withanemphasisonthislatter,contributedtotheoverallunderstandingofthethemesemergingfromthestudy
includingtheissueofAlgerianEnglish.
Thefindingscanbeexaminedattwodistinctyetinterdependentlevels.Whilethefirstlevelissubstantively
constructed,thesecondoneisbasedonmethodology.Asforthepracticalfindings,itappearsthatthemultiplicityof
people’sidentitiesandthestereotypestheyholdcanberegardedasaconstituentpartoftheprocessof
understandingwhyAlgerianEnglishisthewayitis.Throughoutthecollectionofdata,acertainpatternbeganto
emerge.Identity-wise,thestudyrevealsthatnomatterhowAlgeriantheEnglishusedmightappeartobe,there
alwaysseemstobeaBritishorAmericansidetoit.Insomecases,theparticipants’Berberidentityclasheswiththeir
user-of-Englishidentitywhich,tosomedegree,createstheillusionofappertainingtotheEnglish-speaking‘Centre’.
Contrarily,someparticipants’rejectionofthestereotypesthataccompany‘Centre’Englishesseemstoresultinan
‘Algerianised’versionofBritishandAmericanEnglishes.Theseoccurrencesledmetoquestiontheveryessenceof
AlgerianEnglishandwhetheritevenexistsatall.Atthelevelofmethodology,itistheuseofrepertorygridsthathas
beenparticularlyappealing.Eventhoughrepgridshavebeencriticizedforlackingrigourandforowningqualitiesthat
appeartoappertaintothepositivistparadigm,theiruseyieldedanabundantamountofin-depthdata.Notonlywere
theyanethnographictoolthatworkedinharmonywithallotherfieldwork-basedmethods,buttheyalsoperformed
asalensthroughwhichenactedsocialconstructionismwasthoroughlyexperienced.
Asfaraseducationisconcerned,thispapercontributestotheoverallunderstandingofAlgerianEnglish,withinthe
ambitofWorldEnglishes,inrelationtothesocialpracticeswhichareperformedwithintheeducationalcontext.More
precisely,thefactthattheparticipantsareteachersandstudentsofEnglishwhoseconvictionsandidentitiesforma
constituentpartoftheirteachingandlearningpracticesaddstothecomprehensionofhowdifferentEnglishes
operatearoundtheworld.Inaddition,theefficacioususeofrepertorygridsshouldnotgounseen.Althoughother
ethnographictoolshavealsobeensuccessfullyused,repertorygridsperformedasguidednarratives,inthesensethat
theparticipantsansweredthequestionsthattheythemselvesaskedbasedontheirownmindsets,identitiesand
backgrounds.
ChristinaHuf
Howdoesearlychildhoodeducationmattertochildren?Espousingrelationalityandmaterialityinethnographic
research.
EarlyChildhoodEducationisoftenheldtobeinthebestinterestofthechild,withoutconsideringhowitmattersto
children.Withinthesocialstudiesofchildhood,ethnographyhasbeenconsideredamethodologywhichmakes
valuablecontributionstomeetthisdesideratumbygivingvoicetochildren,viewingthemascompetentactorsand
acknoweldgingthemasexpertsoftheirownlifesandempoweringthemtoparticipateintheresearch.
Importantastheymayhavebeentoquestionprevailingnotionsaboutchildrenaslesserhumanbeingsandto
advocatetheircapacitytomakechanges,theconceptsofagency,voiceandparticipationareunderseverecritiqueto
haveproducedanunderstandingofchildhoodasa“decidedlyhumanmatterfocussedontheneedsofindividual
children“(Osgood&Robinson2019).Cook(2011)arguesthattheconceptofagencyisorientedtowardsanidealized
adultactor,andthereforelimitsthepotentialofchildhoodstudiestoengagewithchildren’smessyandcomplexlives.
Addressedasexpertsoftheirownlives,childrenareseentobeofteninvolvedintotheproductionofknowledge
aboutchildhoodwhichfavourscertainstoriesoverothers(GallagherandGallacher2008).
Thepaperwishestodiscusshowethnographyinearlychildhoodeducationcanrespondtothiscritique.Asan
ethnographer,whoseresearchinterestshaveformanyyearsfocussedonunderstandinghowearlychildhoodand
primaryeducationmattertochildren(Huf2013),Iamexploringpossibilitesofdoingethnographicresearchwhichcan
contestnormativeexpectationsonchildrenandtheirlearningwithoutidealizingchildren’sindividuality,
independenceandautonomyandwithoutrelyingontheircomplicitywithmyknowledgemakingpractices.
Intherecentdebateinchildhoodstudies,KarenBarad’stheoryofagentialrealism(2007)isconsideredtoproduce
newknowledgesaboutchildhoodandofferfreshinsightsintoknowledgemakingpracticeswithchildren(Dennis/Huf
inreview).Barad’sconceptsofentanglement,intra-actionanddiffractionandherinterestinboundarymaking
practicesareseentoencourageinterdependencyandrelationality.DrawingonBarad,Spyrouclaimsashiftin
childhoodstudiesfromfocussingonthecapacitiesofchildrentoasking„whatcapacitiesemergeoutofchildren’s
relationalencounterswithotherentities“(2018,203).
DrawingonfieldworkinaLondonNurserySchool,whichexamineshowmattermattersinearlychildhoodeducation,
thepaperwillexplorehowthisshiftcanbepracticedasethnographicresearch.Itwilldiscusshowtheconceptsof
interdependencyandrelationalityguidetheethnographer’sgaze,howtheyshapeherrelationshipwiththechildren
andhowtheyproduceaspecificunterstandingofhowearlychildhoodeducationmatterstochildren.
Thefindingsoftheanalysiswillbediscussedinrelationtothedominantnarrativeoftheimportanceofquality
interactionbetweenpractitionerandchild.Theywillshowhowtheknowledgethatisproducedaboutqualitypractice
ofearlychildhoodeducationignorestheimportanceofthematerialityoftheclassroomandtheinvolvementof
materialintoboundarymakingpracticesbetweenadultsandchildren,butalsobetweendifferentchildren.In
conclusion,espousingrelationalityandmaterialityinethnographicresearchwillbeappreciatedasapossibilityto
engagecriticiallywithhowweknowwhatmattersinearlychildhoodeducation.
Barad,K.2007.MeetingtheUniversityHalfways.Quantumphysicsandtheentanglementofmatterandmeaning.
Duke:DurhamandLondon
Cook,D.2011.Editorial:Aghostlypresence.Childhood18(1),3-6.
Dennis,B.,Huf,C.inreview:ParticipatoryEntanglementsinEthnographicResearchwithchildren.Ethnographyand
Education.
Gallacher,L.A.&Gallagher,M.2008.Methodologicalimmaturityinchildhoodresearch?Thinkingthrough
‘participatorymethods’.Childhood,4,499-516.
C.Huf,C.2013.Children´sagencyduringtransitiontoformalschooling.In:JournalforEthnographyandEducation.
Routledge/Francis&TaylorJournals
Osgood,J.andRobinson,K.(ed.)2019.Feministsresearchinggenderedchildhoods.Bloomsbury:London
Spyrou,S.2018.DisclosingChildhoods.ResearchandKnowledgeproductionforaCriticalChildhoodStudies.s
YukiImoto
Theontologicalswaybetweenpractitionerandanthropologist–researchingmindfulness,contemplativeeducation
andethnographyintheUSandJapan.
Thispaperexplorestheauthor’songoingontologicaldilemmaandnavigationprocess,asananthropologistwhogoes
back and forth between ‘native’ and ‘other’, or ‘learned’ and ‘novice’ positionings and ways of being. Through
reflecting on this process, the paper seeks to find the connections between mindfulness, contemplation and
ethnography;tospeakto/withscholarswhouseethnographicandanthropologicalknowledgeinappliedandimplicit
waysbeyond scholarship; and to identify thepossibleproblems thatpractitioner-ethnographersmayencounter. In
2017-2018, I conducted fieldwork inAmericanmindfulness-basededucational spacesas a Japaneseanthropologist.
AfterreturningtoJapanin2018,IhavecontinuedtoconductresearchonthemindfulnessmovementintheU.S.and
inJapan.Iaminterestedinhow‘mindfulness’isbeingreceived,experienced,discussedintheJapanesecontextand
theinteractionwithWesterndevelopmentsinthisfield.
MorethanayearhaspassedsincereturningfromfieldworkintheU.S.,andIamincreasinglyfindingmyselfasapart
ofthe‘mindfulnesscommunity’inJapan–myexperienceoflearningaboutmindfulnessandattendingmanytraining
programs and retreats in theU.S. has placedme in a positionwith special knowledge. In fact, Imyself have been
transformed in the process of fieldwork in the U.S., so that my perspective, understanding and ontological
commitmentintherealmofmindfulnessresearchandcontemplativeeducationisverydifferentfrommyinitial2017
Fulbrightresearchproposal.
As a Japanese anthropologist who is studying the American ‘mindfulness culture’; who is simultaneously bringing
‘other’ (but complexly ‘indigenous’ since mindfulness is rooted in Buddhism and deeply related to Japanese Zen)
knowledgegainedabroadtotheJapanesecommunitywhileobserving/researchingthisprocess;myproject involves
navigating multiple identities and perspectives of ‘native’ and ‘other’. More importantly, as a ‘mindfulness
researcher’who through theanthropologicalprojecthascometoknowawayofbeing-in-the-world that isbeyond
social scientific analysis, rational explanation and categorization – that is about embodied experience ‘beyond’ or
‘before’language;Ifindmyselfnavigatingbetweendifferentontologicalrealms.
As I become involved in holding workshops and teaching mindfulness myself, how do I juggle the role of both
endorsingandcritiquing?Howdo I remainmindfullyawareofmyown socially structuredpositionings,biases, and
intentions? How can I maintain an optimal balance between existing as a social scientist and as a mindfulness
practitioner;howmighttheybeconnectedandintegrated?ThesearethequestionsthatIhopetoraiseandexplore
throughmyexperienceofethnographicfieldresearchinmindfulnesspractice.
AnnaJober,CatarinaPlayer-Koro,andAnnikaBergvikenRensfeldt
Policynetworksineducation–Theroleofeducationtradefairsinthegovernanceofeducation
ThispaperwillpresentsubstantivefindingsfromaneventethnographicstudyofonelargeScandinavianeducational
technology(ed-tech)tradefair,SETT.Educationalfairsandeventshavebecomeimportantarenasandpolicynodes
foranincreasingglobaled-techmarketwhereproductsandideasbecomedemonstrated,promotedandsoldand
where(inter)nationalnetworksofpublicandprivatepolicyactorsintersectwithlocalschoolsystems,schoolsand
teachers(Ball2012).Astheseeventhavebecomeintegralpartsofpolicyinterpretationandtranslation,theyalso
transformcrucialaspectsofeducation(Ball2016;Menashy2016).Thequestionisthereforewhatandhow
educationalideasandvisionsareframedthroughtheevent?Followingthis,Isitpossibletotrackanycoherent
vision/politicofeducationamongthevariousactorsattheevent?Whatroledothedifferentactorsbelievetheyhave?
Inrelationtoeachother,toeducation,toteachers?Thesequestionsareaddressedthroughan(event)ethnographic
studyofoneed-techtradefairinSweden.
Thestudyis,partofandinformedbytwolargerethnographicprojects,basedintwouniversities.Thefirstproject
concernsathreeyearethnographicstudyoftheseannualevents.Thisbiggerprojecthasanalysedandmappedthe
formationanddifferentaspectsoftheed-techpolicynetworksthroughtheuseofnetworkedethnographicmethods
(PlayerKoro2014;Player-KoroandBergvikenRensfeldt2017).Thesecondprojectisathree-yearethnographical
investigationofhistoricizingthepresent,whenstudyinghowprivate‘edupreneurial’actorsandlogicschangethe
conditionsforwhatcountsasgoodeducationinSweden.Thisparticularstudyexploresthe2018SETTshowinMalmö.
Thepaperdrawsondetailedethnographicaccountsofdifferentactors’participationintheexhibitionhallatthe
event.Theaim,asinmostethnographicstudies,isbyparticipatingintheevent,talkingandlisteningtodifferent
actors,toofferarichmeansofdevelopingknowledgeaboutthemeaning-makingprocessesofactors’policy
enactment(Beach2010)representedbydifferentschools,businesses,tradeunionsandgovernmentactors.
Themainfindingisthatregardlessofthesectortheactorsrepresenttherearenotanyindepthideasaboutsociety,
schooloreducationexpressed.Insteadthedrivingforceandthemainmessagesarelocalandexpressedintermsof:a)
Privateactors–theirownproductb)TradeUnions–theirownmessagec)Municipalities–localschoolgovernment
andtheirownaccomplishmentsd)Governmentalstructures(TheSwedishInstituteforEducationalResearchandThe
NationalAgencyofEducation)-themission,theirreportsOurconclusionisthatthiscreatesanatomisticeducational
policygovernancespacewithblurredboundariesandacomplexnetwork,drivenbybusinessideasandeconomical
agendasratherthansocialideasaboutwhateducationshouldbefortheindividual,societyanddemocracy.Few
studieshavescrutinizedthiskindofeducationalarenawhereeducationalpolicymakingistakingplace,asweargue,in
thewakeofaneoliberaleconomicreorganizationofthepublicsector.Ethnographicapproachesofferrich
opportunitiesforexploringthisarenawhereeducationalpolicyisformed,transformedanddisseminated.
AnastasiaKalokyri
OvercomingandmitigatingmethodologicaldifficultiesofconductingethnographyaboutstudentswithADHDina
Scottishsecondaryschool
Ethnographyhasbecomeoneofthemostcommonapproachesforconductingeducationalresearch(Pole&Morrison,
2003).Thereisanumberofstudieswhichhaveusedethnographytoexplorethesocialidentitiesofpre-school
(Konstantoni,2012)andprimaryschoolchildren(Kustatcher,2015;Connolly,1998)aswellastheidentitiesofchildren
withcommunicationdisabilities(Wickenden,2011)andothervariousdisabilities(e.g.MacArthuretal.,2007;Davis&
Watson,2001;2002).However,ethnographicstudieswithstudentswithADHDarerare(Bailey,2014)andparticularly
withsecondaryschoolstudents.Thepurposeofthispaperistoaddressmethodologicalchallengesbasedonan
ethnographicstudyabouttheschoolexperiencesof10studentswithADHDwhichtookplaceinalargesecondary
schoolinScotland.Despitetheincreasinguseofethnographiesinschools,scholarsoverlooktheimportanceof
reportingthemethodologicaldifficultiesofcapturingdatafromasecondaryschoolwhichcanbevaluableinformation
forethnographerstobeawareofbeforeenteringthefieldwork.Theapproachthatneedstobeadoptedisdifferent,
forexample,fromprimaryschool,wheretheethnographercanobservethestudentseveryhouroftheschoolday.
Doingethnographyinasecondaryschoolcanbeverychallenging,especiallyifthestudentsbelongtodifferentschool
years,differentclassroomsdependingontheirability,andattenddifferentfacilitieswithintheschool(mainstream
classes,segregationUnits,theLearningBase).Thus,theethnographerneedstotakesubstantialdecisionsonthemost
effectivewaystocollectthedata.
Themainmethodologicalchallengesidentifiedinthefieldworkofthisstudyinclude:selectionofparticipantstudents
amonganumberofstudentswithADHDandselectionofparticipantteachersofvariousspecialtiesdependingon
predefinedcriteria;establishmentofanopenandreciprocalchannelofcommunicationwiththeschooltoutiliseits
resources;gettingtheparents’consentontime;strategicandmethodicalplanningofobservationsbasedoneach
student’stimetableinordertospendasmuchequaltimeaspossiblewitheachstudent;creationofrelationshipof
trustwiththeschoolstaffandstudentsinordertobridgeculturaldifferences.Despitethechallenges,itappearstobe
possibletorecorddatafromobservationsfromsecondaryschoolstudentswhobelongtodifferentyearsandclasses
anddocomplexethnographiesincomplexenvironments.Hence,organisationalskills,adaptability,flexibilityand
planningaheadarerequiredinordertoovercomethemethodologicalchallenges.Theuniquecontributionofthe
papertoeducationandethnographyistoequipscholarswithpracticalknowledgeinordertomakethemmoreaware
ofpotentialchallengestheymightfacebeforeorduringtheirethnographicfieldworkatsecondaryschoolsbydrawing
onthepersonalexperiences,challengesandtheirmitigations,whichIencounteredduringmyfieldwork.Thiswill
potentiallyassistfutureresearcherswhowishtoundertakeanethnographyinasecondaryschoolandmaximisethe
amountofopportunitiesfordatagathering.
Bailey,S.(2014)ExploringADHD:anethnographyofdisorderinearlychildhood.Oxon:Routledge.
Connolly,P.(1998)Racism,GenderIdentities,AndYoungChildren:SocialRelationsInAMulti-Ethnic,Inner-City
PrimarySchool.London;NewYork,Routledge.
Davis,J.&Watson,N.(2002)Counteringstereotypesofdisability:Disabledchildrenandresistance.In:Corker,M.&
Shakespeare,T.(eds.)Disability/postmodernity:Embodyingdisabilitytheory.London:Continuum,pp.159-174.
Davis,J.M.&Watson,N.(2001)Wherearethechildren'sexperiences?Analysingsocialandculturalexclusionin
'special'and'mainstream'schools.Disability&Society,16(5),671-687.
Konstantoni,K.(2012)Children'speerrelationshipsandsocialidentities:exploringcasesofyoungchildren'sagency
andcomplexinterdependenciesfromtheMinorityWorld.Children'sGeographies,10(3),337-346.
Kustatscher,M.(2015)Exploringyoungchildren’ssocialidentities:Performingsocialclass,genderandethnicityin
primaryschool.UnpublishedPhDthesis,UniversityofEdinburgh.
MacArthur,J.,Sharp,S.,Kelly,B.&Gaffney,M.(2007)Disabledchildrennegotiatingschoollife:Agency,difference
andteachingpractice.TheInternationalJournalofChildren'sRights,15(1),99-120.
Pole,C.&Morrison,M.(2003)Ethnographyforeducation.McGraw-HillEducation(UK).
Figure1:Resusitatinga'patient'
MaleneKjaer
Whathappened–doyouknow?Workingwithinheritedethnographicdata
Inthispaper,Ishowanddiscusshowwecanworkwithcollectedethnographicdatawhichisencounteredbychance
(Bishop,2009;Hammersley,1997).Iwillexplainhowinheriteddatacanbeofgreatscientificvaluetoworkcarriedto
workinaneducationalsetting.
Thepapertakesit’spointofdeparturefromaclosecase-material.Amaster’sstudentwroteherthesisusinginherited
videoethnographicdatafrommedical(MacLeodm.fl.,2015)learningsituations,inwhichtrainednursesdealtwith
multiplesimulatedheart-attacks/resuscitationof‘patients’.Thestudentherselfdidnotcollectthedata(nordidher
supervisor,me),itwasinheritedfromadoctoremployedatalargerDanishhospital.Theyneededhelplookinginto
andunderstandingthecommunicationhappeninginthelearningenvironment,includinghowtheinstructionsfrom
thedefibrillatorwerefollowed.Thus,thescientificworkforthestudentbeganwithunderstandingethnographicdata
thatshedidnotcollect,understandingtheworkofnurseswhomshehadnevermet,andmakingananalyticalchoice
aboutrelevance(bothtoherthesisresearch,tothedoctorwhoprovidedthedata,andtothepracticeshesoughtto
influence).
Followingonfromthis,inthepaperIaskandanswerthesequestions:
Howcanweworkwithdatawehaven’tcollectedourselves?Whataretheaimsandpitfalls?
Canwegettoknowtherecipients(ofagivenpractice),ifwehavenevermetthem?
Ifwedonotknowhowthepractitionersregard(theproblemsandsuccessesof)thepracticeathand,howdowe
decidewhichpartoftheavailabledatatoanalyseindepth?
Myarticlewillanswerthequestionsbothconsideringtheanalyticalfindings(Zimmerman,2008),thatcamefromthe
masterstudent’thesislookingintohowtheinteractionbetweenthenursesandthedefibrillatorworked–andalso
howinamoregeneralsense,workingwithinheriteddatacanprovidebothpitfallsandrichfindings.
InthispaperIaimtodescribeameta-layerintheE&Econtext.Ifindsharing(video)ethnographicdatatobeabenefit
(Piwowar,Becich,Bilofsky,Crowley,&Workspace,2008)bothfortheE&Ecommunityandacrossresearchtraditions
andpractices,whichcangaininsightsfromthedifferentfindings.Butsharingcanhavebothinsightsandpitfalls
(Hammersley,2010).Myaimisforthepapertoshowtrytoshowhowwecanreflectivelydealwithinheriteddatain
suchawaythatweuseitinnewresearchinthebestmanner.
Bishop,L.(2009).EthicalSharingandReuseofQualitativeData.AustralianJournalofSocialIssues,44(3),255–272.
https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1839-4655.2009.tb00145.x
Hammersley,M.(1997).QualitativeDataArchiving:SomeReflectionsonitsProspectsandProblems.Sociology,31(1),
131–142.https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038597031001010
Hammersley,M.(2010).CanWeRe-UseQualitativeDataviaSecondaryAnalysis?NotesonSomeTerminologicaland
SubstantiveIssues.SociologicalResearchOnline,15(1),1–7.https://doi.org/10.5153/sro.2076
MacLeod,A.,Kits,O.,Whelan,E.,Fournier,C.,Wilson,K.,Power,G.,…Brown,P.A.(2015).Sociomateriality:A
TheoreticalFrameworkforStudyingDistributedMedicalEducation.AcademicMedicine,90(11),1451.
https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000000708
Piwowar,H.A.,Becich,M.J.,Bilofsky,H.,Crowley,R.S.,&Workspace,onbehalfofthecaBIGD.S.andI.C.(2008).
TowardsaDataSharingCulture:RecommendationsforLeadershipfromAcademicHealthCenters.PLOSMedicine,
5(9),e183.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050183
Zimmerman,A.S.(2008).NewKnowledgefromOldData:TheRoleofStandardsintheSharingandReuseofEcological
Data.Science,Technology,&HumanValues,33(5),631–652.https://doi.org/10.1177/0162243907306704
AaronKoh
Multi-sitedglobalethnographyofeliteschools:Amethodologicalreflection
Multi-sitedglobalethnographyisamethodologicalcontributiontoeducationalresearchmethodology,andmorebroadly,ethnography.Thisnewmethodologicalframeworkwasdesignedspecificallyfortheresearchproject“EliteIndependentSchoolsinGlobalizingCircumstances,”whichstudiedseveneliteschools,oneschoolineachofthefollowinggeographicallocations:Singapore,HongKong,India,Australia,SouthAfrica,Barbados,andEngland,overafive-yearperiodfrom2010to2014.Theaimofthisarticleistogiveadetailedmethodologicalrenditionoftheepistemologies,andtheoreticalandconceptualbearingsthatunderpinmulti-sitedglobalethnography.Drawingattentiontohowthemethodologyreinvigoratesconventionalwaysofdoingethnography,“differentstrokes”isusedtoalludetothenewmethodologicalelementsweintroducedinmulti-sitedglobalethnography.Overall,thearticlehighlightedtheinsights,hindsight,andoversightsgainedduringandafterfieldwork,sothatfurtherresearchcanenrichmulti-sitedglobalethnography.
