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Descriptors:
Instructional Materials; Kindergarten; Ethnography; Foreign Countries; Educational Change; Early Childhood Education; Local Government; Young Children; Qualitative Research; Rural Areas; Educational History; Educational Policy; Mentors; Faculty Development; Social Change; Economic Change; Interviews; Teacher Attitudes; Administrator Attitudes

Abstract:
By far, literature regarding Chinese early childhood education and care (ECEC) has primarily focused on Youeryuan in urban settings. Youeryuan is the everyday Chinese term used for ECEC programs serving children ages three to six, which does include the U.S. version of the kindergarten year. This paper will refer to Youeryuan rather than the Western definitions of preschool or kindergarten so as to maintain authenticity. Furthermore, this paper will focus on the history and development of rural Youeryuan based on a qualitative study of the government-owned, privately operated Youeryuan that represent the current reform initiatives in early childhood in China. Through teacher and administrator interviews, onsite observations using ECERS-R, and school documents, the lead author immersed herself in rural Youeryuan as part of a larger ethnographic study in China in the midst of economic and educational transformations. The findings of this study revealed themes related to increased government investment, improved school policies, the lack of instructional materials, curriculum and instruction issues, local government support for professional development, administrative support for instruction, and the need for mentoring for teachers. (Contains 1 table.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Sexuality; Sexual Identity; Ethnography; Foreign Countries; Criticism; Research Methodology; Epistemology; Self Concept; Internet; Qualitative Research; Mass Media; Disadvantaged; Public Policy; Gender Differences

Abstract:
The paper thematises children's engendering and sexualisation in new media environments, and their ambivalent attitudes toward commercial (porno)sexuality constructions. The inquiry into adaptation to dominant gender identity and sexuality prescriptions in spite of children's ambivalences is contextualised by the critical analysis of grand quantitative survey research in the EU Kids Online II framework. It is argued that gender and sexuality norms introduced by the epistemological, methodological and interpretative input of the research do not transcend the dominant matrices. According to the Slovenian ethnographic research, school children exhibit criticism towards the intrusive and exploitative character of certain new media commercial contents, and this is not included in the analysed referential quantitative survey in any way. As a consequence, childhood remains conceptualised as a state of societal passivity in this context, which brings more disadvantages to girls in new media relations. Besides, the grand quantitative survey research critiqued here supports hypocritical EU sector policies , which have become tolerant of new media-related capital interests, while minors' protection responsibilities are exhibited mainly on a declarative level--as it is the case with the research epistemology under discussion. The same has been established regarding the application of a gender-sensitive approach in the research methodology and interpretation. (Contains 4 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Psychological Patterns; Ethnography; Foreign Countries; Educational Change; Ideology; Religious Cultural Groups; Interaction; Group Dynamics; Role; Social Psychology

Abstract:
Based on an interactionist framework, this article examines how followers of a contemporary Chinese religious movement, Falun Gong, deal with a crisis situation and sustain their conviction in the absence of their charismatic leader. Data were collected during a yearlong ethnography of the Falun Gong in Chicago and Hong Kong. The findings reveal that followers experienced cognitive dissonance as a result of the Chinese authorities' suppression and their leader's disappearance. To cope with the external and internal threats, they engaged in frequent collective actions and discourses. These collective exercises allowed them to act out their shared ideology, reaffirm their ideological mentality, and activate their ideological passion. Through interaction and collective interpretation, followers not only reconstructed meanings out of the confusion, they also romanticized the charisma of their missing leader. This article asserts the critical role of doing ideology in sustaining a movement and integrates an interactionist, social psychological approach into the literature of social movements. (Contains 12 footnotes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Academic Discourse; Critical Literacy; Ethnography; Play; Nonfiction; Young Children; History; History Instruction; Reader Text Relationship; Imagination; Creativity; Emergent Literacy; Literacy; Writing Instruction

Abstract:
This article examines the relationship between literacy and play in six- and seven-year-olds' engagement with non-fiction writing. I draw from a year-long ethnographic study (Erickson, 1986) of a US classroom's "writing time", intentionally structured on children's own interests and enquiries. Rather than strict adherence to monolithic models described in the school region's mandated curriculum and assessments, the children treated genres as porous and used writing as a tool for multi-modal play. In authoring and interacting with non-fiction texts, they blended "real" and "imaginary" worlds as they communed with historical figures on their own terms. Children used play to enquire into and manipulate the parameters of non-fiction, authoring their relationships with knowledge in the process. Through their exchanges with one another, children became familiar with non-fiction topics. At the same time, their play positioned conventional academic discourses as being open to transformation. This article makes an argument for a more synergistic conception of "serious" and "playful" authoring practices, and for the role of play as a component of critical literacy. (Contains 5 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Social Justice; Multicultural Education; Counselor Training; Ethnography; Student Attitudes; Holistic Approach; Graduate Students; Individual Development; Case Studies

Abstract:
Ethnographic fiction is a technique for educating counseling students about the relationship of social justice to counseling practice. Preliminary data indicate it is an effective tool, with counseling students (N = 48) reporting an increased understanding and appreciation of clients' life experiences from a holistic perspective. Furthermore, students reported that they were more motivated to address social justice issues in counseling. (Contains 2 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Writing Assignments; Reading; Comprehension; Persuasive Discourse; Academic Discourse; Writing Processes; College Students; Foreign Students; Asians; English (Second Language); Interviews; Ethnography; Foreign Countries; Classroom Research

