Introduction:
During the past two decades, educators and other observers of educational settings have expressed increasing interest in using naturalistic approaches to conduct educational research. One of these approaches is the ethnographic method, a method developed primarily within the fields of cultural anthropology and fieldwork sociology and intended as a means of obtaining in-depth information about the behaviors and beliefs of people in naturally occurring social settings. This course aims to provide students with an understanding of the theoretical perspectives which underlie this methodological approach and of the techniques for and issues in gathering, analyzing, writing-up, and using ethnographic data.
Educational Objectives:
- Understand the theoretical orientations in anthropology and sociology that gave rise to ethnographic research.
- Understand the kinds of questions which have been and can be addressed fruitfully through ethnographic research.
- Understand the place of ethnography in educational research.
- Learn about the data collection methods of ethnographic research.
- Learn about ways ethnographic data can be analyzed.
- Carry out a small research project, requiring the use of ethnographic techniques and the analysis of ethnographic data.
- Learn about ways ethnographic data can be written up and used.
The Instructor
My office hours (Education Rm. 238) for the Spring Semester are: Thurs. 1:30-4 p.m., and Tuesdays, by appointment.You can also reach me at 492-8583 (office) or Margaret.Eisenhart@Colorado.edu (e-mail). If you don't reach me when you call, please leave a message, and I'll return your call as soon as possible. Course Requirements
The course is designed for active participants. Please complete the reading and research assignments on time, so that you may be an informed class participant. I DO give credit for class
participation.There are seven written requirements that will be graded during the course: 1 set of observation guidelines, 1 set of fieldnotes and accompanying journal, 1 set of interview questions, 1 interview transcript and accompanying journal, 2 ethnographic analyses, and 1 final project paper. In order for your fieldnotes and interviews to be informed by class discussion and to be turned in on time, you should arrange to conduct at least 2 observations between Jan. 16-Feb. 13, and 2 interviews between Feb. 13 - Mar. 5. We will discuss these requirements in more detail in class.