Thispaperintroducedanewmethodology,“multi-sitedglobalethnography,”specificforthestudyofeliteschools.Itisnotjustoneofthoseaccountswherewesimplyduplicatedandrecycleda“method”andimporteditintoourstudy.Thiswasclearlynotpossiblegiventhescopeandscaleofthestudy.Weaskednewquestionsthatalsorequiredanewmethodologicalframeworkthatwasrobustenoughandinnovativelyderivedfromtheoretical,epistemological,andconceptualresources.AsBourdieu(citedinWacquant,1989,p.54)hasremindedus,“theproblem(s)underinvestigation”is/aretheanchor(s)thatweneedtoreturntowhendecidingonmethodologicalchoiceanddesign.
Inthispaper,multi-sitedglobalethnographyispresentedasanewapproachtostudyingeliteschools.Ihavecalledourcontributionstoethnography“differentstrokes.”Butcautionisneeded,asthismethodologicalframeworkwasdesignedtoaddresstheresearchquestionsspecifictoourstudy;itmaynotbeduplicatedasawholeintootherprojects.Thereare,ofcourse,waystotakeourmethodologyfurtherasitcanbetaken-upandadaptedforuseinresearchon“schooling”andbroaderstudiesoncomparativeeducationresearch.As“thecomplexitiesofeducationalrealities”emerge,whatisneededis“multiPluriTrans”—takenapartas“multi,”“pluri,”and“trans”approachestoinvoketheideathatethnographyisnecessarilyaninterdisciplinarymethodologicalenterprise(Bollig,Honig,Neumann,&Seele,2015,p.10).
Reflectingonourcompletedprojectthreeyearslater—andyes,reflectionbringsbackmemories,thegoodandbad,pleasantandnotsopleasant—werealizethatreflectionisapowerfulmethodologicalframeworkwhichcanbringtothefore“insights,”“hindsight,”aswellas“oversights,”sothatwecancontinuetoreinvigorateethnographywithfreshapproachesusing“differentstrokes”and“differentfolks.”
Bollig,S.,Honig,N.S.,Neumann,S.,&Seele,C.(2015).Approachingthecomplexitiesofeducationalrealities.InS.Bollig,M.S.Honig,S.Neummann,&C.Seele(Eds.),MultiPluriTransineducationalethnography:Approachingthemultimodality,pluralityandtranslocalityofeducationalrealities(pp.9-33).Bielefeld,Germany:TranscriptVerlag.
Wacquant,L.J.D.(1989).Towardsareflexivesociology:AworkshopwithPierreBourdieu.SociologicalTheory,7(1),26-63.
ChelseaE.Korth
ApproachingCriticalDemocraticEducation:HowHarmonySchool“Does”Democracy.
Inthe1960’sand70’sintheUS,thousandsofindependentschoolsopenedaspartofthe“FreeSchools”movement.A
subsetoftheseschoolswerefoundedwiththeintentionofdemocratizingtheschoolexperienceandproducing
graduateswhowouldactaswell-educatedandparticipatorycitizens.Duringtheheightofthismovement,Rocand
BarbBonchekfoundedHarmonySchoolasasmall,democraticsecondaryschoolinIndiana.NowapreK-12school
servingapproximately270studentseachyear,Harmonyhaslongoutlasteditsfoundingmovementandmaintaineda
commitmenttocriticaldemocraticeducation.Afteratwo-yearethnographicstudyoftheHarmonyHighSchool,I
foundthatHarmony“does”democraticeducationthroughbothintentionalpoliciesandpractices,aswellasthrough
inherentculturalpracticesthatcreateandmaintainanenvironmentofhumanization,care,andacceptance.
DemocraticschoolingpracticessuchasFamilyMeetings,student-dominatedcommittees,majorityandconsensus-
basedvotingand“training”fordemocraticparticipationarethebackboneofthedemocraticcurriculumoftheschool.
Participantsidentifiedmanyofthesepracticeswithfeelingheardandempowered,eveninsituationswheregenuine
changewasnotbroughtabout,orincaseswhereaparticipantwasonthelosingsideofavote.Ifoundthatrather
thanprivilegingthevoiceofcertainparticipantsbasedongenderor“popularity”,ashasbeenseeninotherstudies,
voiceswereprivilegedbasedonexperience/gradelevelandpersonality(particularlyextroversionversusintroversion),
thoughthevarietyofparticipationopportunitiesmitigatedthissomewhat.
Perhapsmostsurprisingly,studentparticipantsexpressedstrongopinionsonhowschoolaffectedtheirmentaland
emotionalhealth.ManyofthemtransferredtoHarmonyduetobullyingandlackofacceptance,oftenrelatedtotheir
sexualorientationorgenderidentity.Havingteacherswhotheyfeltknewthemandtheirsituations/backgroundswell,
beingpartofasmallcommunitythatisacceptingandsociallyopen,andhavingthefreedomtoexpresstheiridentity
claimswithoutjudgmentwerethemostimportantfactorstothemfeelingpositivelyabouttheirschoolingexperience.
Identifyingacultureofcareandhumanizationaspartofacriticaldemocraticagendaisasubtlebutimportantfinding
intoday’sschoolingclimate.
Thisstudywasatwo-yearethnographyofthesecondaryprogramatHarmonySchoolwhichIcompletedformy
dissertationproject.IutilizedCarspeckens’sCriticalEthnographyinEducationResearchtodesignandguidethestudy.
Iaskedthefollowingresearchquestions:
1. WhateducationalbeliefsandintentionsunderlieHarmonySchool,accordingtovariouscommunity
members(i.e.highschoolteachers,students,administratorsandformerteachers)?
2. HowdoestheHarmonyhighschoolcommunityviewandenact“democracy”?
3. Howdostudentsandteachersexperiencetheschoolandviewthemselveswithinthelarger
theories,structuresandpracticeswhichunderlieit?
Ispentthefirstyeardoingobservationsandconstructingtheprimaryrecord,andthesecondyearconducting
interviews,focusgroupsandcontinuingobservations.Ialsocompletedover150hoursofobservationsandcollecteda
lotofarchivaldata.Icompletedinterviewswithfifteenparticipants.Thisincludedtheschool’sfounderandcurrent
headRocBonchek,fiveteachers,oneformerteacher,andninestudents.Thiswasroughly20%oftheavailable
participants.Becausetherewassomuchdata,andbecauseitwassorich,thefindingswerealsofulsome.Myinitial
listoffindingscametonine,butwithfurtherworkitbecameclearthatsomeofthemwerebetterwhenconnectedor
nestedwitheachother.Intheend,Iidentifiedthreemainfindings.
Firstly,IfoundthatHarmony’scultureofcareandhumanizationwasthesinglemostcommonlycodedforinthe
interviewdata.Itwasoftendiscussedindirectoppositiontoexperiencesinotherschools,andwascitedas
responsibleforthelargepopulationofstudentsidentifyingasLGBTQIA+withinthehighschool.Itwasrelatedclosely
tostudentsfeelingheard,knownandacceptedwithintheirschool.Iwasalsocloselyconnectedwithfeelinglikethey
hadagenuinevoice/say/powerintheirschoolbecausetheyfeltlistenedtoanddidn’tfeeljudgediftheyexpressedan
unpopular/minorityopinion.
Secondly,Ifoundthattheschoolwasactively“doing”democracyinthreemajorways,whichItitled“Practice”,
“Pedagogy”and“Training”.Practiceisthemostobviouscategoryasitinvolvesthepracticesmostreadilyidentified
andassociatedwithdemocraticeducationsuchasFamilyMeetings,committeework,votingpractices,policy-change
events,etc.Itistheactualpracticeofstudentsandteachersmakingdecisionsthroughdemocraticprocesseswithin
theschool,andthepolicieswhichunderliethatwork.Pedagogyreferstodemocraticpracticesbeingintegratedinto
classroomsbyteachingstaff.Caseswherethiswasnotbeingdonewerealsoattendedto.Trainingreferstosituations
withintheschoolwherestudentswereliterallygiventrainingindemocraticpracticessuchascitizenship,legalrights,
civildiscourse,civildisobedience,formingpolitical/youthgroups,etc.Thiswasprimarilydonethroughspecialevent
days,student-ledeventsorteacher-initiatedextra-curriculars.Ialsofoundthatpartof“doing”democraticeducation
withinthehighschoolprogramwasabouteducatingforspecific,intendedresults.Forexample,educatingstudents
withtheintentionofcreating“globalcitizens”,“responsible,contributingmembersofacommunity”,“Decent
Humans”,“Adults”,etc.
Finally,Ifoundthatvotinganddecision-makingwithintheschoolwasconstantlybeingnegotiated,andhowitwas
doneinanygivenmomentaffectedpower,voiceandagency.Participationwasbasedonanapprenticeshipmodel
withnewandyoungerstudentslearninghowtoparticipatefromolderstudentsandteachers.Outsidetheirclassroom
role,teachersalsoactedasgate-keepers,change-agentsandmentorswithintheschool,andhadtheirownentiretier
ofconsensus-basedparticipationinstaffmeetingswherestudentswerenotpresent.
Thereisagreatpaucityofresearchonindependent/private(i.e.“alternative”)democraticschools,both
internationallyandintheU.S.context.Thefewethnographiesofsuchschoolstendtobeconcentratedinthe1960’s
and70’s,whendemocraticeducationhadavoguepopularityforabrieftime.Despitethislackofresearch,thereare
hundredsofdemocraticschoolsinoperationintheUnitedStatestodayandhundredsmoreabroad(AERO,2016)
(IDEN,2016),indicatingcommunityandfamilyinterestinsuchschoolsacrosstheworld.Therehasalsobeenasmall
butmeasurableuptickindemocraticeducationliteratureinthepastdecade,focusingprimarilyondemocraticcharter
schoolsanddemocraticeducationprogramswithintraditionalpublicschools,andcouchedasstudying“student
voice”,“studentengagement”and“studentleadership”.
Thepolicycontextofeducationtodaymeritsaseriouslookatsuchschoolsforthreemajorreasons.Firstly,many
policymakershavebeencallingforgreaterinnovationineducation(U.S.DepartmentofEducation,2012)(U.S.Senate
Newsroom,2015),butresearchtellsusthatinstitutionalisomorphismlimitstheabilityofhighlyregulatedand
interconnectedorganizations,suchaspublicschools,tobeheterogeneous(Welch,2011)andfurther,thatcharter
schoolsonthewholehavefailedatthebriefofinnovationoverall(Lubienski,2003)(Lake,2008).Therefore,itlogically
followsthatweshouldlooktoprivatealternativeschools,democraticschoolsamongthem,whicharelargelyfree
fromregulationandmoreboundtotheneedsanddesiresofindividualcommunities,aspossiblesitesofinnovative
educationalpracticesandstructures.
Secondly,issuesofsocialjusticecompeleducationalresearcherstoexamineboththeknownandtacitinequalitiesof
contemporaryglobaleducationsystems,aswellastoexaminepossiblealternativeswhichmaybemorejust,more
equitable,andthereforemoreethical.Manyhavecriticizedthedistinctlyneoliberaldirectionofmucheducation
policyinthepastfewdecades,leadingtohighlevelsofregulation(e.g“commoncore”,NCLB),andmanypotentially
damagingevaluationpracticesinourpubliclyfundedschools.Thisistosaynothingoffederalmismanagementofthe
DepartmentofEducationundertheTrumpadministration’sjurisdiction.WithinU.S.publicschools,poorandminority
studentsarelargelysegregatedfrommiddleandupper-classstudentsinfailingschoolswhichoftenlackbasic
resources(Kozol,1991).RegardlessoftherhetoricoftheAmericandreamwhereanyonecanworkhardanddowell,
andtherhetoricofmeritocracywherewell-behavedstudentscansucceedatahighlevel,gotocollege,andbe
whatevertheywanttobe,decadesofeducational,socialandeconomicresearchhaslaidbarethetruthofsystemic
inequalityintheU.S.A.
Thirdly,Americandemocracyisincrisis.TheEIUDemocracyindexfor2017denotestheU.S.asa“flaweddemocracy”,
ranking21stintheworld.TheEIUalsowrotethat,“ThelatesteditionofTheEconomistIntelligenceUnit'sDemocracy
Indexrecordstheworstdeclineinglobaldemocracyinyears.Notasingleregionrecordedanimprovementinits
averagescoresince2016,ascountriesgrapplewithincreasinglydividedelectorates.Freedomofexpressionin
particularisfacingnewchallengesfrombothstateandnon-stateactors…”Thistrendhascontinuedandarguably
gottenworsein2018,consideringrecentlyreleaseddocumentsquestioningthefreeexerciseofpastU.S.elections,
andrecentgovernment-sponsoredhumanrightsviolations,amongamyriadofotherissues.Discussingdemocratic
schoolsandeducationwithinthecurrentpoliticalclimaterequiresadmittingthatourcurrentstateofdemocracyis
flawedandfacingmanyattacks,andthatstudyingandsupportingciviceducation,youthparticipation,youthvoice
andsimilarissuesisoneformofcriticalactivism.Democraticeducationcanalsobeaformofyouthactivism,makingit
apotentiallypowerfulformofeducationforpromotingthevalueof,andteachingtheskillsforprotecting,basic
humanrightsandfundamentalfreedoms.
Ibelievethattheresultsofmystudyareexcitingandimportantinthefieldofeducationandethnography.My
findingsspeakparticularlystronglytoissuesofsocialjusticewithinschools,particularlyaswemoveforwardinto
manyofthenewissuesofthe21stcentury,suchaschangesinracial/ethnicandgenderidentityclaims.Thefactthat
somanystudentsfeltattacked,ostracizedandunsafeinpreviousschoolenvironments,butfeltthatHarmonyhad
giventhemasafespacetohealandbegintodeveloptheirpassions,indicatestomethatwecouldlearnalotfrom
“unusual”schoolswhichcouldinformpolicychangeeffortsinthefuture.Takingacriticalethnographicorientation
providesanopportunitytoexploreindependentdemocraticschoolsthroughamethodologywhichitselfvalues
democraticengagement.Thisapproachwasessentialtocontextualizingthestudyinawaythatattendedtolarger
systemicprocessesandissues,andallowedforgenuineexaminationsofpower.
FatmaBusraAksoyKumru
Youngchildren’sperceptionsandpracticesofdemocracyinanearly-yearssetting,Scotland
ThissubstantivepaperisbasedonastudyconductedattheUniversityofEdinburgh.It investigatesyoungchildren’s
(aged4-5)understandingofdemocracy.Consideringdemocracyas amultidimensional conceptwhich ismore than
form of government, this exploratory project aimed to examine the perceptions and daily democratic practices of
young children in a nursery setting. The findings are drawn from ethnographic fieldwork conducted in a nursery
settinginlargeScottishcity.Thequalitativedatawasanalysedthroughthethematicanalysisprocedures.Asaresult
of this study, three themes are identified: collaboration, respect and participation. The findings highlighted that
children’sdemocraticpracticesareexercisedandperceiveddominantlyinacollaborative,respectiveandparticipatory
wayintheirdailylives.
Theintelligibilityandapplicabilityofdemocracybyallsectionsofsocietyareimportant.Theimpactofearlyageson
thefutureisremarkableandtheknowledgeandskillsgainedintheseyearsarevital.Intermsofeducationofyoung
children innurseries, thispaper reveals the importanceof applyingdemocratic activities to sustain children’s inner
capacities. This could lead to further curriculum contents and learning processes which emphasises collaboration,
respectandparticipationintermsofenablingdemocraticpracticesinearlyyearssettings.Tothisend,thefindingsof
thisstudycouldgiveaninsightforearlyyearspractitionerstowidenchildren’sspacesfortakingpartin.
Conductingethnographicmethodswithveryearlyages isstartingtobehighlightedpracticebetweenresearchers in
childhoodstudiesandeducationsinceitenableschildrenassocialactorswhotakeanactivepartinshapingtheform
thattheirownchildhoodstake.Countertodominantstereotypesaboutyoungchildrenbeingunabletotakepart in
democratic practices, this ethnographic researchhighlighted children’s viewsondemocracy for further educational
andsocialpoliciesaffectingtheirpositionineverydaylives.Inthisway,ethnographyasamethodologycouldgrownot
only todescribe theresearchedphenomenabutalso tohaveakey role inshaping theconceptsandpracticeswith
direct contribution of its participants. Thus, the key contribution is about stressing ethnography as a method for
participationandmakingyoungchildren’svoicesheard.
Followingprincipleshaveenforcedwithintheethnographicpartofthisstudy.Theworldofchildrenwasreachedwith
thehelpofagatekeeper.After the formsofconsentwerecollected fromfamiliesasanobligation,verbalconsents
wereobtainedfromthechildren.Manyofthechildrenwerecuriousandhavealreadystatedthattheywantedtohave
a‘nickname’formynotes.Participatoryobservationwasdonewithchildreninthenurseryeverydayfor1monthand
allactivitieswereattendedincludingforestschoolsessions.Inthisway,arichdataaboutthedailyroutines/patterns
of children in this nursery and the location of democracy in these patternswere reached.During the process, the
researcherdiarywasusedtoprovidereflexivityandthevalidityandreliabilityofthedatawereincreased.
Besides the positive aspects of ethnography that research diary provided, the personal challenges that I have
experiencedwerereflectedthroughthis.Asaresearcherfromanotherculture,ittookmealongtimetogetusedto
the environment and to understand the dynamics within. For instance, language was a barrier at first but then I
realizedthatithasenrichenanddeepenmyrelationshipwithchildreneverytimewhenIaskabouttheexamplesor
explanations for a certain thing. Additionally, the ethnographic part of the study constructs different concept and
questionsrelatedtomycurrentdoctoralresearchaboutchildren’sdecision-makingprocessesandadult-childpower
dynamics within these processes. This clearly addresses the power of ethnography for further curiosity of the
researcherwithinitsprinciplesanddynamics.
ChristineLarroqueandMorganeGovoreaunu
Thereflexiveanalysisinthe(trans)formationoftraineeteachers:attheheartofanapparatus.Ethnographyofan
apparatusofreflexiveanalysisinatrainingofteacherstudentsintheFrenchCatholicprivateteachinginFrance.
Thissubstantivepaperaimstoprovideaquantitativeandqualitativestudyaboutreflexiveanalysisintrainingof73
teacherstudentsinprimaryandseconddegreeinaninstituteofFrenchCatholicprivateteaching,whichFrench
acronymisISFEC.Thehybridmethodologycombiningobservantparticipation-andnon-participantobservation-ofa
traineeteacheranthropologistandaninstructorofreflexivemethodswithheadteachers,PrincipalEducation
Counsellors(PEC)andtraineeteachers.
Ifschoolisa«slipperyground»(Filiod,2007:581),thetrainingofteacherstudentsisalsoamajorissueinpublished
reportswhichdiagnoseandsuggestremediestotheproblems,almosteveryyear.Paradoxically,thetrainingof
teachersstudentsisrarelyaresearchobjectperseinanthropologyorethnologyofeducation,whereasresearchin
educationalstudieshavetackledthissubjectforaboutthirtyyears(Anderson-Levitt,2006).Concerningthetrainingof
teachers,inanthropologicalstudies(Malet,1998,2008),researchusuallyconcernsquestionsofprofessionalidentity.
Inthiscontext,ourworksaimatunderstandingthroughtheuseofethnographymethodologiesaninstitutional
apparatus(Agamben,2007)forreflexivetraining,ascomprehendedthroughfieldresearch.Signsofprofessional
competence(Schön,1994),areexpectedforeverypractitionnerofeducationincludeskillsframeworksandtoolsfor
self-assessment(Campanale,2007).Theauthorssuggestreflexiveanalysisasequallyimportantforprofessional
development.Realisedthroughavarietyofmodalities(forexamplelogbooks,groupsofanalysisofprofessional
practices,reflexivewritings),thedevelopmentofareflexiveposturebecomesanimportantpartoftrainingfor
educationemployees,particularlytraineeteachers.Hence,itwouldbe«thedominantparadigmineducation»
(Paquay,1994,Perrenoud,2003,Zeichner,1983,citedinCollin,2013).
Wewillshowthatthereflexivepracticeamongstudentteachers(73trainees)mayencounterdifficultiesinits
implementation:towhatextentdoesthisapparatusoftraining,understoodinitstechnical,discursiveandsymbolic
dimensions,entailcontradictorydemandsanddeontological,ethicaldilemmasfortrainees?Inordertoanswerthis
question,wewillanalysethecaseofthetraininginFrenchCatholicprivateteaching,towhichwebelongas
respectivelyteacherstudentandtraininginstructor.Intheframeworkofanobservantparticipation(Soulé,2007),our
positionwillbeanalyzedasan«externalinclusion»(Bonhoureetal.,2015).Thecomparativeapproachof
anthropology(Laplantine,2013:169)willberecognisedintheanalysisofanalogoussituationsinprofessionaland
trainingareas.Thischoiceisnotonlymethodological:ifthelong-termanddailyfamiliaritywiththisinstitution
provideusopportunitiesforresearchandanalysis,wepostulatethatthecontradictorydemandsanddilemmas
producedbythisapparatusofreflexiveanalysisentailspecificquestionstotheCatholicteachingduetoits
educationalproject(thehumanbeingatthecentreoftheeducationalsystem)andtheChristiandoctrinethatdrives
it.CaringparticularlyforemancipatoryaimsofthecriticalpedagogyofPauloFreire(Pirieira,2018),wewishtoanalyse
theanthropologicalparadoxes(Kail,Sobel,2011)andtheirprescriptivecharacter(Mahmood,2009:289)atstakein
thepositionofreflexivepractitioner.PragmatismandexperimentationcomingfromJohnDewey’spedagogyand
todaysupportedbyseveralanthropologists(Ingold,2018),willbeanalyzedthroughnarrativesoftrainingsituations.
ALTET,M.(2002)Analysedepratiquesprofessionnelles.Orléans:IUFMconférence-BOURGEOISE.(1996)L’adulteen
formation.RegardsPluriels.Louvain-la-Neuve:DeBoeck.
BLANCHARD-LAVILLE,C.,FABLET,D.(2000)L’analysedespratiquesprofessionnelles.Paris:L’Harmattan.
DELALANDE,J.(2009)“Pratiquerl’anthropologiedel’enfanceensciencesdel’éducation:uneaideàlaréflexion”,in
Vergnioux,A.40ansdessciencesdel’éducation.Caen:PÜC,p.103-112.
ETIENNE,R.,FUMATE.(2014)Commentanalyserlespratiqueséducativespourseformeretagir?Louvain-la-Neuve:
DeBoeck.
FILIOD,J.-P.(2007)“Anthropologiedel’école.Perspectives”,Ethnologiefrançaise,n°4,vol.37,p.581-595.
HALL,E.T.(1971)Ladimensioncachée.Paris:ÉditionsduSeuil.
INGOLD,T.(2018)L’anthropologiecommeéducation.Rennes:PressesuniversitairesdeRennes,122p.
KAIL,M.,SOBEL,R.(2011)“Réflexionsautourduparadoxedel’actedeconnaissanceenanthropologie”,L’Hommeet
laSociété,3,n°181,11-16.
LAPLANTINE,F.(2013)L’anthropologie.Paris:Payot.
PERRENOUD,P.(2010)Dixdéfispourlesformateursd’enseignants.Paris:ESF.
PIERROT,A.,CARLVALHO,I.C.M.(2015)Anthropologieetéducation[conférence].Paris,161718septembre.
PEREIRA,I.(2018)PauloFreire:pédagoguedesopprimés.Montreuil:Libertalia.
SCHÖN,D.A.(1994)Lepraticienréflexif.Àlarecherchedusavoircachédansl’agirprofessionnel.Paris:Logiques
(Éditions).