Abstract:
This article argues that task representation should be considered as part of the construct of classroom-based academic writing. Task representation is a process that writers move through when creating a unique mental model of the requirements for each new writing task they encounter. Writers' task representations evolve throughout the composing process and continue to change even after a writing assignment is submitted for evaluation. The article presents data from an ethnographic study of an argumentative writing-from-readings assignment given in an academic writing class. The data show that the task representations of the four participants heavily influenced the form and substance of their final written products. It was particularly difficult for these second-language writers to interpret task cues emanating from the teacher and context to understand the boundaries of the writing-from-sources task and construct appropriate task representations. Consequently, two received a score of 0% for plagiarism and one intentionally avoided part of the source use requirement of the writing task. Because the participants' writing performance was partially a result of the accuracy and appropriateness of their task representations, this article argues that task representation should be considered when defining the construct of an academic writing-from-sources assessment. (Contains 2 footnotes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Academic Achievement; Females; Ethnography; Disproportionate Representation; Middle School Students; Science Instruction; Science Education; Science Activities; Communities of Practice; Expertise; Case Studies; Grade 6; Grade 7; Grade 8; Clubs; Science Achievement

Abstract:
The underrepresentation of girls from nondominant backgrounds in the sciences and engineering continues despite recent gains in achievement. This longitudinal ethnographic study traces the identity work that girls from nondominant backgrounds do as they engage in science-related activities across school, club, and home during the middle school years. Building a conceptual argument for identity trajectories, the authors discuss the ongoing, cumulative, and contentious nature of identity work and the mechanisms that foster critical shifts in trajectories. The authors argue that the girls view possible future selves in science when their identity work is recognized, supported, and leveraged toward expanded opportunities for engagement in science. This process yields layered meanings of (possible) selves and of science and reconfigures meaningful participation in science. (Contains 2 tables, 1 figure, and 1 note.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Linguistics; Ideology; Language Minorities; Global Approach; Romance Languages; Finno Ugric Languages; Political Influences; Language Attitudes; Ethnography; Self Concept; Second Language Learning; Foreign Countries; Russian; Spanish

Abstract:
Catalan and Estonian can be considered "medium-sized" languages with some key common features that allow us to analyze the evolution of the two cases comparatively. Firstly, other formerly hegemonic languages (Spanish and Russian, respectively) have historically minoritized them. Secondly, the political equilibrium has now changed in such a way that the "medium-sized" languages have been resituated in the public sphere, regaining some institutional recognition. In turn, this has caused the formerly dominating languages to be resituated too, where a high degree of contact between the two linguistic communities exists. Finally, in the globalization era, ideologies about (minoritized) languages may shift from identity-based values toward more pragmatic and instrumental ones. This article presents ethnographically collected data from both Tallinn and Barcelona (2008-2009), providing a reading of the Catalan case and evolution as seen through the Estonian experience. The study examines language-ideological constructs underlying the discourses of the linguistic groups in contact, how they affect and are affected by the context, how they interact with and co-modify each other and ultimately, how can they affect the process by which a "medium-sized" language may be adopted by "new speakers" and acquires a stable position at the level of its public functions. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Ideology; Language Planning; Language Maintenance; Interviews; Focus Groups; Romance Languages; Ethnography; Languages; Language Minorities; Classification; Cross Cultural Studies; Immersion Programs; Language Attitudes; Native Speakers; Second Language Learning; Social Class

Abstract:
This special issue devoted to Catalonia--one of the most successful and longstanding language movements in Europe--gives a unique opportunity to understand some of the complex social dynamics engendered as language revival unfolds and to appreciate the value of in-depth interviewing, focus groups, and ethnographic work in making sometimes subtle change-in-progress visible. With 30 plus years of proactive language planning behind it, Catalonia is a living laboratory for exploring the social dynamics and ideological transformations set in motion by language normalization projects. For the nearby Basque language advocates with whom the author works, the strong institutional support language revival has enjoyed along with the extensive immersion schooling program (now under some attack), has been a source of envy not easily reproducible in their own context. Nevertheless there are many parallels between the dynamics described for Catalonia and the Basque Autonomous Community. In her commentary to the papers by Pujolar and Gonzalez, Soler, and Frekko in this issue, the author will note some of the parallels but focus more generally on the lessons these studies hold for scholarship on minority language revitalization projects in general. Lessons that have to do with the value of ethnographic work on language ideology; the importance of class as a factor in language revitalization; the challenges of cross national comparison; and the necessity for refining ways of categorizing speakers. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Immigrants; Values; Ethnography; Mexican Americans; Anthropology; Attachment Behavior; Personal Narratives; Family Relationship; Statistical Analysis; Cultural Traits; Qualitative Research

Abstract:
Research on core cultural values has been central to behavioral and clinical research in ethnic groups. "Familismo" is one such construct, theorized as the strong identification and attachment of Hispanic persons with their nuclear and extended families. Our anthropological research on this concept among Mexicans and Mexican immigrants in the United States elaborates the concept, and promotes greater complementarity between quantitative and qualitative data on the topic. Ethnographic work spanning 3 sites over four years reveal that "familismo" as expressed in narratives is a more contested and evocative concept than most quantitative and behavioral literatures tend to suggest. By suggesting that when "familismo" is used in generalizing ways, it neglects the broader significance of nostalgia or of a larger social (extra-familial) connectedness, we do not ignore the need for population-based research. Instead, we hope to forward and crystallize studies of culture change in migrants and to sustain a complementary and simultaneous conversation based on contextual and qualitative data. (Contains 2 tables and 8 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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