WOODS,P.(1990)L’Ethnographiedel’école.Paris:ArmandColin.175
YangLiuandLinZhou
LearningChineseinChinatownwithanAugmentedRealityMobileGame
Theaimofourstudyistodemonstratethatlanguagelearningisnotsimplyatransmissionofknowledge,rather,it’sa
transformativeprocess(Mezirow,1991).Whilelearningisfrequentlytreatedasacognitivechangeordevelopment,
wedepicthowlearningisembodiedinstudents’interactionalactivitieswithinasocioculturalandsemioticecology
(vanLier,2004).AsoneoftheoldestChinatownsintheUS,theChinatowninHonolulunotonlyservesasasignificant
historical,culturalandpoliticalsymbolinlocalcommunities,butalsofunctionsasadiversegatheringplace.Fromthe
perspectiveofalanguageeducator,Chinatowncanbeseenasalearningenvironmentnotlimitedbythefourwallsof
theclassroom.Researchonlanguagelearning“inthewild”(Hutchins,1995;Wagner,2015),andespeciallyonplace-
basedlearningviamobiletechnologies(Holden&Sykes,2011;Hellermannetal,2015)haveofferednewperspectives
toreconceptualizewhatlanguagelearningtrulyencompasses.ThroughdesigninganAugmentedReality(AR)mobile
gameforChineselanguagelearners,wenotonlyrecognizethesymbolicsocioculturalmeaningofChinatownfor
learners,butalsoincorporatesemioticresourcesasaffordancesforthelearnerstoengagetheirgamingactivities
with.
Inthisstudy,ethnographyisobservableontwolayers.Thefirstlayerisfromtheperspectiveofthedesigners.As
designersoftheARgame,inordertoutilizetheresourcesintheactualplaceandcreatethelearningspaceintheAR
gameforthestudents,weneedtofirstidentify,documentandreflectonthesocialactivitiesandculturalelementsin
theChinatowncommunity(forareviewofplaceandspace,seeHiggins,2017).Thesecondlayeristhroughthe
learners’lenseofexperiencingandinteractingwithintheenvironment.Asresearcherswhorecordedandplayedthe
ARgamewiththestudents,wecanobserveandinvestigatehowlearningisunfoldedthroughstudents’
transformativeexperiencesinthisecology.
Duetothedouble-layerednatureofthisstudy,ourfindingsarefocusedonthesefollowingpoints:
• Thereisamisalignmentbetweenthelanguageusageandlinguistic/semioticlandscape(ScollonandScollon,
2003;JaworskiandThurlow,2011)intheHonoluluChinatown:whileabundantChineselanguageandcultural
elementsaredominantlypresentedinthisenvironment,mostoftheactivitiesaremediatedthroughEnglish.
• Chinatownisaprimelocationforbusinessandcommunityactivitiesforalllocalresidentsandoutsidevisitors
inHonolulu.ThediversesocialpracticesmayormaynotbeconnectedwithChinaorChineselanguageand
culture.
• Despitethechallengesincreatingalanguagelearningmobilegameinaplacewherethetargetlanguageis
mostlytreatedasaniconicsymbol,ourgamenarrativeandquestshavesuccessfullydirectedstudents’
attentiontothesemioticresourcesintheenvironmentandthereforeraisedstudents’awarenessofthe
social,politicalandculturalaspectsinChinatown.
• Weconcludethatecologicallylanguagelearningcannotbetreatedasacquiringthelinguisticknowledgeof
thelanguage;itishowlearnerstransformtheirthinkingandunderstandingthroughdifferentstagesof
experiencingandexploringintheecology.
JohannaLönngren
“It’sokay,nobodycanreaditanyways”:Experiencesofusingstenographyinethnographicfieldwork.
Mostethnographicfieldworkinvolvesproducingjottings:briefwrittennotesthataretakenduringfieldobservations
andthatlaterserveasamemorysupportforconstructingdetailedfieldnotes.Inproducingjottings,ethnographers
facethechallengeofrecordingasmuchdetailaspossible.Theliteratureisrepletewithadviceonwhattorecord,but
thereislessguidanceonhowtoproducejottingsasquicklyandefficientlyaspossible.Whilemanyexperienced
ethnographershavedevelopedtheirownsystemsofabbreviations,noviceethnographersmayfinditdifficultto
developtheirownjottingsysteminparallellwiththeirfirstfieldwork.Anoviceethnographermyself,Ifacedthis
challengeasIpreparedformyfirstethnographicfieldworklastyear.Toaddressthechallenge,Idecidedtolearn
stenography.Intheliterature,stenographyissporadicallymentionedasonepossiblewayofspeedingupthe
productionofjottings.However,thereisalackofconcreteanddetaileddescriptionsofhowtheuseofstenography
mayaffectethnographicresearch.Toaddressthislack,theaimofthismethodologicalcontributionistodescribeand
evaluatetheuseofaspecificstenographicsystem,theMelinsystem,inthecontextofanethnographicstudyinafirst-
yearengineeringprograminSweden.
Inthisstudy,theuseoftheMelinsystemofstenographyfacilitatedtheproductionofjottingsbyspeedingupnote
takingandreducingwristpain,thusallowingmetotakemorenotesforlongerperiodsofobservationandtooften
includeverbalquotes.However,Iexperienceddifficultiesinreadingmyownstenographicnotes,whichresultedin
slowertranslationofjottingsintodetailedfieldnotes.Theuseofstenographyhadotherimportanteffectsonthe
research:1)Theslowerprocessofproducingfieldnotesgavememoretimetoreflectonmyobservationswhile
writingfieldnotes,thusfacilitatingcontinuousanalysisinparallellwithon-goingfieldwork.2)Stenographyeffectively
renderedmyjottingsunreadabletoanybodyexceptmyself.Thisallowedmetotakenoteswithoutrestrictionsandit
allowedparticipantstomorecomfortablytalkaboutsensitivetopicsbecause“nobodycanreadit[thenotes]
anyways”.3)Itelicitedinterestandappreciationfromresearchparticipants,thuscontributingtoinitiate
conversationsandbuildrapport.4)Itmadetheresearchmoreenjoyable,whichhelpedtomediatestressandanxiety
duringmyfirstfieldworkexperiences.
Inthismethodologicalcontribution,Idescribeandevaluatetheuseofstenographyforproducingjottingsina
concreteethnographicresearchproject.Theresultsprovideinsightsforethnographerswhofindaneedtodevelop
thewayinwhichtheyproduceandusejottings.Specifically,theresultshelpresearcherstotakemoreinformed
decisionsaboutwhetherornotstenographymaybeaviablealternative.Theresultsmaybeparticularlyvaluablefor
noviceethnographerswho,maybeforthefirsttime,facethechallengeofproducingjottingsquicklyandefficiently.
MairtinMacanGhaillandMikeSeal
Criticalpedagogy,sexuality/genderandinclusion:ethnographyasanalternativerepresentationalspace
TheaimofthispaperistoexploreBritishbornmillennialSouthAsianmen’sdevelopmentofacriticalframeworkto
engagewithquestionsofsexualityandgenderwithinthecontextoftherepresentationofSouthAsianmen.More
specifically,weareseekingtoexaminewhatspacescriticalpedagogyopensupfordiscussionofsexualityandgender
withindiverseSouthAsiancommunities.ThisisoccurringatatimewhenMuslimparents,amongothers,are
protestingaboutanequalityprogramme,NoOutsiders,atalocalprimaryschoolthatisseenaspromotingLGBTQ
rights.
Theresearchparticipantswereawarethattherehasbeenaremarkableshiftintheeducationalrepresentationof
SouthAsianmalestudents.Inanearlierperiod,theywereprojectedas‘pro-school’incontrastto’anti-school’
African-Caribbeanstudents.However,therewerealsoimagesoftheassumedregressivegender/sexualpracticesof
thepatriarchalAsiancommunityandwithinthegenderedpoliticsoftheplayground,SouthAsianyoungmenwere
feminised.Currently,theydiscussthepressuresoflivingwithdominanteducationalrepresentationsofMuslimmale
studentsthatassumethattheyarebothhighlyvulnerableandamajorthreattosocietypossessingananti-British
ethnicity.Theysuggestthishasresultedinotheraspectsoftheirlivesnotbeingaddressedpedagogically,including
issuesofsexualityandgender.Forexample,theyreporttheirexperienceoftheinstitutionalapplicationofreligious
categoriesasaformofemasculation.
Drawinguponourownethnographicresearch,wesetouttoenabletheresearchparticipants,asamillennial
generation,toinhabitanalternativerepresentationalspacethatprovidesinsightfulnarrativesaboutthecreative
complexityofinhabitingsubjectpositionsastheynegotiatebetweenthecompetingdiscoursesoftheir(traditional)
religiousbeliefsandmore(liberal)experiencesandsocialpracticesaroundgenderandsexuality.Afurtherkey
elementoftheethnographicresearchprojectistheyoungmen’sself-authorisationthattheyseeashavingbeen
deniedthemthroughouttheirschoolingexperience.Interviewsaresupplementedbyarangeofotherresearch
strategiesthatincludeobservations,informalconversationsandinterviewswithindividualsfromthelocalcommunity.
Byrecognisingthatethnographicaccountsaremutuallyconstructed,itispossibletoidentifynarrativesthatserveto
unsettlecurrentdominanteducationalunderstandings.Insodoing,acollectivereflexivityandanaccompanying
conceptualreconfigurationofdominantepistemologiesisaccomplished.Thisisparticularlysignificanttoensurethat
wedonotre-inscribethedominantrepresentationsofSouthAsian/Muslimmen.
Keythemeshaveemergedindeployingtheethnographicapproachthatrequirefurtherinvestigation,including,the
complexitiesofdialogueinbuildingcriticalpedagogicalspacestoopenupdiscussionofsexualityandgenderwithin
diverseSouthAsiancommunities;theappropriatenessofwesternprogressivetermstocapturesexualandgender
identities,behavioursandlifestylesamongSouthAsians;questionsofhowtocounterdominantrepresentationsthat
assumethattheypossessaregressive,hyper-patriarchal,traditional(religious)masculinityandthegeneralisationof
the‘Muslimgroominggang’withreferencetochildsexualabusetoallMuslimmen;andconstructingcaring
masculinityandinter-personalsocialrelationsamongamillennialgeneration.
BeatrizMacíasGómez-Estern,JoséLuisLaluezaSazatornil,andVirginiaMartínez-Lozano
Makingthetransitiontoschool:aparticularchallengeforRomachildren
Fromacultural-historicalperspective,humandevelopmentistheproductofparticipationincultural
practicesthathavehistoricallybeenconstructedwithintheframeworkofinstitutionssuchasthefamily
andtheschool.Acrossthesepractices,thereisalwayssometypeofdiscontinuitywhichmustbe
addressedandovercome(Hedegaard,2005;Rogoff,1993,2003).However,whenthecultural
frameworkofthefamilyisfarremovedfromthatoftheschool,asisthecaseamongcertainethnic
minoritiesorimmigrantpopulations,thediscontinuitiesbetweenthetwoscenariosmaybevery
significant,andhenceacceptanceoftherationaleforschooltasksandachievementofasuccessful
transitionmaybebotharduousandprotracted(Greenfield&Cocking,1994;Poveda,2001).Therefore,
schools,seekingtheinclusionofmembersofminoritygroupssuchasRomacommunities,muststart
fromanawarenessoftheconcernsandprioritiesofthisculturalgroupinordertodesigninterventions
thatwillfacilitatetheirtransitionbetweenscenariosandtopromotedialogueinthisrespect.Abetter
understandingofthiscommunity’ssocializingpracticesandofotherformsofbehaviourwouldhelp
teachersandeducationmanagersunderstandthedifficultiessometimesencounteredinensuringschool
attendance.Atthesametime,schoolsasinstitutionshavetheirownvalues,normsandobjectivesthat
shouldbeconveyedandsharedamongallinvolved.Oneaspectofthisistheneedtofosterchildren’s
understandingofandresponsetothedemandsoftheschoolenvironment.Inthistask,familiescanplay
anessentialrole,assupportersoftheirchildren’stransitiontoaformaleducationsetting.Ofcourse,
familiesmustbeinformedoftheschool’sconcernsandambitionsforthechildren.Thus,establishing
commonknowledgeofwhatmattersinthetwopracticesofschoollifeandhomelife(Edwards,2010,
2012,2017)regardingtheissuesfacingchildrenisofcrucialimportance.
Thispaperpresentstwoexperiences,oneinBarcelonaandtheotherinSeville,oftheRomacommunity
intheirchildren’stransitionstoformaleducation.Theauthorshavebeenpermanentlyinvolvedinthese
experiencesfor25(Barcelona)and10years(Seville)respectively,weretheyrunServiceLearning
programswithUniversitystudentswhocollaborateashelpersorinstructorsineducativeprojectswith
Romacommunitychildren.Inbothcases,theneighbourhoodcontainsmanychallenges,withhighrates
ofabsenteeism,academicfailureanddropout.Theauthorshavesimultaneouslyplayedtheroleofsocial
agents,researchersanduniversityteachers,underacommunityengagedresearchscheme(Vasquez,
2003,Cole,M;&DistributiveLiteracyConsortium,2006;DiGiacomo&Gutierrez,2015;Lalueza&
Crespo,2009;Macias,Martinez&Vasquez,2014).
Toplacetheseexperiencesincontext,andbasedonliteratureandourownlongtermethnographic
work(Crespo,Pallí&Lalueza,2002;Crespo,Lalueza,Portell&Sànchez-Busqués,2005,Padros,2016),
wewillfirstpresentthemainfeaturesofRomaculture,knowledgeofwhichisfundamentalto
understandinghowtheeducationalpracticesdescribedbelowareconstructed.Knowledgeofthe
evidentdiscontinuitiesandcontradictionsbetweeneducationalinstitutionsandthevaluesheldby
Romafamiliesisanessentialprerequisiteforcreatingasysteminwhichschoolsandfamiliescanwork
togethereffectively.Thesechallengesconcerntheacquisitionofnewmotivesbyfamiliesandchildren
enteringtheeducationalsystem,whileretainingtheirestablishedvaluesandbeliefs.Asuccessful
responsetothesechallengesrequiresthemasteryofnewtoolsandculturalartefacts,togetherwiththe
creationofsharedpracticesandnarrativesinwhichparticipantsfromminorityculturesfeelrepresented
andrespected.
Asparticipantsandobservantsoftheprocesseshappeninginthetwoexperiencesdescribedin
BarcelonaandSevilla,wehavewitnessedhowtheschoolsandcommunitiesinvolvedintheeducative
projectsdescribedhavedevelopeda“thirdspace”(DiGiacomo&Gutierrez,2015),asetofshared
narrativesandpractices,thatfacilitatethetransitionoftheRomachildrenfromfamilytoschoolcontext
andvicecersa.Ourdataconsistonfieldnotesanddirectobservationgatheredbyourselvesandthesets
ofstudentsthathaveparticipatedintheprojectsalongallitslife.
Finally,inthispresentation,wewillillustratethesecomplexprocessesofschool-communityculture
bridgingbydescribingtwoepisodes:onetakingplaceinanout-of-schoolactivity,theotherwithina
primaryschool.Weshowhoweducationprofessionalsaddressthedifferentchallengesdescribedabove
andhowtheyworkcloselywithchildrenandfamiliesinordertofacilitatetheirtransitiontothe
surrounding‘normative’culturerepresentedbyschooling.
OlivierMarty
Usingtheresearcher’smanagerialknowledgetoobserveworkinadistancelearninginstitution:amethodin
ethnographyofeducation
IconductedathreeyearsfieldworkinaFrenchdistanceeducationinstitutionequivalenttotheUK’sOpenUniversity.
Thisfieldworkconstitutesthebulkofapostdoctoralhabilitation,defendedin2017attheuniversityofRouen
(France),inanthropologyofeducation.Idescribedthemiddlemanagementdedicatedtodistancehighereducation;
inchargeofdesigningcurriculaforthreeyearsdegreeprogramsinpartnershipwithuniversities.Whenstudyingthis
managementandengineeringwork,IfounditrelevanttomakeuseofmanagementsciencesthatIhadpreviously
learntinaFrenchgrandeécole.Atfirst,Idescribedtheacquisitionofacademicknowledge,andthenitsuseonfieldby
theworkers.
Therefore,thedesriptionsarepredeterminedbyknowledgethatIcamewithandthatwaspartiallysharedbythe
educationworkersobserved.Iassumethesepreconceptionssincetheyareencouragedbytheveryorganization
studiedandpresentedasanidealofmanagement.
Ontheotherhand,itappearsthatsomeofthemanagersresisttheseideas:defendingotherpoliticalvaluesand
perceptionsofeducationandrefusingtoapplywhattheycall«newpublicmanagement».
Ipresentthiscontroversyonknowledgetodescribeworkrealitiesthroughacontestationaboutthewaytomeasure
thevalueofadesignedcurriculum(Marty,2014b).Whereassomeofthemanagersusetheinstitutionalconceptual
toolstoaccountforfinancialandmarketingvalue,othersarguethateducationvaluescannotbequantifiedand
shouldnotbereducedtomanagementsciencesorcommodified.Thereisadeontologicalcontroversywithinthe
organization,amongitsdifferentcorporations(direction,managers,teachers),promotingdifferentacademicviews
onrealities.
Mycontributiontoethnographyandeducationismethodological(seealsoMarty,2014a).Inmywork,Ishowhow
preconceptionscouldbeusedcarefully:itissomewhatusefultobeeducatedtotheknowledgeprevalentonfield
(herelearningmanagementscienceistheequivalenttolearningafewwordsintheindigenouslanguage);butthat
shouldnothidefieldcontroversiesanddebates.Knowledge,eventhoughacademicallystabilizedandtaughtin
curricula,isadaptingonfieldanddoesn’tencompassthewholereality.Workersarediscussingitandcriticizing
managementsciences.Inmypointofview,itisofanuppermostimportancefortheeducationethnographertobe
abletoprecisewhenpreviousknowledgeisrelevantonfieldandwhereareitslimits.
MartyO,2014a.Amodelofdistanceanalysis.Epistemicfieldnotesforeducationethnographers.Ethnographyand
Education,Taylor&Francis(Routledge),vol.10(n°1),pp.17-27.
MartyO.,2014b,MonetizingFrenchDistanceEducation.AFieldEnquiryonHigherEducationValue(s).International
ReviewofResearchinOpenandDistanceLearning,AthabascaUniversityPress,vol.15(n°2)
ElseCathrineMelhuusandLisbethLjosdalSkreland
Doingethnographyasmateriality
Focusingonobservationswewouldliketodirectattentiontomaterialconditions/dicoursesandsocialpracticesinour
ethnographicresearch.Wearecurrentlyengagedinaprojectstudyingtheyoungestasylumseekersarrivingin
Norway.Mostofthemattendkindergartensandnurseriesandinourobservations,wehavebecomeawareofthe
manyinteractionsbetweenchildrenandartefacts.Cultureanalyticstudiesoftechnologyindicatesthatpowerand
valuesarelinkedtogetherwiththedesignandmaterialrealityoftheobject.Thismeansthatthingsaswellaspeople
“act”andareapartofarealitywherebothpeopleandthingsmutuallyinfluencetheperceptionoftheworld(Bille
andSørensen,2012;Miller,2005).Thingsarepowerfulbecausetheyparticipateindeterminingourexpectationsby
settingthesceneandensurenormativebehaviour.Oftenwithoutchallenge.Ourgoalhasbeentoexplorehowthings/
artefacts/inkindergartensbecomeevidentandinwhatwaystheyphysicallyconstrainorenablesmallchildrenin
theirkindergartenlives.Wewishtogivesomeexamplesinwhatwaysethnographicresearchkantakematerialityinto
account,andalsosomeofthechallengesdoingmaterialityresearchgivesus.
Wehavefoundcertainobjectstobeofgreaterimportanceinthekindergarten.Thingsandobjectscreatehierarchies
ofmaterialitybecausetheymediateculturalandnormativetruths.Culturalpatternsareestablishedinthemeeting
betweenthings(Frykman,2005,s.29).Objectslikewoollenclothes,outdoorclothing,legobricksandlunchboxesare
ofgreatimportanceinaNorwegianculturalsettingandtheseareartefactswehavefoundtocarryimplicit,
determining(ordecisive)expectationsbysettingthesceneandensuringnormativebehaviour(Miller,2005).Assuch
allthings,humanandnon-humaninkindergartensettings,willbepartofthediscursivepracticesthattakeplace
(Barad2007).
Inaneducationalcontextteachersareoftenunawareofthepowerofmateriality.Byinvestigatingwhichobjectsand
inwhatwaychildrenandemployeesmeetdifferentobjectsinakindergartenwehopetounfoldpracticesinamany-
relationalapproach.Byemphasizingtheseperspectivesinourethnographicapproach,wehopetoenableteachers
andchildrenintheirworkandlivesbyfocusingonaperipheralbutstillimportantareaofeducation.Takingthe
agencyofthingsintoaccount,culturalpracticesbecomespartofthekindergartensettings,andhelpusunderstandin
whatwaysandwhichvalueswepromoteandhowthewholeenvironmenttellswhatitmeanstobecome/bea
integrated,welladjustedasylumseekerinaNorwegianculturalcontext.
Barad,Karen2007.Meetingtheuniversehalfway.Quantumphysicsandtheentanglementofmatterandmeaning.
USA:DukeUniversityPress.
Frykman,J.(2005).Nårtingblirredskap.IM.KraglundogL.Otto(red.)MaterialitetogDannelse(s.135-157).
København:DanmarksPædagogiskeUniversitetsForlag.
Miller,D.2005.Materiality.Durham&London:DukeUniversityPress
Bille,Mikkel&Sørensen,TimFlohr,Materialitet.EnindføringIkultur,identitetogteknologi.København:
Samfundslitteratur.
ThorstenMerl
In/sufficientlyable.HowteachersdifferentiatebetweenpupilsinGermaninclusiveclassrooms
TheethnographicstudyfocusesonclassesinlowersecondaryschoolsinGermany,thatareconsideredbythe
teacherstobeinclusive.Basedonpracticetheoryandpoststructuralism,acentraldifferentiationofpupilsinteachers’
regulationsisanalyzed.Thosethatareabletomeettherequirementsoftheguidelinesareexpectedtobehave
accordingtothem.Thosethatcan’tmeettherequirements,areexemptedandmaylegitimatelydeviatefromthe
expectations.Thiscanbeobservedintheclassroom,forexample,whenpupilsaretoldtobesilent,yetonepupilis
nottoldofffortalking,butisinsteadgiventheoptiontoleavetheclassroomforan'extrabreak'ifunabletobehave
appropriately.Throughthisperformeddifferentiationteachersdetermineday-to-daywhoisableandwholacksthe
requiredabilitiestocomprehensivelyparticipateintheinclusiveclassroom.However,becausepupilswithascribed
insufficientabilitiesarenotsanctionedintheobservedlessons,butinsteadarerepeatedlyallowedtodeviatefrom
thestillexistingexpectations,theteachersfulfilltherightofpermanentmembershipforallpupilsintheclass.
Thestudyalsocontextualizesthisdifferentiationwithperspectivesofthedisabilitystudiesineducationand
discoursesondis/ability.Itcantherebybeshownthatevenin'inclusive'classesuniversalexpectationsofabilities
existandarethemselvesacauseoftheascriptionofinsufficientabilities.Furthermore,thelong-termtreatmentof
pupilsasinsufficientlyablecanbeunderstoodasthecreationofdisability.Finally,thestudydiscusseswhythe
observedclassesfailtosatisfypedagogicalconceptionsofinclusion,understoodasenablinganequalparticipationof
allpupils,andtowhatextentthisisduetothesocial-basedandschool-basedconsensusonthenatureofability.
ThestudyisoneofthefewethnographiesinGermanythatactuallyshow,whathappensinaclassroomthatis
consideredtobe‘inclusive’.Itanalyzesthatandhowtheteachers’practicesininclusiveclassroomscanbe
understoodasawayofdoingdis/ability.Thoughitistheteachers’practicesthatperformdis/ability,social-basedand
school-basednormsofabilitycanbeunderstoodastheunderlyingcauseforthat.Byshowinghowestablished
expectationsofabilitiesrestrictinclusionthestudyisacrucialcontributiontoacriticalperspectiveonprofessionalism
ofteaching.
GyörgyMészáros
Habitusandschooling:themakingofthemiddleclass/underclassinthesemi-periphery
Theaimofthissubstantivepaperistoinquirehoweducationcontributetothemakingofthemiddleclassand
underclassinHungary,asemi-peripheralcountry.Itisbasedonanethnographicstudythatcomparestwodifferent
schools:oneisanaverageuppersecondaryandhighschoolwithmiddle-classstudentsinatownnearBudapest,the
otherisaprimary,lowersecondaryschoolneara‘ghetto’ofthecapitalcitywithRom/Cigány(underclass)population.
Methodologically,thestudyisatraditional,long-term,comparativeethnography:twoyearsinthetwoinstitutions.In
thislastphaseofthefieldwork,theresearcherisconductinginterviewsandfocusgroupsandintensifyingtheuseof
othercollaborative,interpretivepracticessuchaseverydayconversations,sharingmyinterpretationsthrough
Facebookandduringregularmeetingswithteachers,sharedfieldnoteswithanotherresearcherwhoisateacherin
thehighschool.Thesenewdataturnedthefocusofinterpretationontheconceptofhabitus(Bourdieu)asanew
interpretiveframeworkinadditiontotheoriginalMarxistanalysisofsocialreproductionandintegratedtoawider
philosophical-anthropologicalapproach(educationastheshapingofsocialsubjectivities).Intheinterpretation,
prioritywillbegiventotheanalyticalcategoryofsocialclass,butconsideringtheintersectionsofclass,gender,
ethnicityandsexualorientation.Inaddition,theframeworkwillbeintegratedwithareflectiononthesemi-peripheral
characteristicsoftheshapingofclasspositions(Wallerstein,Arrighi).
Teachersinbothschoolsareagainsttheactualeducationpolicyofthegovernmentwhichreinforcesclassdivisionsin
thesocietyaspartofalargerpoliticsofmeritocracyandinequalitiesofthegovernmentinatypicalsemi-peripheral
contextcharacterizedbydependenceandtheneedforinformallabour.However,inbothschools,everyday
educationalinteractionshaveaclear(oftenhidden)patternofshapingthehabitusofthepupilsaccordingtothisclass
division.Examplesofmicro-processesshapingthehabituswillbeoffered.Intheprimaryschoolneartheghetto,there
ismuchmorereflexivityamongtheteachersaboutthispatternandthereareeffortstofindwaysoutofthissystemic
constrains,althoughitseemsalmostanimpossibleendeavour.Inthehighschool,thissystemicdimensionof
schoolinganditsrepercussionsonthesocializationofpupilsremainsmostlyun-reflected,andtheotherpartofthe
societyispracticallyinvisible.Thislatterreinforcesagainthepoliticsofclassdivision.
Thetheoreticalapproachoffersacomplexinterpretiveframeworkthatcombinesworldsystemtheory,traditional
Marxistviewsandtheconceptofhabitus.Theethnographicstudycanhelpunderstandthemicroprocessesthrough
whichhabitusisshapedineducationandclasspositionsareformedinasemi-peripheralcountry.Thecomparison
betweenthesetwotypesofschoolwithadifferentpopulationmightshedlightondifferentandsimilareducational
micro-processesinrelationtotheshapingofclasspositionsandhabitus.Methodologically,theabove-mentioned
collaborativeapproachofthelong-termethnographymightoffersomeinnovativedimensions.
PaulineMogerandSophieWard
‘Bettertolightacandlethantocursethedarkness’-anethnographyoftransformativeagencythroughchildren’s
theatre.
Thepurposeofourpaperistopresentworkinprogress,thefirststageofalongerethnography.Overa20-month
period,August2017toMarch2019,wewereimmersedinthefieldtoexamineanduncoverthelearningprocesses
takingplaceasaresultoftheimplementationofchild-centredartspractice.ThatpracticehappensinChildren’s
TheatreandinthepracticeofTheatreHullabaloomorespecifically.Webelievesomething‘beyondtheordinary’is
takingplacethatmeritsourattention.Welookedatpracticetakingplaceinaphysicalspace,‘TheHullabaloo,newly
openedinDecember2017citedasa‘nationalcentreofexcellence’.Weobservedthecreativeplayinstallationswhere
babies,children,parents,grandparents,teachersandtheplay‘hosts’experiencedandfacilitatedcreativepractice.
Wewatchedtheatreplays,andobservedtheatreaudiences,satinthecaféandlistenedtoconversations.Wetalked
topeoplecentraltorunningandleadingtheorganisation,programmingthevenueandmakingtheatre.Wealsospoke
toteachers,parentsandfunders.Wewereandcontinuetobecommittedtoresearchingthelivedexperienceofour
participants,seekingtouncover,understandandportraythelearningthatistakingplaceinaspacetheyinhabit.Our
paperprovidesanaccountofthesubjectiverealityofourparticipant’sexperiences,understandingwithdepthand
complexitythesocialmeaningoftheirengagementandlearning.OurresearchinvolvedcloseassociationwithTheatre
Hullabalooandthevenue,togettotheheartofpracticethatisauthenticallytransformative(Hammersley,1992;
Brewer,2000;Pole&Morrison,2003;Jeffrey&Troman,2004;Atkinsonetal,2007).
ConsideringtheancientChineseproverb‘Bettertolightacandlethantocursethedarkness’,ourfirststagefindings
indicatethatTheatreHullabaloo’schildledpracticeofferssomething‘beyondtheordinary’inlearningandperceived
asbeaconoflightbyourparticipants.Wefoundthispracticehas‘buyin’fromadiverserangeofparticipantsand
stakeholders,whoappearalignedintheirbeliefthepracticeisexcellentandthelearningprocessessignificant.
TheatreHullabaloos’primaryaudienceistheveryyoung(includingbabies)to16years.Wefoundthechild-led
practiceandlearningprocessesencompassed,addressedandembracedthevulnerabilityandfragilityofthis
audience’scognitivedevelopmentandgrowth.Wefoundthatchildrenareplacedinthepositionofexpertsand
creatorsofmeaning.Weuncoveredpracticeandalearningpedagogythatmapsthecreationofartisticmaterial
againstthedevelopmentalneedsofchildren,challengingtheperformativeconstructionofchildrenas‘outcomes’and
‘futurebeings’.Wefoundthatchildrenareseenasactivesocialshapers,runningcountertotheperformativeculture
oftheformaleducationsystem.Wefoundthatourparticipantsbecameimmersedinaspacewheretheydid
experiencealeveloftransformation.
Asethnographers,wesetouttointerrogatesocialinteraction,placingahighstatusonourparticipant’sperspectives
andunderstandingsofthephenomenaunderscrutiny,learningthatistransformative.Weilluminateaparticularstyle
oflearningthatdoesnotappeartobehappeninginourformaleducationsystem.Weexposepracticestakingplace
thatchallengetheprohibitive,stifling,performativelearningcultureembeddedinformaleducationalcurricula.We
contributetothediscussionthatemergingdevelopmentandimplementationofeducationandculturalpolicyshould
takenoticeofthechild-ledpracticewehaveexposedandexamined.
KristellaMontiegel
"UseYourVoice”:VocalizationandMoralOrderinanOralPreschoolClassroomforDeaforHard-of-Hearing
Children.
IntheUnitedStates,severaleducationaloptionsexistforchildrenidentifiedasDeaforHardof-Hearing(D/HH);
however,thereisonemajorconsiderationcenteredonthechild’scommunicationmodalitythatdictatestheir
placementintoaparticulareducationalsetting:WhetherornottheD/HHchildwillcommunicatethroughsignedor
spokenlanguage.Historically,theideologyunderlyingoraleducationintheUnitedStatesframesDeafnessorHard-of-
Hearingnessasadisabilityand,assuch,isstructurallyreinforcedthroughinstitutionalandpedagogicaleffortsthatare
centeredonpromoting(primarilyEnglish)oralspeechasthedominantlanguage.
Theinitialaimofthisethnomethodologicalstudywastoexplorehowanoraleducationapproachisactualized‘onthe
ground,’or,thewaysinwhichthislanguageideologyoperatesatthemicro-levelofsociality.Datafromthis
ethnographiccase-studyconsistofacollectionofextensivefieldnotestakenduringninemonthsofvolunteeringin
oneD/HH,oralpreschoolclassroominLosAngeles,California.Usingamodifiedgroundedtheoryframework,I
identifiedthethemeofvocalizationasadistincttypeofsocialphenomenonintheoralpreschoolclassroom,and
developedandmodifieditsdimensionsandconditionsuntilIwaseventuallyabletointerpretvocalizationasvalued,
regulatory,andconstitutiveofalargermoralorderthatfunctionstoorganizetheinteractionsofthechildrenand
teachersintheoralclassroom.Vocalizationsareshowntobepartofthetaken-for-grantednessofthemainstream,
hearingworld;thus,intheoralclassroom,theprogressionofdailyactivitiesarevirtuallyentirelyorganizedto
facilitatethechildren’sdevelopmentofspeech.Yet,asthechildrendonotnecessarilyknowthislargerontological
goal,aquestionarisesonhowtoteachthemtohabituallyuseandrelyonspeechwhencommunicating,orwhat
mechanismsareinvolvedinconstructingthisoralideology.
Findingsrevealedthatchildrenaresocializedintoanoralideologythroughthemoralorderoftheclassroom,anorder
constructedinthepatternsofbehaviorofstudents’andteachers’practicalactivitiesonamoment-by-momentbasis.
Specifically,teachersusedinteractional,strategicroutinesforelicitingstudents’vocalizationsinthreemainsituated
activities:1)Respondingtostudents’requestsfortheirwants/needs;2)interveninginepisodesofchildren’sbad
behaviors,and;3)determiningacceptableclassroomparticipation.Bymakingstudents’speech–or,rather,lackof
speech–anobjectofmoralconcern,theteachersrevealthemoralityof“usingyourvoice”asaconstitutivefeaturein
theeverydaylivedexperiencesoftheoralclassroom.9.-Contributiontoeducationandethnography:Tomy
knowledge,thisisthefirststudytoethnographicallyinvestigateanAmericanoralpreschoolclassroomforD/HH
children.
SaeidSafaeiMovahhed
Disciplinarycultureandeffectiveteaching:aculturalanthropologicalstudy
Duringthelastcoupleofdecades,manyresearchershavebeentryingtoexplicate"effectiveteaching"inhigher
education.Asaresult,whenonesearchestheterm,avastamountofpapersandresearchreportspopupinthe
literature,involvinglistsofattributesandcompetenciesofeffectiveteachers.Buttheimpressivepointisthat
"effectiveness"hasbeenviewedmostlyfromatechnicalvantagepointanddisciplinarydifferenceshavenotreceived
proportionateattention.Atthesametime,somesociologistsofsciencebegantoviewdisciplinesastribesand
territorieswhoowntheirexclusivenorms,rituals,andvalues.Hence,thisresearchaimsatinvestigatingeffective
teachinginhighereducationwithintheframeworkofdisciplinaryculture.
Methodologically,theresearchmaybedeemedasinterpretiveethnographyasitaimsatrepresentingemicallyhow
membersofdisciplinaryculturesperceiveandinterpreteffectiveteaching.Hence,basedonTonyBecherclassification
ofdisciplinesintocivilandrural,twopostgraduateclasseswereselected,namelyfromPureMathematics(involving
15studentstorepresentcivildisciplines)andEducationStudies(involving18studentstorepresentruraldisciplines).
Tocollectdata,theresearcherdeployednon-participantobservationforafullsemesterandinformalinterviewswere
alsoconductedatregularintervals.Thefieldnotesandinterviewprotocolswereanalyzedthematicallytoproduce
meaningfulcategoriesforresultsrepresentation.Ascredibilitywasofgreatconcernintheresearch,threestrategies
wereusedforthispurposenamelymembercheck,peerdebriefingandprolongedengagement.
Basedontheinterpretations,membersofruraldisciplinesevaluateteachingaseffectivewhenitfocusesonclassic
texts,caresabouthumanandsocialissues,approacheslaymenjargons,emphasizesunderstanding,appreciates
varietyofteachingstrategiesandlearningstyles,holdsacriticalstancetowardsculturalissues,andtakesonalenient
approachinmarking.Ontheotherside,membersofcivildisciplinesevaluateteachingaseffectivewhenitfocuseson
updatedresources,iscontent-oriented,approachesprofessionalterminology,emphasizespracticality,andtakesona
toughstanceonmarking.
Thisresearchfocusedonhowpostgraduatestudentsvieweffectiveteachingintheirdisciplinaryculture.Toilluminate
abetterimageofdisciplinaryculture,weneedtoinvolveothermembersoftheculturessuchasundergraduate
studentsandinstructorsaswell.Thefindingsmayhelpuniversities'officialstodeviseproportionateandamenable
criteriaforrecruitmentandappraisalofinstructors,basedondisciplinarydifferences,andrefrainfromimposing
globalstandardsandmeta-narrativesonvariousfieldsofstudy.Peopleusuallyholdaunitstandardintheirmind
whentheytalkabouteffectiveinstructors.Theymaybecomeawarehowteachingfunctionsareinfluencedby
disciplinarycultureandtakeintoaccountthedifferencesintheirjudgments.
1
AkikoNambu
Assistantlanguageteachers’encounterswiththeschoolcultures:anethnographicstudy
Inordertoimproveforeignlanguageeducation,theJapanesegovernmentinitiatedtheJapanExchangeandTeaching
(JET)Programmein1987byintroducingteam-teachingbyindigenousJapaneseteachersofEnglish(JTEs)andyoung
graduates fromoverseas as assistant language teachers (ALTs) intoEnglish language teaching throughout Japanese
schools.Previousstudiesmainlyfocusingontheclassrooms,haveshownthat,insomecasestherehasbeen,alackof
interactionandcollaborationbetweentheJTEsandALTs.However,itwouldbeunfairtoendthisdiscussionwithout
taking into consideration the nature of teachers’ professional development community as shaped by the school
cultures.Newly-qualified teachersarenot finishedproducts; rather theyare shapedby thecultureof their schools
(Bartell,2005;Feiman-Nemser,2003).Inordertorevealtherangeofcomplexfactorswithintheschoolcultures,this
ethnographicstudyaimsto investigatetheways inwhichtheALTsarewelcomedandaccepted intotheschools,as
wellashowtheALTscopewiththecontextsofspecificschoolsettingsandcultures.Inaccordancewiththeaimsof
thestudy,theethnographicapproachallowsinvestigationintowhatpeopledo(behaviour),whattheysay(language),
and the tension between what they really do and what they ought to do, as well as what they make and use
(artefacts)withintheirsocialandculturalcontexts(Spradley,1980).Inthisway,ethnographyenablesmetoprovide
valuable insights into team-teaching interactions and collaborations, by exploringhow theALTs and JTEs are faced
with specific opportunities and constraints in fulfilling their roles within the cultures of their schools. Data were
obtainedinthreedifferentsecondaryschoolsinJapanforsixmonths,employingmultipledatacollectionmethods–
interviews,observationsinandoutsidetheclassrooms,fieldnotes,artefactsanddocuments.
Issues concerningpowerand control emerged from the findings. This study revealed that the schools assigned the
JTEstheroleofALTs’evaluators,givingthempowertotraintheALTsbythepowerofgazedefinedbyFoucault(1975).
ThiscreatesapowerrelationshipbetweentheJTEsaswatchersandtheALTsasbeingwatched.Thepowerofgaze–
surveillance–seemstobethemainfunctionoftheteachers’professionalcommunitiesinreceivingtheALTs.Through
this top-downprocess, theALTs seem tobedisciplined in their schools.However, this judgmental andhierarchical
environmentaffectstheALTs’impactontheschools,whichinevitablyresultsinlesscontributiontotheimprovement
2
oftheschools.
Conductingethnographicstudies inJapaneseschools ischallengingsince it isnotcustomarytovisitschoolsoreven
asktoregularlyvisitclassroomsinJapan(Sakui,2004).However,theremaybeimpedimentstoeffectiveteachingthat
lieoutsidetheclassroomintheschoolcontexts(Lortie,1975)–theschoolcultures.Itisexpectedthatthisstudywill
openthewayformoreethnographicresearchontheschoolculturesandteam-teaching,aswellasontheeducational
policyinJapan.
Bartell,C.A. (2005).Cultivatinghigh-quality teachingthrough inductionandmentoring.ThousandOaks,CA:Corwin
Press.
Feiman-Nemser,S.(2003).Whatnewteachersneedtolearn.EducationalLeadership,60(8),25-29.
Foucault, M. (1991). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. (A. Sheridan, Trans.). London: Penguin Books.
(Originalworkpublished1975).
Lortie,D.(1975).Schoolteacher.Chicago,IL:UniversityofChicagoPress.
Sakui,K.(2004).Caughtinadilemma:ThebeliefsandpracticesofJapaneseteachersofEnglish(Unpublisheddoctoral
thesis).UniversityofAuckland,Auckland,NewZealand.
Spradley,J.P.(1980).Participantobservation.Belmont,CA:Wadsworth.
JanNespor
“Time”inEducationandEthnography.
Timeisatthecenteroflong-runningdebatesinethnography--howlongdoesfieldworkneedtobe(e.g.,Emerson,
1981;Jeffrey&Troman,2004;Marcus,2007);howshouldfieldworkers’schedulesandtemporalroutinesmaponto
thoseofparticipants(Smith,1987),howcanwewriteethnographieswithoutdetemporalizingpracticeordenying
coevalnesstothoseweworkwith(Bourdieu,1977;Fabian,1983;2006).Toanextentsuchissuesreflecttheoriginsof
ethnographyincontextsofcolonizationandprojectsofdomesticsocialcontrol.
Thecurrentcontextofneoliberalcapitalisminvolvesadifferentsetoftime-centeredethnographicproblems,
particularlyforthosestudyinginstitutionslikeschoolsthatarebothtime-structuredandtime-structuring.For
example,howmightwepursuea)‘theethnographyofimaginariesandimaginarytime’--variouspolicyframesand
accountabilitysystemsfunctionasdiscountingandrisktreatmenttechniquestoredefineschoolingasasetof“time
transactions”inwhichthemeaningsofeventsareprojectedfarintothefuture(Knorr-Cetina,2010;Amin,2013;
Ezzamel&Robson,1995,p.164),b)‘theethnographyofskilldisintegration’–asneoliberalismredefinesschoolingas
acompetitionamongindividualstoconstructoneselfasamarketable“bundleofskill,”skillitself,aswellknowledge,
isundererasureas“flexible”workarrangementsareshrinkingthehalf-livesofknowledgeformsanddestabilizingof
thevalueoftheskillsschoolsclaimtoprovide(Knorr-Cetina,2010;Sennett,1998,pp.96,98),c)‘theethnographyof
schoolsignals’--thespatialandtemporalrangesofthevaluesofeducationalcredentialsarechanging,withsome
collapsingintothelocalororganizationally-specific(perhapsreplacedbytemporallycircumscribedcertificatesor
“badges”),othersbecoming‘global’;d)‘theethnographyofspatiallyandtemporallydisarticulatedinteraction’–not
entirelyanewproblem,butoneassumingnewformsastheuseofdigitaltechnologiesintroducesasynchroniesinto
geographically-distributedteaching-learningrelations,ande)‘theethnographyofexhaustion,’thestudyofstudents
andteachers’practiceaseverydaylifeisretemporalizedthougha“generalizedinscriptionofhumanlifeintoduration
withoutbreaks,definedbyaprincipleofcontinuousfunctioning”(Crary,2014,p.8;Brenner,2003),and“olderhabits
ofclocktimeare...eclipsed,the‘signifier’ofthesingledaycalledintoquestion;somenewnonchronologicaland
nontemporalpatternofimmediaciescomesintobeing”(Jameson,2003,p.707).
Myaiminthispaperistoshowhowtheseshiftsinneoliberaltemporalitycreateproblemsforeducational
ethnography,andsecondtoanalyzehoweducationalethnographersaredealingwiththeseproblems.Forthelatter,I
willreviewworkspublishedinkeyjournalsofthefield(e.g.,Ethnography&Education,Anthropology&Education
Quarterly,InternationalJournalofQualitativeStudiesinEducation,etc.).Athirdaimistomakesomeprovisional
suggestionsforwaysforward.
AndreasNuottaniemi
DefiningtheobjectinEthnographicLinguisticLandscapeAnalysis(ELLA)
Thisisamethodologicalpaper,exploringdifferentwaysofdefiningtheobjectofanalysisinELLA–Ethnographic
LinguisticLandscapeAnalysis(cf.Maly,2016;Blommaert,2013).InmyPhD-projectIinvestigatehowlanguage
ideologiesandsocialrelationsofpowerarebeing(re)producedinthelinguisticlandscapeofaSwedishruralschool.I
amparticularlyinterestedinhowtheactuallanguageuseofimmigrantandindigenousminoritypupilsisbeing
representedandreflectedinthelinguisticlandscape,andhowthiscontributestotheunevendevelopmentand
productionofspace(Lefebvre,1991).Myaimusingethnographyinthisstudyistodevelopadeepunderstandingof
thecontext,makingitpossibletogobeyondtheseeminglymonologicalshapeofsigns,andexposetheideologicalas
wellasrelationalcontents.
WithinLinguisticLandscapeStudies(LLS)theobjectofanalysishasoftenbeendefinedbyreferringtoaseminalpaper
byLandry&Bourhis(1997:25)as“[t]helanguageofpublicroadsigns,advertisingbillboards,placenames,street
names,commercialshopsignsandpublicsignsongovernmentbuildings,ofagiventerritory,regionorurban
agglomeration”.Ibelievethisdefinitiontobeflawedforgeographicalaswellaslinguisticreasons,andasthebasisfor
aneducationalethnographicstudyitmightnotonlybeinadequatebutalsomisleading.
Notwithstandingtheurbanbias,languageinaneducationalsettingmusttodayincludemuchmorethanwrittentext,
suchasimagesandsymbols(Kress,2010)butperhapsevenorallanguage,soundsandthebodyassuch(Shohamy&
Waksman,2009).Anotherconcernofmineishowtocapturetheonline/offlinenexusofcontemporarylinguistic
practices.Bothteachersandstudentsdoalotoftheirdailycommunicationonline,andinordertogetafuller
understandingofthelinguisticlandscapeIthereforebelievealsodigitalenvironmentsneedstobeconsidered.These
areofcourseonlypreliminaryfindings,andinmypaperthethoughtswillbefurtherexploredandexpanded.
Ethnography,likemultilingualism,isusuallyconcernedwithdemarcationsofdifferentkinds(cf.Blackledge&Creese,
2010),anddefiningtheobjectofanalysisshouldthereforebeanongoingethnographicendeavour.WithmypaperI
wanttofurtherthediscussionaboutmethodologyinLLS,andmorespecificallyinELLA.
Byexploringmethodologicalissuesinrelationtoaplannedethnographicstudyofsocalledschoolscapes(i.e.the
linguisticlandscapewithineducationalenvironments,cf.Brown[2012])inaruralschool,Ifurthermorecontributeto
educationalstudiesbyfocusingonmultilingualisminaruralcontext,sinceissuesofsuperdiversityineducationhas
usuallybeenconsideredalmostsolelyinurbanenvironments(Lindgrenetal,2016).
Blackledge,A.&Creese,A.(2010).Multilingualism–ACriticalPerspective.London:Continuum.
Blommaert,J.(2013).Ethnography,SuperdiversityandLinguisticLandscapes–ChroniclesofComplexity.Bristol:
MultilingualMatters.
Brown,K.(2012).Thelinguisticlandscapeofeducationalspaces:languagerevitilizationandschoolsinsoutheastern
Estonia.Gorter,D.,Marten,H.&vanMensel,L.(ed.).Minoritylanguagesinthelinguisticlandscape,s.281-298.New
York:PalgraveMacmillan.
Kress,G.(2010).Multimodality–asocialsemioticapproachtocontemporarycommunication.London:Routledge.
Landry,R.&Bourhis,R.(1997).Linguisticlandscapeandethnolinguisticvitality–anempiricalstudy.Journalof
LanguageandSocialPsychology,16(1),23-49.
Lefevbre,H.(1991).Theproductionofspace.Oxford:BasilBlackwell.
Lindgren,E.,Sullivan,K.,Outakoski,H.&Westum,A.(2016).ResearchingLiteracyDevelopmentintheGlobalised
North:StudyingTri-lingualChildren’sEnglishWritinginFinnish,NorwegianandSwedishSápmi.D.Cole&C.Woodrow
(ed.)SuperDimensionsinGlobalisationandEducation,55-68.Dordrecht:Springer.
Maly,I.(2016).Detectingsocialchangesintimesofsuperdiversity:anethnographiclinguisticlandscapeanalysisof
OstendinBelgium.JournalofEthnicandMigrationStudies,42(5),703-723.
Shohamy,E.&Waksman,S.(2009).Linguisticlandscapeasanecologicalarena–Modalities,Meanings,Negotiations,
Education.E.Shohamy&D.Gorter(ed.)LinguisticLandscape–ExpandingtheScenery,313–331.NewYork:Routledge.
JanGustafssonNyckel,Eva.M.JohanssonandKarinLager
QualityinEarlyChildhoodEducationandCare:officialpolicyandlocalpractices.Ameta-ethnographic
investigation
There are a major policy change based on neoliberal ideas such as effectiveness,qualityandschool
readinesswithinearlychildhoodeducationinEurope,AustraliaandUSA(Heydonetal.2015).OECD
pointsoutthatqualityinearlychildhoodeducationareaprioritypolicyareaandtheyexpressedthese
troughstroughdocu-mentsuchasQualityMattersinEarlyChildhoodEducationandcareinSweden
(Taguma,LitjensandMakowiecki,2013)and‘StartingStrong’(OECD2017)(Alasuutari,Markströmand
VallbergRoth,2014).ThisqualitydiscourseaffectsECECcurriculaandpracticeandpointsouttheneed
forqualityindicatorsandeffectivemethodsforthepurposeofasuccessfulpreschool.Swedenisone
exampleof this policy change where the curriculum states that each local preschool mustcarryouta
systematicqualitywork(NationalAgencyforEducation,2018).
Whatimpactandconsequencesthissystematicqualityworkwillhaveforthelocalpreschools;forthe
teachers,thechildrenandthepedagogicalpracticesareinmanywaysunknown.Inthisstudywe
examinetheseissuesthroughameta-ethnographicinvestigationwithafocusonboththeofficialpolicy
andthelocalpracticethroughempiricalexamplesfromethnographicstudiesfromSweden,Australia,
Canada,US,UKandGermany.
Itisimportanttopointoutthatthereareveryfewethnographicstudiesonassessment,
documentationandqualityworkinpreschool.Ourselectionofbooksandarticleshasbeenmadethrough
thefollowingprinciples:Stepone:wesearchedforliteraturethroughtheUniversityofGothenburg's
searchengine:Articles fromthee-journals library subscribe and all printedmaterial purchased by
the library after1976.Inthisprocessweusefollowingkeywords:qualityinpreschool,documenta-tion
andassessmentinpreschool,ethnographyandweidentifythreeSwedishstud-ies(Insulanderand
SvärdemoÅberg,2014;Johansson,2016;Elfström,2017).Insteptwoweconductedasearchthroughthe
databaseEricusingthekeywordsearlychildhoodeducation,preschool,ethnography,quality,
assessmentanddocumenta-tion with and without the keyword Sweden. In this selection process we
identifyone study from Australia (Grant, et al. (2018), one from Canada (Heydon et al.2015),one
fromUSwithempiricalexamplesfromSouthAfrica(Akpovo,NgangaandAcharya,2018)onefromUS
withempiricalexamplesfromKenyaandNepal(Cleghorn and Proshner, 2012), two from UK
(Bradbury, 2013; 2014) and onefrom Germany (Schulz, 2015). Taking our departure from a
Swedish perspectiveweacknowledgethedifferencesincurriculabetweencountriesaswellasthesimi-
laritiesinthefocusonquality,documentationandassessment.WhileassessmentintheSwedish(and
theNordiccountries)ECEtraditionisseenasacontradiction,inforexampleAustraliaandCanada,itis
seenasanecessarypartoftheECEtradi-tion Bennett (2005). These differences make a fruitful
contribution to our meta-ethnographyinsearchingtounderstandhowofficialpolicyworkswithinlocal
prac-tices.Intheanalysis,weusetheideasaboutmeta-ethnographyaslinesofargumentsynthesis
(Noblit&Hare,1988).
A lineofargument synthesis is, according toNoblit&Hare, (1988)aquestionofinference.“Whatcan
wesayaboutthewhole”(page62),basedonninestudiesthatwehaveidentifiedandselected?Through
theanalysis,itwaspossibletodiscernanoverallpatternofsimilaritiesanddissimilaritiesinanew
interpretivecontext.
Acrossdifferentcountries,curriculaandvariouseducationsystems,therewereanumberofsimilarities
betweenthedifferentethnographicdescriptionsofquality,assessmentanddocumentation.
WeidentifyfourcommonthemesthatshowsimilaritiesinthematerialandtheyareAssessmentmethod
-templateasstructuringtool,playingthegame,ProductionofknowledgeandnumbersandTimefor
quality.WithinthethemeAssessmentmethod-templateasstructuringtoolitwasmadeclearthat
assessmentmethods-templatescanbedescribedorviewedasakindofarulingrelationsand
structuringthepedagogicalactivities,theteachersandchildren’sworkwherethetemplatesappearto
havetheirownagency.Intheuseofthesetemplates,theassessmentanddocumentationreceivemore
fo-cusonthestructureandorganizationoftheeducationalpracticethanitspedagogi-calcontent.This
meansthatthechildoftenbecomesinvisibleinthedocumenta-tionandtheirlearningidentityisshaped
orformedasgoodorbad.Thedocumentationthusbecomespartofthedesignofthepreschool'squality
(Jo-hansson,2016;Schutz,2015;Bradbury,2013,2014;Grant,2018;Elfström,2017).Throughthese
structuringmethodsandtemplates,aProductionofknowledgetakesplace,whichinthenextstep
describedthechildthroughnumbersandsummedupinaqualityassessment-Assessmentofthechild
becomesnumbers(Bradbury,2013,2014;Grant,2018).Thetwothemesabovecouldbeseeninrelation
tothethemeplayingthe game, which shows that many preschool teachers find it important to
displaytheiractivitiesforparents,principalsorpoliticians.
The perceived requirement for performativitymeans that there is a fabrication ofdocumentationand
assessmenttogiveasgoodapictureofthepreschool'sactivi-tiesaspossible(InsulanderandSvärdmo
Åberg,2014;,Elfström,2017;Bradbury,2013,2014;Johansson,2016;Grant,2018;Heydon,2015).
ThroughthethemeTimeforquality,itismadeclearthatdocumentationandqualityassessmentsof
childrenand activities are perceived as time-consuming by many pre-school teachers andtaketime
fromotherimportantpedagogicalactivities(Grant,2018;Heydon,2015).Althoughtherearegreat
similaritiesbetweentheninestudiesbuttheanalysisalsoshowdissimilarities,whichareimportantto
highlight.Thesedissimilaritiesareex-pressedbyfourthemeswhichareSocialbackgroundanddifferent
assessmentpractice,Re-sistanceagainsttheEuro-Westernmode,Resistancethroughteacher
knowledgeandIndividuali-zationofassessment.InthethemeSocialbackgroundanddifferent
assessmentpractice,Jo-hansson (2016) made an analysis of two different preschools, one in a
suburbanareaandoneinamiddleclassarea.Thestudyshowtwodifferentsocializingpat-ternsthrough
thewaythepreschoolwasorganizedandhowlinguisticandsocialcompetencewereassessedin
practice.Thepreschoollocatedinthesuburbarehaddevelopedabehaviorculturewhilethepreschool
inthemiddleclassareahaddevelopedamoresalientnegotiationculture.
Thisresultwouldweinterpretintermsofdifferentculturalandlinguistichabitusthatareboth indicated
andreinforcedwithinthesetwodifferentpreschoolsandcouldbeseenasathreatagainstsocial
inequalityandequity.TheanalysisalsoshowsaResistanceagainsttheEuro-Westernperspectiveof
quality.BothCleghornandProshner,(2012)andAkpovo,NgangaandAcharya(2018)describea
resistancetoEuro-WesternperspectiveofqualitywithethnographicexamplesfromSouthAfrica,Kenya
andNepal.Inthesestudies,therearedifferentimagesofwhatisgoodquali-tyinearlychildhood
education.Therewasadifferenceinhowminorityworldpre-school´sdescribequalitycomparedtohow
themajorityworlddiscourseandpolicydescribequalityinpreschool.InthedevelopmentworkinKenya,
NepalandSouthAfrica described in the articles, the were a tension emerged between the Euro
Westerndiscourseofqualityandthelocalpreschool'sconditionsandperspectivesinKenya,Nepalor
SouthAfrica.
Through the themeResistance through teacher knowledge, Bradbury (2013, 2014) showinher
analysisthatpreschoolteachersexercisearesistancetoassessmentthroughtheir teacher knowledge
Bradbury (2013, 2014) expressed that the teacherknowledge was seen as a prerequisite for
good documentation and assessmentwithintheECE.Intheanalysis,however,theoppositeappears
wheremanypre-schoolteachersusetheirteachingknowledgetoexerciseresistancetodocumenting
andassessingchildrenandtotrainthemfortests.Finally,InsulanderandSvärdmoÅberg(2014)show
thatthereisanIndividualizationofassessmentfocusingontheindividual child's learning and readiness
for school.Many preschool teachers inthestudy documented the individual child and not the
pedagogicalactivityitselfandtheycarriedoutananalysisoftheindividualchild'slearning.
Inour time, there isastrongdiscourseonqualityandassessmentthroughdocumentationwithinthe
ECE.Thisqualitydiscourseworksthroughvariousassessmentpracticesthatstructurethepre-school's
pedagogicalactivitiesandpositionteachersandchildreninawaythatdoesnothavesupportincurricula
andpolicydocuments.Ourmeta-ethnographicanalysisshowsanumberof"unintendedconsequences"
(Giddens,1984)forthepre-schools, their teachers and children. The analysis shows that these
empirical pat-ternsregardingqualityandassessmentcanbefoundinbothEurope,Australia,theUSand
Kenya,NepalandSouthAfrica,whichcanbelinkedtoastrongandglobalpolicydiscoursewithstrong
linksto,amongothers,OECD.Ourknowledgeofqualityinpreschoolasofficialpolicyandlocalpracticeis
inmanywaysinadequateand the importance of meta-ethnographic analysis and comparisons
between differentcountriesisthereforeimportant.Itisalsoimportantforethnographytocar-ryout
metanalysisthatcanclarifydifferencesandsimilaritiesbetweendifferentcountries and education
systems.Meta ethnography as approach andmethod canbedevelopedandourstudyisacontribution
inthatdevelopmentswork.Ourstudyalsoshowsagrowingshortageofsocialinequalityandequityin
termsofassessmentandqualitywithintheECE.Therefore,itisimportanttodevelopameta-
ethnographic analysis that can make a difference in an increasingly neoliberal-influenced
preschoolpolicyandpractice.
Bradbury, A. 2013b. Understanding Early Years Inequality: Policy, Assessment and Young Children’s Identities. London: Routledge.
Bradbury, A. (2014) Early childhood assessment: observation, teacher ‘knowledge’ and the production of attainment data in early years settings, Comparative Educa- tion, 50 (3), 322-339 322-339, DOI: 10.1080/03050068.2014.921371
Cleghorn, A., & Prochner, L. (2012). Looking into Early Childhood Education and Development Spaces: visual ethnography’s contribution to thinking about quality. Global Studies of Child- hood, 2(4), pp 276 -285.
Elfström Pettersson, K. (2017). Production and Products of Preschool Documentation: Entangle- ments of children, things, and templates. Diss. (sammanfattning) Linköping : Linköpings uni- versitet, 2017. Linköping.
Insulander, E., & Svärdemo Åberg, E. (2014). Vilken kunskap erkänns i det systematiska kvali- tetsarbetet? Om oförenliga tankestilar i dagens förskola i dagens förskola. Tidsskrift for Nor- disk Barnehageforskning, 7(12), 1-18.
Johansson, E. M. (2016). Det motsägelsefulla bedömningsuppdraget: En etnografisk studie om bedömning i förskolekontext. Gothenburg studies in educational sciences. Diss. Göteborg: Göteborgs uni- versitet.
Grant, S., Comber, B., Danby, S., Theobald, M., & Thorpe, K. (2018). The quality agenda: gov- ernance and regulation of preschool teachers’ work. Cambridge Journal of Education, 48(4), 515-532, DOI: 10.1080/0305764X.2017.1364699
Heydon, R., Moffatt, L., & Iannacci, L. (2015) ‘Every day he has a dream to tell’: classroom liter- acy curriculum in a full-day kindergarten. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 47(2), 171-202, DOI: 10.1080/00220272.2014.1000381
National Agency for Education. (Skolverket). (2018). Läroplan för förskolan: Lpfö 18. Stockholm: Skolverket.
Noblit, G.W. & Hare, R.D. (1988). Meta-ethnography synthesizing qualitative studies. Newbury Park, Calif.: SAGE.
OECD (2017), Starting Strong 2017:Key OECD Indicators on Early Childhood Education and Care, Start-
ing Strong, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi- org.ezproxy.ub.gu.se/10.1787/9789264276116-en.
Taguma, M.,I. Litjens and K. Makowiecki (2013), Quality Matters in Early Childhood Education and Care: Sweden. Quality Matters in Early Childhood Education and Care, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi-org.ezproxy.ub.gu.se/10.1787/9789264176744-en.
Schulz, M. (2015). The Documentation of Children’s Learning in Early Childhood Education. Children & Society volyme 29 (3), pp. 209–218.
8
RosarioPalacios
Searchingfortheirspot:specialeducationalneedsstudentsplacemakingandstruggleforinclusioninnon-inclusive
materialities.
Startingupfromtheconceptofplaceasrelatedtoasitewhichhasbeenlivedinandmeanssomethingforits
inhabitants,inthiscase,forspecialeducationalneedsstudents(SENstudents),Idescribeandanalysetheirschool
experiencesfromaspatialperspective.Arguingthatplacesarenever‘finished’butalways‘becoming’(Pred1984,
Thrift1997,DeCerteau1984)myexplorationofstudents’experiencesatschoolaimstounpacktheprocessofplace
makingbySENstudentsanditsrelationswiththeirpeers,teachersandschoolstaffwhoembodydifferent
understandingsofinclusionandspecialeducationalneeds.Thearticleincludesthematerialobservationofphysical
characteristicsofclassrooms,schoolyardsandotherspotsusedbystudents.Ianalyzespacesasscripts(O’Tooleand
Were,2008;O’Halloran2013)fordefiningdifferenceandorderwhichallow(ornot)SEN’sstudentstobeinplaceand
howtheyaresubverted(ornot)inpracticeandconvertedintoplacesofbelongingforSENstudents.Bydoingso,I
showhowtheprocessofplacemakinginschoolisdeeplyconnectedwiththeirinteractionswithothers.Following
authorswhoproposematerialitybothshapesocialinteractionandatthesametimeisshapedbyit,andthatjustas
wecansearchformeaninginsocialpracticeswecanalsodosoinplaces(Molotch2003,Tschumi1998,Casey1993:
29),Ishowhowwaysofunderstandingandconstructingdifferenceareenactedintheprocessofplacemaking.
IconductedparticipantobservationinfourschoolsinSantiago-Chileforaperiodofayearandahalf.Ihadinformal
conversationswithstudents,teachersandschoolstaff,andobservedclassesandrecesstime.Drawingsofclassrooms
andschoolyardsweremadeinordertoavoidphotographyorvideowhicharemoreinvasiveformsofregisteringdata.
Iworkedwiththemasameansforbothregisteringimagesandreflectingthroughthepracticeofmakingimages
(BatesonandMeadquotedinBanksandMorphy1997).Acknowledgingtheimportanceofvisualmethodologies,I
usedthemnotonlyasanillustrationofwhatIamexplainingverbally,butalsoasawayofreinforcingmyarguments.
Theuncannyanxietyofbeingoutofplacemovessomespecialneedsstudentstodeveloptheirimaginationandmake
placesforbelonginginschoolcornerswhicharenotplannedforthem.Teachers,otherstudentsandstaffnegotiate
withthemalongthisprocess,allowingornottheuseandappropriationofspace.Thematerialityoftheobserved
schoolsappearsasnotinclusive,butSENstudentsinteractwithitinaveryfamiliarway,challengingbarriersand
openingtheirpossibilities.Asiftheywereusedtobeinnon-inclusiveplaces(theircity,sometimestheirhomes),they
developatalentforplacemakingbasedonsocialinteractionsandmateriality.
AnanalysisofplaceinrelationtoSENstudents’experiencesinschoolrevealspossibilitiesforschooldesign,
curriculumandschoolcommunityengagement.TheinclusionorexclusionsomeSENstudentsexperienceopensup
possibilitiestotryoutnewalternativesforlearning,friendshipandpoliticalparticipation.Conductingobservations
includingvisualdataandtakinganethnographicapproachallowsustoreflectinaverypracticalwayaboutthe
consequencesofmaterialityinstudents’everydaylife.
Banks,M.andH.Morphy(1997).RethinkingVisualAnthropology.NewHaven-London,YaleUniversityPress.
Casey,E.(1993).GettingBackintoPlace.BloomingtonandIndianapolis,IndianaUniversityPress.
Certeau,M.d.(1984).Thepracticeofeverydaylife.Berkeley,UniversityofCaliforniaPress.
Maso,I.(2001).PhenomenologyandEthnography.HandbookofEthnography.P.Atkinson,A.Coffey,S.Delamont,J.
LoflandandL.Lofland.London,Sage.
Molotch,H.(2003).Wherestuffcomesfrom.NewYork-London,Routledge.
O'HalloranK.(2013)O’Toole,Michael.TheEncyclopediaofAppliedLinguistics.Oxford,Blackwell.
O’TooleP.andWereP.(2008)Observingplaces:usingspaceandmaterialcultureinqualitativeresearch.Qualitative
ResearchVolume:8issue5:616-634.
Pred,A.(1984)“PlaceasHistoricallyContingentProcess:StructurationandtheTime-GeographyofBecomingPlaces”.
AnnalsoftheAssociationofAmericanGeographers,Vol.74,No.2,June:279-297.
Thrift,N.(1997)"TheStillPoint:Resistance,ExpressivenessEmbodimentandDance".Pile,SandKeith,M.eds.
GeographiesofResistance.London,Routledge:125-151.
Tschumi,B.(1998)ArchitectureandDisjunction.CambridgeMA,Londres,MITPress.
ElizabethPérezIzaguirre
CanBasquebeprotectedinmulti-ethnicenvironments?EthicaldilemmasinBasqueschoolethnography
Thisispaperaddressesethicaldilemmasinethnographicresearchfocusingonthemethodologicalchallengeof
researchingintheethnographer’shomecountry.Ethnographicfieldworknecessitatesalong-termcommitmenttoa
researchsettinganditsparticipants,involvingbothtimeandenergyinvestedinthefieldandprofessionaland
personalresponsibilitiesthattheethnographeracquiresduringtheresearchprocess.IwritefromtheBasqueCountry,
myhome,andwheremostofmyfieldworkisconducted.ThelogisticsofresearchingthecommunityIampartofare
simple,however,myethnographicexperienceinvolvesconstantre-positioningataprofessionalandpersonallevel.
ThispaperaddressesethicaldilemmasIfacedwhenresearchinginteractionsbetweenBasqueeducatorsandnon-
autochthonousstudentsinaBasquepublicschool.ThedataIrefertowascollectedinasecondaryeducationpublic
center,whichIwilldesignateasUdabia,overninemonthsofparticipantobservation,interviews,andfocusgroups.
BasquepubliceducationactivelypromotesBasqueasaminoritylanguageandspeakingBasquemarkscommunity-
belonging,hence,ethnicidentity.However,Udabiahadanuncommoncharacteristic:ahighpercentageofits
studentshipwerefromimmigrantfamilies.ThisparticularitymadeworkinginUdabiaaburdenformanyteachersand
achallengeforothers.ThoseforwhomUdabiarepresentedaburdenfoundclassroominteractionacrimoniousand
complainedthatimmigrantstudentsrefusedtospeakBasque.Bycontrast,educatorswhoviewedthediverse
studentshipofUdabiaasachallengebelievedthatteachingimmigrantstudentsinvolveddifferenteducational
practicesfromthoseusedwhenteachingautochthonousstudents.Fortheseteachers,instructingimmigrantstudents
inBasquewasnottheirpriority.
Thisresearchcontextenabledmetofurtherunderstandthereasonsandjustificationofbothgroupsofteachers.The
challengeasanethnographerandamemberoftheBasquecommunity,wastoexplorebothdiscourses,asthey
representedtheintersectionbetweentwomarkedlydifferentiatedelementsinBasqueeducation:theprotectionof
Basqueasaminoritylanguageandidentity,andthepromotionofinclusiveeducation.Methodologically,thisresearch
focusobligedmetore-positionmyselfasanobserverduringfieldwork,particularlyinresponsetoteachersengagedin
acrimoniousdiscourse.Iconcludethattheprocessofprofessionalandpersonalre-positioningencouragedby
ethnographicresearchinafamiliarsettingisfundamentaltodevelopingawell-groundedsetofguidelinestoimprove
educationalinteractioninlocalcontexts.
CatarinaPlayer-KoroandMarianneDovemark
Qualityassuredteacherskillsforsale-asolutiontoschool’schallengeswithintheSwedisheducationsystem?
Theglobalrestructuringofthestatehasledtochangesinhowtoorganiseanddeliverpublicpolicies.Thisgovernance,
referredtoasnetworkgovernance,describeshownewactorsjoinedupincomplexandevolvingsocialnetworksare
activeintheformationofstatepolicyandthedeliveryofpublicservicesingeneralandpubliceducationinspecifically.
Networkedgovernanceisacomplexandmulti-facedprocessofprivatisationthataretakingplace“…‘of’,‘in’and
‘through’publiceducationandeducationpolicymaking,‘in’and‘through’theworkofeducationalbusinessandthe
actionsofthestate”(Ball,2008,p83).Accordingly,newkindsofpolicyactorsfromtheprivatesectorandinterest
groupsareincreasinglyparticipatingincontemporarythinkingaboutpubliceducationandeducationreforms.
Thispaperwillpresentsubstantivefindingsfromanetworkethnogrphy(Howard2002).Theaimhasbeentobecome
involvedinandexploreprocessesinvolvingformsofnetworking(Juneman,Ball&Santori,2018)bystudyinghow
private‘edupreneurial’actorsdevelopsqualificationprogrammesandotherserviceswhereteachers’skillsare
defined.InthispaperwehavespecialfocusoncompanyAreteAcademyLtd.
Examplesofthecompany'sservicesandproductsareobservationassessmentprotocols.Theobservationsgivethe
principles,accordingtothecompany:‘agoodbasisfordiscussingteaching’andteachers’skillswiththeiremployed
teachers.Theobservationsassessmentprotocolscan,accordingtothecompany’swebsite,behelpful‘inadvanced
forsalarydiscussionswithvariousteachers.’Theobservationsarebuiltuponascalefromonetofivebasedona
numberofdifferentstatements.Forexample:‘Theteacherchallengesandinspiresthestudents(onascalefromone
tofive);basedonthestudents'interestsandpriorknowledge(onascalefromonetofive);givesstudentsinspiring
tasksthatcanbesolvedwithdifferentcomplexities’(onascalefromonetofive).AreteAcademyLtd.alsooffers
lessonobservationsthatareconductedbytheirownedtrainedobservers.AreteAcademyLtd.’sobservershave,
accordingtotheirwebsitea‘solidteachingexperience’andhaveundergonetheirown‘observertraining’andare
‘accustomedtoconductinglessonobservations’.
Privateactorstogetherwithgovernmentalactorsandactorsfromthepublicsectorareparticipatingintheformation
andthinkingaboutpubliceducationandeducationreforms.Inthisspecialcase,wediscoveramongotherthingsthat
(i)theprivatecompanyAreteAcademyLtd.hasapreferenceforwhataskilledteacherneedstoknow,(ii)teacher
trainingisdisplacedfromthemainprovider(thestate/municipality)toprivatecompanies,(iii)thecompetenceofthe
stateteachereducationisinawayrejected.Privatecompaniescanbecreated,ase.g.meritcompaniesfor
qualificationofteachers,inresponsetopolitical,economicandsocialpressures(Beach2010).AreteAcademyLtd.is
anexampleofanorganisationsthathasbeenformedinresponsetopolicy.
Itisofgreatimportancetoexploreanddisseminateknowledgeabouthowprivatecompaniesdealwithcertain
educationalprojectsbutnotothers.WhenexaminingprojectsundertakenbyAreteAcademyLtd.wecanconclude
thattheyaregeographicallyconcentratedtometropolitanareasandtorichermunicipalitiesinthesouthernand
centralofSweden.Municipalitiesandschoolsthatalreadyhavehighstandardschools.Thequestionisifactivitieslike
AreteAcademyLtd.’sdecreasesormaybeactuallyincreasesthedifferencebetweenmunicipalitiesandschools?
Ball,S.J.(2008)TheLegacyofERA,PrivatizationandthePolicyRatchetEducationalManagementAdministration&
Leadership,Vol36(2)185–199.
Beach,D.(2010).IdentifyingandcomparingScandinavianethnography:comparisonsandinfluences.Ethnography&
Education,5(1),49-6.
Howard,P.N.(2002).NetworkEthnographyandtheHypermediaOrganization:NewMedia,NewOrganizations,New
Methods.NewMedia&Society,4(4),550-574.doi:10.1177/146144402321466813
Jungman,C.,Ball,S.J.&Santori,D.(2018).OnNetwork(ed)EthnographyintheGlobalEducationPolicyscape.InD.
Beach,C.Bagley&S.MarquesdaSilva(eds)TheWileyHandbookofEthnographyofEducation.Medford:Wiley
Blackwell.
AuliyaRidwan
Pedagogy,Leadership,andCulturalReproductioninContemporaryIndonesianPesantren(Islamicboardingschools)
Thispaperaimstoshowhowthepedagogiesemployedinpesantren(Islamicboardingschools)–particularlythe
pedagogiesofthekiai(headteacheraswellaspesantrenleader)–reproducecultureovergenerationsinIndonesia.
Withtheboardingschoolsystem,santri(students)gothroughscheduledactivitiesinsideandoutsidetheclassroom
24/7forseveralyears,interactingwiththekiaiinsideandoutsideclassrooms.
Pedagogiesinpesantreninvolvetheprimaryfield(schooling)andthesecondaryfield(community,interaction,and
activitiesoutsideclassroom).Inthecontextofpesantren,kiaileadershipisasignificantelementappearinginthe
primaryfieldaswellasinthesecondaryfield.Akiaiisnotonlyaseniorteacherinapesantrenbutalsoarolemodel
forsantriineveryinteraction.Astheprimaryandsecondaryelementofpedagogies,kiaiinitiatenewhabitus
intosantriandstrengtheningitthroughpesantrenpedagogies.Thispaperdescribesthelearningactivitiesin
pesantren,bothintheclassroomandoutside,andhowthefigureofthekiaicontributestothedevelopmentof
santri’shabitus.
Thispaperisbasedupon12monthsofethnographicfieldworkinthreepesantreninIndonesiain2018.Thefirst
pesantrenislocatedinMadura;itwasestablishedinthemiddleofthe19thcentury,andhaskeptusingthelearning
materialsandpedagogiesfromitsperiodofestablishmentwithonlyveryslowandminormodification.Thepesantren
aimstocultivateIslamicvirtuesthroughitsstudentslearningclassicIslamictextsandreligiousexercises.Thesecond
andthethirdpesantrenwereestablishedinthemiddleofthe20thcenturyandarelocatedrespectivelyinEastJava
andLombok.BothpesantrenstillmakeuseclassicIslamicresourcesandacceptWesterneducationmaterialsand
pedagogiesandallocatemuchportionofexperientiallearningintheireducationsystems.TheJavaPesantrentrains
santritomanifestreligiousvirtuesinsocialactions,Islamiceducation,andenvironmentalconcerns.TheLombok
Pesantrentrainssantritoindependentlyplanandrunprogramsofactivitiesoutsidetheclassroom,withfocuson
environmentalissues,women’sempowerment,andinterfaithdialogue.
Kiaiarethemostimportantpedagogicelementinpesantren.Theyappearasintellectualandidealmodelsfortheir
santri.Theyareactivelyinvolvedinthesantri’stasksandshowgreatereffortthananyoneelseinthepesantren.
Therefore,santritendtoadopttheirkiai’sintellectualandworkethics.InMaduraPesantren,santribecomereligious
leadersandtrustedfiguresintheircommunityafterfinishingtheirpesantreneducation.IntheJavaandLombok
Pesantren,santriareabletobecomeexamples,pioneers,aswellasleadersfortheircommunitytosolvesocialand
environmentalissues.AlumniofthelasttwopesantrenunderstandthatIslamicvirtuesshouldunderlieutilitarian
actionsandsciencemustunderlieactionforeffectiveresults.
Thispaperdemonstateshowpesantrenpedagogiesandthepresenceofkiaileadershipinsideandoutsideclassroom
constructedsantri’sculture,whichisalignedwiththeirkiai’sculture.Throughlongexposureofpesantreneducationin
Indonesia,santrireproducetheirkiai’sintellectual,workethics,aswellasworldviewaboutlivinginwidersociety.This
explainswhythe‘brand’ofapesantreninIndonesiaalwayscorrelateswithitskiaileadership,pedagogicalattributes,
andalumniprofile.
HanneRiese
Ethnographyofthepresentandself-consciousnessastheintersectionofobservationandinterviewing.
Thepaperintendstoinvestigatetherelationshipbetweenobservationandinterviewinethnographicresearchin
education,anddiscusstheroleofself-consciousnessofbehalfoftheresearcher.Inparticularself-consciousnesswill
bediscussedwithreferencetothechallengesposedbyincreasinglydiverseeducationalcontextsincombinationwith
standardizedcurriculums.
Qualitativeinquiryhasbeencharacterisedasareformistmovementencompassingavarietyofepistemological,
methodological,politicalandethicalcritiquestowardssocialscientificresearchfavouringexperimental,quasi-
experimental,correlationalandsurveyresearch.Participantobservationandinterviewshavebeendominatingways
ofcollectingdata,andarediscussedasseparatetechniques.Ethnographyimpliestheuseofbothapproaches,
howevertherelationshipbetweenthetwotechniquesarescarcelydiscussed,andreachinganagreementastohow
todefineethnographyseemsproblematic(Hammersley,2006,2018).Comingfromhighlydivergingepistemological
roots,butatthesametimeintimatelyintegratedinpractice,observationandinterviewconstituteethnography.
However,theknowledgeproducedthroughthisisnotonlyamatterofproductivetriangulation,butalsorepresents
challenges.Theresearcher’smediationbetweendifferentformsofdataconsciouslyaswellassub-consciouslyimplies
positioningwithregardtothefieldandthedata,thushasconsequenceswithregardtopower.Thepaperwill
investigatetherelationshipbetweenthetwoformsofknowledgeinethnographicinquiry,andtheresearcherswork
onherownself-consciousness.Accountsfromtwodifferentethnographicfieldworksineducationalsettings
characterisedbydiversitywillsupportthearguments.
Thepaperwillcontributetothediscussiononwhatethnographyis,aswellasitsroleininvestigatingthepresent-day
situationineducation.Furthermore,itwillidentifyanddiscussthechallengesfacinganethnographicresearcherin
educationalsituationscharacterizedwithdiversityinstudentpopulationsaswellasinmedialrepresentations.
Hammersley,M.(2006).Ethnography:problemsandprospects.EthnographyandEducation,1(1),3-14.
doi:10.1080/17457820500512697
Hammersley,M.(2018).Whatisethnography?Canitsurvive?Shouldit?EthnographyandEducation,13(1),1-17.
doi:10.1080/17457823.2017.1298458
CharlottaRönn
Aninnovativevideorecordingapproachinethnographicresearch:toexploringpupils’lowvoicedconversations
whilescaffoldingpeersataSwedishlowersecondaryschool
Littleisknownaboutpupils’informallow-voicedconversationswithpeersduringlessons.Thepurposeofthis
paper/presentationistoaccountforanexplorativeresearchdesign,inapplyingmultiplemethods,andparticularly
videorecordings,togeneratingdatathatgainsaccesstopupils’informalcommunicationintheclassroomwithout
muchdisruptingofthenaturalflowofactivitiesbetweenpeersintheclassroom.Ethnographicstudiescandescribea
classroomculture,wheretheresearchlateronneedstoreportinatext,inordertorestrictmultiplemeaningsand
alsototellastorywithclaimsbasedonevidence(Walford,2009).Whenresearchfocusesonpupils’interactionwith
peers,agroupofpupilsisoftenrecordedinanotherroomoutsidetheclassroomortie-clipMicrophonesareused
attachedtoafewpupilsinsidetheclassroom.Thisfacilitatesrecordingonetopicatatime(e.g.Melander&
Sahlström,2010),butinterfereswiththerolesintheclassandmighthinderthepupils’spontaneoustalkwithpeers.It
isofimportancetoquestioningwhatcountsasknowing,doingandbeinginagroup,andwhohasaccesstothe
practices,socialconstructionsandprocesses(Baker,Green,&Skukauskaite,2008).Thisstudyaimedatapproaching
thepupils’flowofinteractionandtheirperspective:whodotheyturnto,whatdotheyaskpeers(insteadofasking
theteacher),andhowdotheyprovidehelptopeersintheclassroomcontext?
Participantobservationsofaclassin8thgrade(14year-olds)atamunicipalschool,wasfollowedbyaninnovative
stagingofthreecamcordersandseveralDictaphones.Thiswaslaterfollowedupbyinterviewswiththepupilsinthe
class–aimingatprioritisethepupils’perspectivesandexperiencesofcollaborationwithpeerswhiledoinglesson-
relatedassignments.Heath,HindmarshandLuff(2010)emphasizetheimportanceofexploring,adjustingtherigging
ofthegearatasite.Thiswasdoneinthecurrentstudy,seekingtoobtainawayofrecordingintheclassroommaking
allthepupils’voicesheardintheirinformalconversationswithpeers.
Thestagingoftherecordingdeviceshadtwomainobjectives.Firstly,byfocusingonamorequietpartofthe
classroomwhereallpupilsoccasionallywent,insteadoffocusingonparticularlyselectedindividuals,allpupilsinthe
classwerecovered.Secondly,elaborateddiscreetplacingoftherecordingdevicesrendereditpossibleforthepupils
tobeobliviousoftherecordings,whichfacilitatedtoexploreanaturalflowofinteractionbetweenpeers.The
recordedfileswerelatersynchronizedandtranscribedinmultipletranscript.However,aninconveniencewasthat
somefragmentsofthepupils’lowvoicedconversationswereinaudiblewhiletranscribing,duetobackgroundsounds
intheclassroom.
Theinnovativedesignandpassivestagingofthecamerascreatedaclosenesstothepupilperspectiveofinteracting
withpeers,allowingrecordingthepupils’morespontaneousandauthenticconversationswhilescaffoldingpeers.This
displayedthatwhatteachersmightoverhearintheclassroomdiffersfromthepupils’lessonrelatedlow-voiced
conversationswithpeers.
Anincreasedunderstandingonthenaturalflowofpupils’interactionintheclassroompracticeseenfromapupils’
perspectivesmightleadtobetteradaptedteachingtomeetallthepupils’needsandprerequisites.Thestudyisof
interestfromamethodologicalpointofviewandcouldbeadaptedtootherethnographicresearchcontextsthanthe
classroom.
Baker,W.D.,Green,J.L.&Skukauskaite,A.(2008).Video-enabledethnographicresearch:amicroethnographic
perspective.InG.Walford(Ed.),HowtodoEducationalEthnography.London:theTufnellPress.
Heath,C.,Hindmarsh,J.&Luff,P.(2010).VideoinQualitativeResearch–AnalysingSocialInteractioninEverydayLife.
London:SAGEPublicationsLtd.
Melander,H.,Sahlström,F.(2010).Lärandeiinteraktion.Stockholm:Liber.
Walford,G.(2009).Forethnography.EthnographyandEducation,4(3),271-282.
ShariSabeti
Speakingin‘PacificTongues’:usingspokenwordpoetrytoexploreexperiencesofdisplacementamongst
Marshalleseschoolchildren
ThisisasubstantivepaperthatisbasedonethnographicfieldworkcarriedoutduringvisitstotheMarshallIslandsand
Hawai’ibetweenApril2017andMay2018aspartofanESRC/AHRCfundedprojectonForcedDisplacement.The
projectinvolvedaseriesofparticipatoryartseducationworkshopsincollaborationwithartistsinordertoexplore
children’sexperiencesofdisplacement,identityandbelonging.Thepaperproposedherefocusesindetailonpoetry
workshopsconductedbyMarshallesepoet,KathyJetnil-Kijineracrossthreeschoolsattendedbychildrenwithquite
differentexperiencesofmigration.Drawingondetailedfieldnotes,anin-depthinterviewwithJetnil-Kijiner,teacher
interviewsineachschool,aswellasthechildren’spoetry,thepaperexploresthewayinwhichJetnil-Kijiner
conceptualizedherworkasapoetandactivist,themethodssheusedtoencouragethechildrentosharetheirstories,
andherreflectionsontheprojectasawhole.Itplacesthisinthecontextofliteratureonthetheoryandpracticeof
spokenwordpoetry(Yanofsky,vanDrielandKass1999)asaparticularlyeffectivewayofreachingoutto,andgiving
voiceto,youngpeople,aswellasworkontheconsciousness-raisingpotentialsofurbanyouthpoetry(Jocson2006).
GrantKesterhasarguedthatdialoguessetupbetweenartistsandcommunitiescanfoster‘empatheticidentification’
(2014)andhavethepotentialtoleadtoarenewedsenseofculturalidentity.Thispaperconsiderseachsiteindetail,
arguingthattheworkshopwithwhichtheartistmostidentifiedwasnottheonewherethechildrenmostidentified
withher.
Thepaper’sprimarycontributionistoourtheoreticalunderstandingofeducatingthroughthearts,inparticular
throughactivistpoetry,bytakingafine-grainedethnographicapproachtothepracticeofonepoetassheconductsa
seriesofpoetryworkshopswithchildren.Itconsidersthevalueofbringingartistsintoschoolsettingsandfocusesin
particularonthepotentialeffectsofWesternconsciousnessraisingmethodologiesemployedinanon-Western
context.
MargitSaltofte
Zonesofin-BetweenasCreativeSpacesexemplifiedbypupils’interactionsatschool
Zonesofin-between(Saltofte2013,2018)areorganizational,socialandphysicalspaceswithininstitutionalsettings
(suchasschools)wherethereisthepotentialfordoingsomethingelsethanyouaresupposedto.Thecaseherefocus
onin-betweenzonesinschools.Differenttypesofpresence,interactionsandexpressionsshowthemselveswhen
pupilstakeabreakfromformalinstructionandinteractaspartofapeercommunity,sharingandexploringinterest.
Interactionsandsocialrecognitionprocessesintheseliminalzones;zonesofin-betweenwillbeexemplifiedby
ethnographicdescriptionsandanthropologicalanalysisoftheireverydaycreativity(Sawyer2006).Thedataisbased
ontwoperiodsoffieldwork(2007/08and2014)among7th,8th,and9thgradepupilsataDanishfreeschool.The
ethnographydescribescreativeimprovisationsandsocialandcommunity-buildinginteractionsasexpressionsand
meaningsofaspecifictypeofin-betweenzonecreativity.
Pupilsformthezone,oratleastitscontentandexpressions,bythemselves.Theydosobybeingpresentandacting
differentlyandinamoreexperimentalmannerthanduringtheordinaryteacher-structuredteaching.Theformsof
expressionrevealedduringmyfieldworkincludedparodiesofteachersandculturalexpressiveformsfrombeyondthe
schoolcontext.Theimprovisationsandcreativeexpressionsareinspiredbyandtakingtheirformfromboth
experiencesintheschoolsettingandfromtheexplorationandexpressionsofsharedinterests.Thiskindofcreativity
appearsspecifictemporalandspatialsettings,generallyonthemarginsorperipheriesoftheschoolsite.The
interactions,knowledgeandimprovisationsinthesecommunitiesdifferfromthoseobservedintheteachingsetting
orinteacher-pupilinteractions.Thewayspacesandrelationsarepracticedisbasedonskillsandknowledgeofthe
peercommunity.
Zonesofin-betweenmomentsandsituationscanleadtooropenupthepotentialforsocialinteractions,
improvisations,andcreativeexpressions.Theexpressionsareformedandperformed,andtheyrelyonthecharacter
ofthepeercommunities.The’quality’ofin-betweenzonesdependsonthepossibilityofhavingunrestrictedtime
togetherandonhavingplacestobe-oratleastmeet–thatcanallowpupilstoexperimentwithskillsandexpressions
thattheycansharewithfellow‘in-betweenpeers’.Zonesofin-betweenaresitesforexperimentingwithsocialand
expressiveimprovisations,developingasharedrepertoireofthegroupincreatingandshowingtheirinterestand
skills,anddifferentiatingthesefromschoolsubjectsandfromothergroupsofpupils.Insum,zonesofin-betweenare
sitesofanalternative,pupil-managedcreativity.
AvihuShoshana
EthnographiesofAlternativeEducationandPlayPedagogyinIsrael:Whatis“Alternative”inAlternativeSchools?
Anin-depthanalysisoftheanthropologicalresearchliteratureshowsthatdespitethegrowthinthenumberof
alternativeschoolsintheworld,itisverydifficulttolocatethickethnographiesinalternativeschools.Thisresearch
lacunaisdisappointinginlightoftheinterestinglinktheseschoolsofferregardingbetweenculture,educationand
subjectivityortheculturalproductionofthesubjectandthealternativeeducationalorganization.Moreover,inview
ofthefactthatalternativepedagogies(suchas"democratic"and"Waldorf")havebeendevelopedinaspecific
culturalcontextandhavemigratedtoothercultures,theirethnographicresearchcanteachusaboutculturalimport,
culturaltranslationandhybrideducationalinventions(orwhatisalsocalledglocality).
Thisarticleisbasedonanethnographyofauniquealternativeelementaryschoolcalled"EducationalExperimentation
inaPlaySpace"andoperatesa"playpedagogy."Thispedagogydoesnotreferto"play"asastateofremissionthatis
contrarytolearningorasadidacticteachingtool.Thisisplay-basedpedagogyasaneducationalconcept.Thestudy's
findingsrevealhowarithmeticlessonsareconductedthrough"picking"arithmeticexerciseshangingfromtreesinthe
forestorgatheringoystersonthebeachneartheschool.HowlearningEnglishisdoneby"fishingwords"(throwinga
rodintoalargetubandtryingtocatchwordsandmakesentences),orbybakingcakesintheformofletters,andhow
historyislearnedviathe"feastofthegods"inancientGreece.Theethnographiesfurtherteachhowalternative
educationrequiresteachersandschooladministratorstodevelopnewlanguageandcategoriestocreatean
"alternative"reality("playschool,""gameteacher,""gamestudent,""playlearning")thatopposesthe“traditional”
one(or"mainstreameducation.")Finally,thefindingsshowtheconstantmovement(andtension)betweenstructure
andanti-structure,releaseandboundaries,freedomanddisciplinethatcharacterizesalternativeeducation.The
discussionsectionseekstoofferanswerstothequestion,"whatisalternativeinalternativeeducation,"toexplorethe
implicationsoftheconstantmovementbetweenstructureandanti-structure(orthedesiretodeviatefrom
mainstreameducation),andtoinitiateadiscussionabouttheurgentneedforcomparativeculturalethnographiesof
everydayeducationalactivityinalternativeschools.
VandanaSingh
EthnographythroughCamera:investigatingthegenderedexperiencesoffemaleandmalepupils’inNorthernIndia
primaryschool.
UNESCO(2015)hasapplaudedIndia’scontributionandcommitmenttowardsUniversalPrimaryEducation;however,
genderparityininstitutionshaslongbeenproblematic.Thisismainlybecauseinequalitiesaredeep-rootedinthe
customs,religions,andcultureofIndiansociety.Asaresult,girlsandwomenhaveunequalcontroloverresourcesand
decision-makingincomparisontomenandboys.Althoughschoolsaimtoequalisethesegenderdisparities(SDGGoal
5.1.1.2016),inreality,thefindingsuggestsdifferently.
Thisethnographiccasestudyexploresgenderinequalitiesintwofifthgradeprimaryschools(aged11-13yearsold)
throughparticipantobservations,focusgroups,andphoto-elicitationinterviews.Themethodologicalchallenges,like,
obtainingequitablevoicesandnotprivilegingmalepupilswhereasmutingvoicesoffemalepupilsinfocusgroup
interviewsledtousingphoto-elicitationinterviews(PEI).PEIshelpedinunpackinggenderedexperiencesandgender
shapingoftheprimaryschoolfemaleandmalepupils’.Theirexperienceswererecordedthroughtheimagesthatthey
producedandthroughtheverbalaccountsgeneratedbyelicitationinterviews.Whereas,focusgroupsprovided
understandingsaboutgenderdynamics,visibilityofmaleorinvisibilitiesoffemalepupilswithinagroup.Fieldnotes
capturedthedistributionofspacesbenefitingsomestudentswhilstlimitingothersandinsightsintoteachers’
pedagogicpracticesintheclassroomandoverallschoolenvironment.
Thestudyfoundthatthephoto-elicitationinterviewsevokedparticipants’voicesregardingtheirdiscriminatory
genderedidentitiesandgendershaping.Thediscriminatoryexperiencesoffemalepupilsaretheresultofcertain
places,thetimewithintheschoolandclassroom,whichhindertheirprogress.Thefindingsalsodemonstratethe
presenceofclearboundariesaroundgenderedrolesandgenderstereotypingconnectedtothoseplacesandtimes.
Thepaperconcludes,inspiteofseverallimitationsforfemalepupilstobuildtheirgenderedcapabilities,theyhave
negotiatedtheboundariesthroughtheiragency.Theagencycanbeseen,forexample,bybringingthesocialand
culturalpracticesfromtheoutsideworldtothelearningenvironmenttonegotiatethephysicalspacesandtimewithin
thefourwallsoftheschools.
UNESCO(2015).ReportonUniversalEducationalGoals.UNESCOParis.
UNESCO(June2013).EducationSectorTechnicalNotes.GenderEqualityinEducation.DocumentCode:
ED/ADG/2013/05.UNESCOParis.
KimSkinner,LillieConnor-Flores,LeiflynGamborg,HeatherLavender,andHuyNguyen
Accessto“ConcertedCultivation”ThroughMentorshipandOpportunitiestoLearnataCommunityBikeShop
Characterizedasanaddition,complement,oralternativetoformaleducation(UNESCO,2019),non-formaleducation
includeslearningopportunitiesvaluableforsocial,cultural,andself-development(p.24).Focusedonhumanrights,
theUNCommitteeontheRightsoftheChildconsideredtheaimofeducationis“toempowerthechildbydeveloping
hisorherskills,learningandothercapacities,humandignity,self-esteemandself-confidence”(CRC,2001,para.1).
Despitewidespreadsupportforchildempowermentanddevelopment,unequalaccesstoout-of-schoollearning
opportunitiespersistsintheUnitedStates.Drawingondatafromathirteen-monthethnographicstudyataninnercity
neighborhoodbikeshopintheUS“deepsouth,"thisstudyexploredthenatureandconsequencesofaccessto
“concertedcultivation”(Lareau,2003)opportunitiesconstructedovertimebyurbanyouthandmentorswho
participatedinacommunity-supportedbikeshopbyandforyoungstersages6to18.
Usinganinteractionalethnographicapproach(Green,Dixon,&Zaharlick,2003),weinvestigatedhowlearning
opportunitieswereconstructed,adopted,andadaptedthroughgroupmembers’interactionsinthemomentandover
time.Dataanalysiswasrecursiveinnature,asweexamineddataonanongoingbasisthroughoutthestudy.Collected
throughparticipantobservation,datasourcesincludedfieldnotes,audiotapes,interviews,andwrittenartifacts.
Multiplelevelsofanalysiswereconducted,including:transcriptionoftheaudiorecords(Green,Skukauskaite,Dixon,
&Cordova,2007);constructionofeventmaps(Spradley,1980);andidentificationandanalysisofatellingcase
(Mitchell,1984).
OuranalysesfocusedonthediscourseanddiscursiveinteractionsacrosstimeofFrontYardBikeparticipants,aswell
asthenegotiationofeventsbymembersthroughtheseinteractions.Whileanalysisisongoing,initialfindingsshow
evidenceofchangeinthediscourse,thediscursiveinteractions,andthelearningoutcomesofimpoverishedyouth
whenprovidedintentionalaccesstoopportunitiesdesignedtobuildtheirculturalcapital.Overtime,olderyouth
developeddispositionsandattitudesreflectiveofexpectationsofbikeshopmentorsandcommunity,forexample,
throughchoiceofself-directedactivities,negotiationoftasks,andexpressionof“parental-like”concernfor
developmentofyoungerchildren.
Buildingonpreviousethnographicworkineducationalsettings(e.g.,Bloome,Carter,Christian,Otto,&Shuart-Faris,
2005;Walford,2008)andethnographicworkfocusedonmarginalizedyouthandlearning(e.g.,Jeffrey,2014;Jeffrey&
Woods,2009;Russell,2011),thisstudymakesvisiblethenatureandconsequencesofyoungpeople’sengagementin
practicesandprocessesofworkdevelopmentinacommunitybikeshop.Byfocusingonthelearningopportunities
constructed,adopted,andadaptedinthiscommunity,thisstudyrevealedthedevelopingandshiftingnatureof
learning,includinghowyouthchangedtheirunderstandingofselfandothersintheirlocalsocialworlds.
Bloome,D.,Carter,S.,Christian,B.M.,Otto,S.,&Shuart-Faris,N.(2005).Discourseanalysisandthestudyof
classroomlanguageandliteracyevents:Amicroethnographicperspective.Mahwah,NJ:LawrenceErlbaum.
Edwards,D.A.,&Mercer,N.(1987).Commonknowledge.London:Methuen.Geertz,C.(1993).Localknowledge:
Furtheressaysoninterpretiveethnography.NewYork:BasicBooks.
Green,J.L.,Dixon,C.N.,&Zaharlick,A.(2003).Ethnographyasalogicofinquiry.InJ.Flood,D.Lapp,J.R.Squire&J.
M.Jensen(Eds.),HandbookofresearchonteachingtheEnglishlanguagearts(2nded.,pp.201-224).Mahwah,NJ:
LawrenceErlbaumAssociates.
Green,J.L.,Skukauskaite,A.,Dixon,C.,&Cordova,R.(2007).Epistemologicalissuesintheanalysisofvideorecords:
Interactionalethnographyasalogicofinquiry.InR.Goldman,R.Pea,B.Barron&S.Derry(Eds.),Videoresearchinthe
learningsciences(pp.115-132).Mahwah,NJ:LawrenceErlbaum.
Gumperz,J.J.,&Levinson,S.C.(1996).Introduction:Linguisticrelativityre-examined.
InJ.J.Gumperz&S.C.Levinson(Eds.),Rethinkinglinguisticsrelativity(pp.21-36).NewYork:CambridgeUniversity
Press.
Jeffrey,B.(2014).Theprimaryschoolintestingtimes:Aclassicethnographyofacreative,communityengaged,
entrepreneurialandperformativeschool.London,UK:EthnographyandEducationPublishing.
Jeffrey,B.,&Woods,P.(2009).Creativelearninginprimaryschool.London,UK:Routledge.
Lareau,A.(2003).Unequalchildhoods:Class,race,andfamilylife.Oakland,CA:UniversityofCaliforniaPress.
Mercer,N.,&Hodgkinson,S.(Eds.).(2008).Exploringtalkinschool:InspiredbytheworkofDouglasBarnes.London:
Sage.
Mitchell,C.J.(1984).Typicalityandthecasestudy.InR.F.Ellens(Ed.),Ethnographicresearch:Aguidetogeneral
conduct(pp.238-241).NewYork:Academic.
Russell,L.(2011).Understandingpupilresistance:Integratinggender,ethnicityandclass.London,UK:Ethnography
andEducationPublishing.
Spradley,J.P.(1980).Participantobservation.NY:Holt,Rinehart&Winston.
Walford,G.(2008).Thenatureofeducationalethnography.InG.Walford(Ed.),Howtodoeducationalethnography
(pp.115-139).London,UK:Tufnell.
Wolcott,H.F.(1999).Ethnography:Awayofseeing.Lanham,MD:Altamira.
AmandaR.Smith
ParticipantIntegratedImagework:MaterializingtheInvisibleinEthnography
Thepurposeofthispaperistodiscussthepotentialofparticipantart-making,specificallyparticipantintegrated
imagework(PII),asanethnographicmethodformakingvisibleaffective,subconscious,ephemeral,ortheotherwise
hiddenintheeverydaylivesofpeople.Todescribethismethodology,Ishareexamplesfromatwoyearprojectwitha
groupofteenagerswhoconductedphotoethnographicself-studiesontheirengagementwithtextsintheireveryday
lives.ParticipantsusedPIIthroughmixed-mediaart-makingasananalyticmethodtostudytheirphotographsbyusing
transparencyfilmtocreateliterallayersofannotationthatcouldbeplacedoverafocalphotographforavarietyof
viewings.
PIIofferedawaytomakethefamiliarstrangewhichisoftenattheheartofethnographicstudies.Itachievesthisin
twoways.First,approachingtheanalyticaltasktomakesensein/with/throughthephotographsasanartistic,creative
processratherthanrelyingsolelyontraditionalcodingofferedtheopportunitytoslowdowntherelations.This
slowingcreatedspaceforthings-bodies-objectsanddifferentsetsofrelationstosurfacefor/withtheartist.When
invitedintoanactofcreationratherthanjustanactofobservation,theyoungresearcherswereabletoseeandfeel
differentlywiththephotographs.Second,arthasadifferentrelationshipwiththinking,action,feeling,andperceiving
thanotheranalyticalmethodssuchastalk,writing,ortraditionalcoding.Whilethoseothermethodswerealsousedin
thestudy,employingartwasawaytogainaccesstomoremultisensoryandembodiedwaysofthinkingwiththedata.
Asaresult,ineveryartpiecethestudentresearcherwasabletosurface,throughcolor,linedrawing,andannotation,
somethingthatwouldhaveremainedinvisibleotherwise:affectiveintensity,sensoryexperience,andmercurialor
ephemeralrelations.
Thismethodmaybeofgreatusetoeducationalethnographers.Asthetheoreticalbasisforethnographicworkhas
expandedtoincludeRhizoanalysis,Actor-NetworkTheory,AffectTheory,NonrepresentationalTheory,andFeminist
NewMaterialismsresearchershavebeenseekingtoolsthatwillprovideaccesstoaffectandcomplicatedorhidden
relations.Thismethodisonesuchtoolthatoffersarathersimplebutdeeplynuancedwaytomaterializethe
otherwiseinvisible.Thismethodisalsousefulforthosethatworkwithyoungpeopleofallagesinandoutofschools.
Unboundbylanguage,studentscandemonstrateandcreatecomplexandevocativeartthatoffersawindowinto
theircomplicatedwaysofbeingandlearningthattheymayotherwisebeunabletocommunicateinalltheirfullness.
CourtneyStafford-Walter
SeparationandSociality:BoardingschoolsandIndigenousyouthinSouthernGuyana.
ThroughoutlowlandSouthAmerica,state-runeducationalprojectsimplementedinindigenouscommunitiesbring
aboutalotofcomplexsocialprocessesandimpactvariousaspectsofindigenouslife.Classroomeducationischanging
thewayscommunitieslivetogetherandmodifyingtraditionalsocialrelationships,particularlyintergenerational
relationships,invariousways.Thetimethatyoungpeoplespendinclassroomsvastlydiminishesthetimetheywould
spendwitheldersandparents.Thisisnotsomethingtobetakenlightlysinceintimatekinshipnetworksare
consideredcrucialtothedynamicsofmutualcarecentraltoAmerindianlives.Buildingonthesefoundationalideas,
thispaperwillexplorethewaysinwhichanethnographicapproachallowstheresearchertodrawconclusionsabout
thewiderimpactofparticularformsofschoolingonindigenousyouthandtheircommunitiesinSouthernGuyana.
Basedon13monthsoffieldworkwithWapishanapeople,thisethnographicallygroundedpaperdemonstrateshow
participantobservationwithinandoutwiththeschoolenablethedrawingofdeeperconclusionsaboutthe
relationshipbetweenstate-runboardingschoolsandsocialchange.
AsIspokewithAmerindianeldersinGuyana,theyinsistedthat,despitethefearthattheirchildrenwouldleavefor
boardingschoolandneverreturntotheirhomevillage,attendingsecondaryschoolwasanimportantandvaluable
opportunityforAmerindianyouth,anditwouldgivethenextgenerationachanceata‘better’life.Ononehand,
indigenouspeopleunderstandthatengagingwithformaleducationcanbeaprimarywayofrenegotiatingtheir
relationshipwithoutsidersinordertoprotectthemselvesandtheircommunities.Ontheotherhand,schooling
interruptstheyouth'srelationshiptotraditionalknowledge,butdoesnotprovideassuranceforanotherwayoflife.
Educatedindigenousyouthcanbecomeprofessionals,butthenumberofjobsavailabletothemarelimitedintheir
communities.Inordertosecuremanyjobsthatthesecondaryschoolequipsthemfortheywillhavetoleavetheir
homes,presentingthemwithadifficultchoicebetweenworkingandhonoringtheircommitmentstotheirfamilies
andtheircommunities.InthispaperIwillexplorethetensionbetweenthevalueAmerindiansplaceonformal
schooling,whichseemstobeeverincreasing,anditscosts,suchasseparationfromkinandcommunityandspiritual
andphysicalwellness.
Usinganethnographicapproachtounderstandingtheimpactofformalschoolinginindigenouscommunitiesis
essential.InthispieceIwillillustratehowlongtermparticipantobservationallowedmetoanalyzetherelationship
betweenboardingschooleducationandAmerindianyouth.Beyondthat,Iwilldemonstratehowthisapproach
supportedmoreprofoundconclusionsabouthowthisparticularformofschoolingimpactstheseyoungpeople’s
familiesandtheircommunitiesinSouthernGuyanaandfostersandencouragesrapidsocialchangethroughoutthe
region.
SandyStewartandMaropengModiba
Schoolcultureandliteracydevelopment:Readingsupportvolunteers’views.
Debatesabouthoweducationalethnographyshouldbeconductedandreportedupon(Walford2008)todevelop
understandingoftheculturalmaterialthatshapesinteractionsandactivitiesineducationhaveemphasisedthe
needforresearcherstoallowtheparticipantsintheresearchtocontributetotheprocessofmeaningconstruction
(Gilbert,2008).Thispaperreportsonaprocessofindividualconsciousnessraisingoftheculturalcontextand
materialthatshapedhowreadingsupportvolunteers(RSVs)openedupandconnectedbothhistoricallyand
politicallywiththeworldofthechildrentheywerehelpingtolearntoreadEnglishtextswithcomprehension.
Fromtherichnessofthevolunteers’reflectionsandinsightsweconstructvignettestoexploreingreaterdepth1)
theeverydayexperiencesthatRSVshaveinthefieldand2)theirbeliefs,attitudes,valuesandperceptionsonthe
assistancetheyprovidedtotheteachers,3)howtheirpresenceintheschoolseemstohaveaffectedthereading
cultureattheschooland4)learnersandteachers’interactionswiththem.Thevignettesarebasedonfocusgroups
discussionsandlessonobservationsthatwereusedinthefirstphaseofthestudytocapturetheRSVs’lived
experiencesofhelpingteachreadingattheschool.Therefore,thisisapaperthatisbasedonastudyinprogress.
ThepaperarguesthatsituatingtheRSVsinaninquiryinwhichtheyhadtoreflectontheirinvolvementinteaching
reading,resultedinpromotingacriticalconsciousnessoftheculturaldevelopmenttheywerehelpingtocultivate.
Examiningtheinteractionsandactivitiestheyusedhighlightedthesensemakingoftheexperiencedschoolculture
andenhancedreflectionsontheworthinessoftheircontribution.ItsituatedtheRSVsinaninquiryinwhichthey
couldconfrontwhattheywereactuallydoingandexplaintheimplicationsthereof;namely,aspectsthatfacilitated
andconstrainedthechildren’sliteracydevelopment.
Thefindingsinthisstudyarelikelytoaddtoandenhanceanunderstandingofcurriculumasculture.Inaddition,
thestudymayaddtoemergingresearchontheuseofvignettesinthedevelopingworld(Gourlayetal.,2014)and
theirevaluationasaresearchtool(Stravouka&Lozgka,2018).
Gilbert,N.(2008).ResearchingSocialLife,3rdedition.London:Sage.
Gourlay,A.,Mshana,G.,Birdthistle,I.,Bulugu,g.,Zaba,B.andUrassa,M.(2014).Usingvignettesinqualitative
researchtoexplorebarriersandfacilitatingfactorstotheuptakeofmother-to-childtransmissionservicesinrural
Tanzania:acriticalanalysis.BMCMedicalResearchMethodology,14(21),2-11.
Stravouka,P.A.&Lozgka,E.CH.(2018).VignettesinQualitativeEducationalResearch:InvestigatingGreekSchool
Principals’Values.TheQualitativeReport,23(5),HowtoArticle3,1188-1207.Retrieved
from://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol23/iss5/12.
Walford,G.(2008).Howtodoeducationalethnography.London:TufnellPress.
BethSuttill
“Youraccentisannoying…youshouldtalkmorelikeus”:thechallengesofdevelopingrelationshipsanddefining
rolesinethnographicfieldwork
Formyresearchintotheself-identitiesofyoungpeopleonacourseforthosewhoarenotineducation,employment
ortraining(NEET)Iconductedanethnographyata‘lifeskills’centreintheMidlands.Thispaperexploresthe
challengesthataroseoverhowIdefinedmyselfanddevelopedrelationshipswithmyparticipants.Accesstothe
organisationhadbeengainedontheagreementthatIwouldworkasaclassroomassistantalongsidemyobservation
ofyoungpeopleatthecentre.BeforeenteringthecentreIwasawarethatmycharacteristicsandhowIpresented
myselfcouldhaveanimpactonmyresearch,andwhileIcouldcontrolsomeaspectsofmypersonalfront,others
werenon-negotiable.WhileIacknowledgedthatmygenderandagewouldbeofsignificancetoparticipants,Iwasnot
awarethatmyaccentwouldcauseareaction.
Constructingaroleasaparticipantobserverwasnotaonesidedprocess;“ineverycasethefieldworkerisfittedintoa
plausiblerolebythepopulationhe[sic]isstudying”(Vidich,1955:356).Iplayedanumberofrolesinmyrelationships
withtheyoungpeopleandthestaffatthecentre.Iwasviewedindifferentways;asafriend,asthepersonfrom
Leedsandasamemberofstaff.Istruggledinmydualrolesasaresearcherandvolunteer.AlthoughthestaffknewI
wastheretodoresearch,thepressuresonthemmeantthattheyvaluedmemoreasavolunteer.Theyexpectedme
tohelpoutwhenneededandIwastreatedasateachingresource.
Thispaperhighlightsthechallengesofconductingethnographicresearchwhereobserverscanfeelobligedtohelp
membersinexchangeforaccess.Participantsandtheresearchercanbefacedwithvariousexpectationsand
demands,andadoptstrategiestopersuetheirowninterests(Wang,2013).Powerrelationswithintheserelationships
thereforeneedtobeacknowledged.Thepaperdemonstratestheimportanceofbeingreflexiveabouttheinteractions
andrelationshipsbetweenresearcherandresearched,focusingonaneducationsetting.
JonathanTummons
Ethnographiesofhighereducationandmodesofexistence:usingLatour’sphilosophicalanthropologytoconstruct
faithfulaccountsofhighereducationpractice
Actor-networktheoryisrelativelyuncommonineducationalresearchbuthasbeenusedbyethnographersinavariety
ofcontexts(Larsson,2006;Nespor,1994;Plum,2018;Tummons,2010).Actor-networktheoryhasnowbeenenfolded
byoneofitsprogenitorsintoalargerproject,AnInquiryIntoModesofExistence-AIME(Latour,2013).Framedasan
anthropologicalinquiryintotheontologicalandepistemologicalconditionsofmodernity,LatourarguesinAIMEfora
radicalshiftinhowweconstructunderstandingsof‘objective’truthand‘scientific’fact,andofthewaysbywhichwe
establish‘meaning’intheworld,alltobeinitiatednadthenreinforcedbyempiricalinquiry.ElementsofAIMEhave
beguntobeemployedthroughexplorationsoflegaltheory(McGee,2014),politicsandpostpolitics(Tsouvalis,2016),
andcontemporaryacademicpractice(DecuypereandSimons,2016).
Inthispaper,IwilldrawonmyownongoingtheoreticalinquiryintoAIMEinordertoexploredatathatisemerging
fromongoingempiricalresearchintotheprovisionofdistributedmedicaleducationinCanada,andthewaysinwhich
constructionsofprofessionalismareformedwithinsuchprogrammes(Tummons,2019;Tummonsetal.,2018).The
contributionsthatthispaperwillmakearetheoretical/methodologicalandempirical.Thetheoretical/methodological
contributoncomesthroughacriticalapplicationofAIMEtoethnographyofeducation:Latour’sworkhasovertime
beenconflated–erroneously–withpostmodernistandsociocmaterialistperspectives,andtheanthropologicaland
sociologicalfoundationsofhisworkhavebeenlostsightof.Thispaperseekstocorrectthis.Theempirical
contributioncomesthroughthepresentationoffindingsfromanongoingthree-yearmedicaleducationethnography.
Larsson,S.(2006).Ethnographyinaction.HowethnographywasestablishedinSwedisheducationalresearch.
EthnographyandEducation1(2),177-195.
Latour,B.(2013).AnInquiryIntoModesofExistence.London:HarvardUniversityPress.
Nespor,J.(1994).KnowledgeInMotion:space,timeandcurriculuminundergraduatephysicsandmanagement.
London:RoutledgeFalmer.
Plum,M.(2018).Signingin:knowledgeandactioninnurseryteaching.EthnographyandEducation13(2),204-217.
Tsouvalis,J.(2016).Latour’sobject-orientatedpoliticsforapost-politicalage.GlobalDiscourse6(1-2),26-39.
Tummons,J.(2010).Institutionalethnographyandactor–networktheory:aframeworkforresearchingthe
assessmentoftraineeteachers.EthnographyandEducation5(3):345-357.
Tummons,J.(2019).Educationasamodeofexistence:aLatourianinquiryintoassessmentvalidityinhigher
education.EducationalPhilosophyandTheory.
Tummons,J.,Fournier,C.,Kits,O.andMacleod,A.(2018).Usingtechnologytoaccomplishcomparabilityofprovision
indistributedmedicaleducationinCanada:anactor–networktheoryethnography.StudiesinHigherEducation43(11):
1912-1922.
RuthUnsworth
Assemblingteacherprofessionalism–anethnographicstudy.
Inattemptingtodefineteacherprofessionalismintermsoftheprofessionalbehavioursandbeliefsofteachers,there
haveemergedamyriadofdefinitionsinbothpolicyandacademictheory.Ethnographicresearchaddstothis
discoursebyinvitingustoviewprofessionalbehavioursandbeliefsasrelationallyformedwithinthecultures,
societiesandphysicalworldsofdifferentcollectives(Crang&Cook2007;Nespor1994;Latour&Woolgar1986).
Examinationsoftheinfluenceofknowledgeembodiedwithinthematerialworldoftheteacherofferinsightsintothe
roleofphysical‘signals’(Plum2017),professionalspaces(Clandinin&Connelly1996),documents(Mulcahy2011;
Tummons2014;Barton2017),andthedramaturgicalcreationofglobaltests(Gorur2011)inshapingprofessional
actionsandbeliefs.Yet,inordertofullyunderstandteacherprofessionalism,wemustgainanin-depthviewofhowit
hasbeenassembled.Ifwecan‘unblackbox’(Law1994)asituatediterationofprofessionalismandviewitsconstituent
actorsandtheinterplaybetweenthem,wecanunderstanditscreationandinfluenceitsfuture.
AspartoftheinitialfindingsofanongoingPhDstudy,thispaperofferssuchaviewofteacherprofessionalism.Taking
anactor-networktheoryinformedapproachtoeducationalethnography,whichforegroundstheinterplayofhuman
andnon-humanactorsin‘performingintobeing’actionsandbeliefs,thedataonwhichthispaperisbasedonreports
theprofessionallivesofteachers,leadersandvisitingtrainerswithinoneschool,constructedoveraperiodof4
months.Ethnographic‘deephangingout’(Geertz1998),augmentedthroughsemi-structuredinterviewsand
documentanalysis,enablesthetracingofactor-networksinvolvedintherelationalanddiscursivecreationofthis
iterationofteacherprofessionalism.DrawingontheworkofLatourinactor-networktheoryandtherelational
understandingofactionsandbeliefsofBourdieuandFoucault,thispaperhighlightstheworkoftheactorswithin
teacherprofessionalismandhowtheknowledgetheyembodytranslates,mobilisesandstabilisesteachers’collective
understandingofprofessionalism.Ifwecanaviewtherelationalanddiscursivecreationofasituatediterationof
professionalismandunderstanditsconstituentactorsandtheinterplaybetweenthem,wecancomprehendits
creationandinfluenceitsfuture.Asarelativelyunderusedapproachtoethnographicunderstandingsofteachers’
actionsandvalues,theactor-networktheoryapproachtakenoversanalternative,‘flat’viewofethnographic
fieldwork,inwhichthehumanandnon-humanholdequalimportance.
Barton,D.,2017.Literacy:Anintroductiontotheecologyofwrittenlanguage,JohnWiley&Sons.
Clandinin,D.J.&Connelly,F.M.,1996.Teachers’ProfessionalKnowledgeLandscapes :ofSchools’IStories.
EducationalResearcher,25(3),pp.24–30.
Crang,M.&Cook,I.,2007.DoingethnographiesI.Cook,ed.,London:London :SAGE.
Geertz,C.,1998.DeepHangingOut.TheNewYorkReviewofBooks.
Gorur,R.,2011.ANTonthePISAtrail:Followingthestatisticalpursuitofcertainty.EducationalPhilosophyandTheory,
43(s1),pp.76–93.
Latour,B.&Woolgar,S.,1986.Laboratorylife :theconstructionofscientificfacts[2nded.].S.Woolgar,ed.,Princeton:
Princeton :PrincetonUnivP.
Law,J.,1994.Organizingmodernity,BlackwellOxford.
Mulcahy,D.,2011.Assemblingthe“accomplished”teacher:Theperformativityandpoliticsofprofessionalteaching
standards.EducationalPhilosophyandTheory,43(SUPPL.1),pp.94–113.
Nespor,J.,1994.Knowledgeinmotion-Space,timeandcurriculuminundergraduatephysicsandmanagement
Plum,M.,2017.Signingin:knowledgeandactioninnurseryteaching.EthnographyandEducation,pp.1–14.
Tummons,J.,2014.Professionalstandardsinteachereducation:tracingdiscoursesofprofessionalismthroughthe
analysisoftextbooks.ResearchinPost-CompulsoryEducation,19(4),pp.417–432.
ThijsJanvanSchie
‘Beingadiscovererorbeingdiscovered’;AnethnographicstudyofdevelopmentorientedWaldorfeducationinthe
Philippines
GlobalizationofWaldorfeducationWaldorfeducation,asaconsciousalternativetomainstreameducation,partly
becauseofitsoutspokenideasonpersonaldevelopment,recentlystartedtoglobalize.Thisraisesquestionsabout
howitseducationalprinciplesandpracticesareadaptedlocally.Thispaperaddressesthecomplexityandfrictionof
thisprocessonthebasisofethnographicfieldworkinthePhilippines.Waldorfeducationas‘developmentoriented
education’Early20thcenturyWaldorfeducationwasfoundedinGermanybytheAustrianphilosopherRudolfSteiner.
Waldorf’spedagogyfocusesonbroadpersonaldevelopment,inwhichimportanceisgiventospecificstagesinlife
(seei.a.Lievegoed,2005ortheextensiveoeuvreofSteiner).Developmentisconceptualizedaccordingtotheprincipal
that“ontogenesisrecapitulatesphylogenesis”(Stehlik,2018:219),meaningthatpersonaldevelopmentfollowsthe
historyofmankind.Inthecurriculumthisprincipleisexpressedinhistoricalstoriesandimages,inwhichstudents
couldrecognizethestrugglesoftheirage.AWaldorfSchoolinthePhilippinesThePhilippinesoffersagoodexample
ofacountrywhereWaldorfeducationrecentlyhasobtainedafoothold.
Theschoolthatiscentralinthisstudyopenedin2003.Oneofthedilemmasfortheschooliswhethertocopyapre-
existingEurocentriccurriculumortodevelopanew,localversion.Reformulatingcurricularaspectsisconsidered
difficultsinceitcouldaffecttheschool’scoreidentity.Historyclassesingrade7:‘Beingadiscovererorbeing
discovered’InthePhilippines,aselsewhereinWaldorfschools,7thgradersaretyped‘discoverers’.Attheageof12
theyareabouttoenterpuberty,questiontheauthorityofparentsandteachers,andstarttothinkandjudgefor
themselves.Inhistoryclassesthisdevelopmentalstageismirroredinhistoricalstoriesabout15thand16thcentury
Europe,abouttheRenaissanceandtheAgeofDiscovery.ButcouldFilipinostudentsidentifywithColumbusand
MagellanthewayEuropeanstudentsdo?Aretheythediscoverersorthediscoveredinthesestories?Thisisa
precariousquestioninthehybridculturalcontextofthePhilippines.Teachersfinditaproblemdifficulttocopewith
adequately,alsobecausesofarnoneofthelocalequivalentsseemstobeasatisfactoryalternative(Localalternatives
includestoriesaboutMalaymigrationtothePhilippineArchipelago,the‘Asian’discovererZhengHe,theGalleon
tradebetweenAcapulcoandManilaorthe19thcenturyFilipinoIlustrados’Renaissance.)
Thisstudylinkstotheexhortationsbyeducationalethnographerstonottakeunderlyingstructures,assumptions,and
valuesforgrantedineducation(Delamont2014).Bystudyingalternativeeducationinanunusualsetting,thisstudy
providesa‘mirror’tothingswetendtoqualifyas‘normal’.Furthermoreitcontributestoanacademicdebateabout
whetherornottrendsineducationglobalizeand,ifso,how(seeSpring,2015orAnderson-Levitt,2003).More
specificallyitprovidesacontributiontotheyetlimited,butgrowingbodyofresearchontheglobalizationof
alternativeapproachesineducation,especiallytheglobalizationofWaldorfeducation(otherexamples:Boland,2015
andHoffmann,2016).
Anderson-Levitt,K.(ed.)(2003)LocalMeanings,GlobalSchooling.NewYork:PalgraveMacmillan
Boland,Neil.(2015).“TheGlobalisationofSteinerEducation;SomeConsiderations”.RoSE,Vol.6,pp.192-202
Delamont,S.(2014)KeyThemesintheEthnographyofEducation.LosAngeles:Sage
Hoffmann,Vera(2016).“Creatingplace-basedWaldorffestivals;Anethnographicstudyoffestivalsintwonon-
EuropeanWaldorfschools”.RoSE,Vol.7,no.2,pp.88-104
Lievegoed,Bernhard(2005)(3rded.).PhasesofChildhood;GrowinginBody,SoulandSpirit.Edinburgh:FlorisBooks
Spring,J.(2015)GlobalizationofEducation.NewYork:Routledge
Stehlik,T.(2018).Educationalphilosophyfor21stcenturyteachers.Cham:PalgraveMacmillan.
BegoñaVigoArrazola
Comparingparticularethnographiccasestudiesinaglobalcontext.
Thispaperaimstocontributetothedebateinethnographyresearchtoinfluencetheknowledgebeyondthe
particularethnographiccasesstudied.Theaimistobeabletoidentifycriticalpointsofsuturewithincurrently
hegemonicstructuresinruraleducationexperiencessotheycanbebothunderstood,undermined,challengedand
overcome.
Duringthelastthreedecadesdifferentcountrieshaveexperiencedprofoundchangesinschoolsthroughthe
pressuresofthemarket.AccordingtoBall,anunderstandingofsuchprocessesshould‘addresstheprocessesofre-
contextualizationtorealizethepolicyinspecificnationalandlocalsettings.Ethnographyallowstoimpactonpossible
reformsonparticipationteachingpracticesinruralschools.However,veryfewcomparativeresearchonpolicyacross
differentcountriestendstoconsidertheinfluenceofspaceonthe‘policyaspractice’consideringtheanalysisofdata
collectedfromthoseteachersonwhoseworkpracticessuchpoliciesimpact.Ourmorespecificobjectiveistoidentify
howdifferentethnographicstudiesinfluencetheeducationalknowledgeregardingthesubjectofparticipationinrural
schoolsinaglobalcontext.Thequestionwewillconsidermostis,whatgivesthecomparativeresearchforthe
ethnographicresearchonruralschools?
Thispaperhasconcentratedoncomparativeresearchabouttheparticipationinruralschoolsfromdifferentcountries,
consideringtheopportunitiesthatethnographicresearchcouldgivetoexplainresearchedsituations.Thecomparison
hasbeencentredontheresearchproductionsfromtheethnographiesontheparticipationinruralschoolsinSpain
andSwedenduringtheperiod2008-2017,basedoncrosscaseanalyses.Thepaperalsoconsidersthereviewand
analysisoffourinitialethnographicresearchprojectsintoeducation,carriedoutinrurallocations,privateandpublic
schoolsatdifferenttimes,thatemphasizeparticipationinteachingpractices.Thisanalysisisbasedonshowingfactors
thatmayemergeattherootslevelindifferentruralschoolsandclassroomsfromtheeverydaypracticesofparents,
teachersandpupils.Itcouldpenetratethepolicy-practiceinterfaceandthisisespeciallyimportantintheevaluation
ofeducationalinnovations.
Theresultssofarshowaninnovativeglocalisedresponseontheparticipationinruralschoolsderivednotonlyfrom
differentculturalmediationsateachcountrybutalsofromthesimilarsocialmaterialneedsthatsomeschoolshave
experiencedinbothcountries.Thecomparisonillustrateshowdifferentpolitical,culturalandeducationalcontextsof
thetwocountrieshavepromotedveryinclusiveexperiencesinsomeruralschoolsfromamaterialperspective.The
practicalimplicationsarerelatedtoresearchvalidity.Ethnographiceducationalresearchinglobalandlocalcontexts
couldcontributetogeneralizeandtoformageneralcasenarrativeinaglobalizingworld.
GeoffreyWalford
Whatisgoodautoethnography?Writingintheageoftheselfie.
Thisisamethodologicalpaperthatseekstoencouragethoughtaboutthenatureofautoethnographyandwhichtypes
ofautoethnographymightbemostworthwhile.Thepaperstartswiththeassumptionthatthepurposeofany
academicwritingistomakeacontributiontoknowledge.Thiscontributiontoknowledgemaybetotheory,method,
data,orcritique.
Thepaperwillreviewthevarioustypesofautoethnographicwritingwithineducation,focusinginitiallyonthe
accountsoftheprocessofdoingeducationalresearchwhichstaredtobepublishedinthe1970sand1980s.Mostof
theearlyarticlesandbookchaptersofthistypewerewrittenbyestablishedacademicswhohadalreadypublished
researchthatwasacknowledgedtohavebeenofhighquality.Theymadeacontributiontoknowledgeindiscussing
thepracticalities,compromises,anddifficultiesinvolvedinconductingresearch,andactedasapartialchallengeand
complementtotheresearchmethodstextbooksthenavailable.Thepaperwilldiscussthemeritsandpotential
problemsofsuchaccounts,drawinguponexamplesofsuchwork.
Duringthe1980sand1990sotherformsofautoethnographystartedtobepublishedthatfocusedmoreona
contributiontoknowledgethroughprovidingnewdatarelatedtoeducation.Heretheauthorwroteabouthisorher
experienceasoneexampleofbeing,forexample,ateacher,student,oruniversityacademic.Thepaperwilldiscuss
themeritsandpotentialproblemsofthistypeofaccount,againdrawingonvariouspublishedexamples.
Thepaperwillarguethatworthwhileautoethnography,ofwhatevertype,shouldmeetthecriteriasetforworthwhile
ethnographyassuch.Emphasiswillbegiventotheimportanceofmultiplemethods,long-termengagement,andthe
acknowledgmentofthelimitationsofanystudy.
1
DanaWalker,CarolaynMarín,DeborahRomero,andElisabethVanBeek
StudyingImaginationandCultureinTranslocalYouthRadio:MethodologicalConsiderations
Thispaperexaminesthemethodologicalimplicationsofintegratingethnographywithsociocultural
approachestostudyingimaginationandculture(Zittoun&Glăveanu,2018),intheeducationofimmigrantand
otherhistoricallymarginalizedstudentgroups.1Wegroundouranalysisinayear-longstudyofaschool-based
TranslocalYouthRadioprojectthatconnected13to14year-oldimmigrantandRomastudentsinCataloniaand
Colorado,whowereinvestigatingissuesofconcerntoyouthlocally,andengagingindialogueandsharingtheir
workvirtuallyacrossnationalborders.Aguidingconcernofthestudywastounderstandhowalearningdesign
thatdrawsonimaginationandFundsofIdentity(Esteban-Guitart,2016),canhelpmoveustowardamore
contextualized,culturallyresponsive,andtransformativeeducationforstudentsfromsocialgroupswhose
languages,culturalpractices,andreligionshavebeendevalued,oftenforgenerations,inthewidersociety.
ForthispaperwefocusontheprojectinCatalonia.Studentswentouttothestreets,totheciviccenterand
themall,toconductinterviewsandengageinactivitiesrelatedtotheirinterestsandschool-requiredradio
productions.TheysharedtheirvideosviaInstagramwithschool,family,thepublic,andstudentsinColorado.
Wemapthesemovementsofyouthparticipantsthroughurbanandvirtualspacesovertime,tolearnhow
spatialimaginationcontributedtoshapingtheirsenseofpossibleselvesandspacesofpotentialaction
(Leander&Rowe,2006;Nespor,1997).Welookedforevidenceofstudentsusingtheirimaginationtoconnect
toworldsandselvesoutsideofschool,andhowtheyintroducetheirinterests,identities,andspheresof
experiencetogroupactivitiesandradioproductions(Walker,2018).Theauthorsengagedinparticipant
observationinthetwosites.Ourdatasourcesincludeidentityartifacts(Esteban-Guitart,2012)suchas
geomaps,circlesofsignificantactivities,andnarrativesaboutculturalobjectsbroughtfromhome.Weanalyse
studentInstagramvideos,interviews,andvideorecordingsofgroupinteractionsinproject-relatedactivities.
Thispapercontributestoeducationandethnographybyexaminingtheusefulnessofethnographictheory-
methodforthestudyofthedifficult-to-observe,yetsignificantphenomenaofimaginationineducational
settings.Foryouthtointegrateexperienceswithschool,theymustcarryintotheirhereandnowsomething
fromelsewhere,turning“absence”into“presence.”Adolescentsmustusetheirimaginationtoexpandtheir
socialandsemiotichorizonsastheytravelwithinandbetweeninstitutionalspacesandcreatemeaningsand
experiencesthatcrossboundaries.Wearguethatanethnographytheory-methodisneededtomore
1 Imagination is a dynamic by which a person or a group temporarily leave the here and now of proximal experience to explore a distal experience, in the past, future, or in an alternative world, then bring their explorations back to bear upon, and move forward, the here and now.
2
accuratelydescribetheculturalandcollective-aswellaspersonal-natureofimagination,andtheimportant
roleitplaysineducation.
Akkerman,S.(Ed.)(2018).Imaginationinandbeyondeducation.NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress.
Esteban-Guitart,M.(2012).Towardsamultimethodologicalapproachtoidentificationoffundsofidentity,
smallstoriesandmasternarratives.NarrativeInquiry,22(1),173-179.doi:10.1075/ni.22.1.12est
Esteban-Guitart,M.(2016).Fundsofidentity:connectingmeaningfullearningexperiencesinandoutofschool.
NewYork,NY:CambridgeUniversityPress.
Leander,K.,&Rowe,D.W.(2006).Mappingliteracyspacesinmotion:Arhizomaticanalysisofaclassroom
literacyperformance.ReadingResearchQuarterly,41(4),428-460.
Nespor,J.(1997).Tangledupinschool:Politics,space,bodies,andsignsintheeducationalprocess.Mahwah,
N.J.:L.ErlbaumAssociates.
Walker,D.(2018).“Gettingourspiritsout”:Amicroethnographicexplorationofculturalmemory,personal
sense,andperceivedspaceinYouthRadioArtsforimmigrantyouth.EthnographyandEducation,13(3),286-
307.
Zittoun,T.,&Glăveanu,V.P.(Eds.).(2018).Handbookofimaginationandculture:OxfordUniversityPress.
AnnaWinlund
Learningforschoolandforlife–instructionofrecentlyimmigratedadolescentswithlimitedpreviousformal
schoolingexperiencesinaSwedishintroductoryschool.
Thispaperpresentsfindingsfromanethnographicstudyconductedinagroupofrecentlyimmigratedadolescents
(16-19yearsold)withlimitedpreviousformaleducationwhoaredevelopingbasicliteracyinaSwedishintroductory
school.Literacydevelopmentisnotonlyaboutdevelopingprintliteracy,learninglinguisticexpressions,school
subjectsandgenresofthemain-streamsociety(cf.Janks2008),butalsoaboutunderstandinganddevelopingsocial
behaviorsandrelations(Gee2015).So,besideslearningtoreadandwriteinanadditionallanguage,thesestudents
havetoadapttoformalschoolingpracticesandnavigatetheirwaysintoanewsociety.Thepurposeofthisstudyisto
investigatehowcontextualspecificpractices,inoroutofschool,materializediscursivelyintheinteractionsbetweena
teacherandagroupofstudentswhoaredevelopingbasicliteracy.Theempiricaldataconsistsoffieldnotesand
recordedinteractionsduringaschoolyearaswellastranslatedinterviewswithsomeofthestudentsinthegroup.
Theanalysisshowsexamplesofapedagogythatcanmakethecontextualspecificpracticesinandoutofschool
explicittothestudentsandtherebygivethemroomtodevelopagencyandatthesametimedevelopschool
practices.Thispapermightcontributetotheconferencethroughaperspectivethatisunderstudied:migrant
adolescentswhoaredevelopingliteracyandwhogotoschoolforthefirsttimeintheirlivesinanewsociety.
Thisethnographicstudyfocusesonthenatureofthesestudents’educationaswellasthecultureinthe
classroomandseekstotakeanemicperspectivethroughinterviewsandfieldconversations.Inthatway,I
investigateeverydaypracticesinschoolinrelationtostudents’agencyandtosocialreproduction.Achallenge
worthdiscussingismyroleasaresearchercollectingdatafromadolescentswithwhomIhavenolanguagein
commonandwhohavelimitedabilitiestoreadandwriteinanylanguage.
Gee,JamesPaul.2015.SocialLinguisticsandLiteracies.Ideologyindiscourse.LondonandNewYork:Routledge
Janks,Hilary.2010.LiteracyandPower.LondonandNewYork:Routledge
YangZhao
ParticipationofScottishCountryDancinginLyonandEdinburgh
ThisstudyaimstoexplorehowpeoplepartakeinScottishcountrydancinginEdinburgh,asanexampleina
nativecommunityandinLyon,asanexampleinanon-nativecommunity.Theparticipantsweredancerswith
experienceinScottishdancingandwhogainedpleasurefromScottishdancing.Icollectedandconsideredmy
positionalityandthedialogueinthefieldmypost-fieldworkwasnotfixedintimeandforeverstagnantand
fromanethnographicpointofviewthatIutiliseddanceinitsculturewhichisembodiedinthemymovements.
ThisethnographicresearchconsidersparticipationinScottishcountrydancing:beginnerstomasters,younger
andoldergenerations,Scottishandnon-Scottishpeople.Itincludesdozensofinterviewsincludingcasualchats
anddozensofobservationsand/orparticipationforeachfield(LyonandEdinburgh),questionnaires,aswellas
ethnographicdescriptionsinordertointerpretthesimilaritiesanddifferencesofScottishdanceparticipation
ofgeneralpopulationsbetweenEdinburgh(Easter2017,summer2017,earlyMay2018andwinter2019)and
Lyon(spring2017term),focusedonthreeaspects–theteachingandlearningprocess,dancesandteaching
content,andpeople’ssocialinteractions.Fieldnotesweretranscribedfrommemoryafteracasual
conversationwasheld.
AccordingtoobservationsandinterviewsitseemsthatsmallerInternationalgroups/brancheshaveamore-
friendlyattitudetonewcomersmaybebecauseofdifferentdancesandteachingcontentinballsandclassesin
LyonandEdinburgh.Thefindingsfromthisresearchdemonstratethattheperformativeandsocialaspectsof
dance,asperpetuatedbytheFrenchcommunityinLyonisnotjustforfunbutthedancershavetakenit
seriously,andinEdinburgh,morethanhalfofScottishcountrydancersindancesocietiesareBritish.Forthese
dancersinanativecircumstancetherearedifferencesfromthedancerswhodoScottishcountrydancingin
Lyon.However,thereisnodifferencebetweenthesamedanceinLyonandEdinburghsinceRSCDShas
formalisedthedancesandeverybranch/groupdoesexactlythesamemovementsasthecribsrequire.
Throughthecompletionofthisproject,Iaimtodemonstrate,todancersinLyonandEdinburghinparticular,
thatresearchintosocialdancecandevelopourunderstandingoftheuseoftheartsasaninterfacebetween
peoplefromdifferentculturalbackgrounds.Thecaller(s)orteacher(s),anddancerscouldhelpbuilda
motivationalclimatebybeingfriendlyandniceandtheatmosphereindancesocietiesislikelytoberelatedto
theintensityofteachingcontentandcomplexityofdances,however,thegroupleadersandteachers/callers
mayadjusttheirteachingprocess.Itrecommendsthatfutureresearchcouldpayattentiontohowtoteach
socialdancingwithininstitutionsandtoencouragepeopletoengageindancing.
Membershipandnetworkingmightberelatedtothegoalsandmembership/staffingofthesocieties.The
similaritiesanddifferencesinthetwocitiesshowamoregeneralisedperspectiveofScottishdancegroupsand
demonstrateahighlyorganisedinstitutionaldanceform.So,thismulti-sitedfieldworkmayprovideother
ethnographicstudieswithstrategiestokeepRoyalScottishcountrydanceand/orotherinstitutionaliseddance
membersandexpandthesocietiesinbothnativeandnon-nativesettings.
YanZhu
Areflexiveaccountofmanagingrolesandrelationshipsintheprocessofconductingethnographicfieldworkina
ruralprimaryboardingschoolinChina.
Thisisamethodologicalpaper.Thispaperisdevelopedfrommyethnographicstudy(fivemonths)aboutChinese
children’sunderstandingsandexperiencesoffriendshipswithpeersinthecontextofruralprimaryboardingschool.It
firstlyaimstodiscusstheadvantagesofcombiningparticipantobservationsandinterviewsinthefieldwork,interms
ofexploringcomplexissuesinchildren’severydaylives.Then,itseekstodiscussmyexperiencesintheprocessof
negotiatingmyrolesinrelationshipswithchildren,teachersandschoolauthoritiesinmyethnographicfieldwork.In
theend,itreflectstheethicaldilemmasthatethnographersmightexperienceinChineseeducationalinstitutions.
Therewerefourfindings:1.Acombinationofparticipantobservationandinterviewscansupportresearchersto
targetsomemeaningful‘contradictory’informationtodeepentheunderstandingsofthecomplexityofsomekey
terms(e.g.,friendandfriendship)inchildren’sworld.2.Theways(‘private’waythroughthepersonalnetworkor
‘official’waythroughhigherauthorities)ofgainingresearchpermissionandaccessingthefieldcanshapelocals’
assumptionsoftheresearcher’ssocialidentityandnetwork.3.Relationshipsalwayshaveaudiences.Whenmanaging
relationshipswithteachersandchildren,abalanced‘closeness’and‘distance’doesmatter.4.InChineseeducational
setting,theembeddedConfucianandcollectivistvaluesneedtobeseriouslyconsideredintheprocessofreflecting
thepracticeofethicsinthefield.
Thisresearchcontributestothemethodologicalcalltodevelopadeeperunderstandingofchildhoodviaethnography,
asexpressedinthe“new”paradigmofthesociologyofchildhood.Inthisresearch,ethnographywasshowntobea
usefulmethodforstudyingchildren’srelationships,particularlyindrawingavividpictureofchildren'sexperiencesof
practicinginterpersonalrelationshipsviadailyinteraction.Italsooffersaperspectivetoreflectthepracticesofethics
intheethnographicstudyaboutchildren’sworldinChineseeducationalinstitutions.