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DOCUMENT 'WOMB ED 208 096 UD 021 703 AUTHOR Hynes, Dell H.; And Others TITLE Ethnographic Monitoring of Children's Acquisition of Reading /Language Arts Skills In and Out of the Classroom. Volumes I, II, and III. Final Report. INSTITUTION . Pennsylvania Univ., Philadelphia. Graduate School of Education. SPONS AGENCY National Inst. of Education (ED), Washington, D.C. PUB DATE 5 Feb si NOTE 826p. EDRS PRICE 01'05/PC34 Plus 'Postage. DESCRIPTORS Administrator Bole; ABlack Students; Disadvantaged Youth; Educational Research; Elementaky Secondary Education; English Instruction; *Ethnography; *Language ACquimition; Native Langiage Instruction; Parent Teacher cooperation; Reading Achievement; Reading Instruction; *Reading Skills; *Research .Utilization; School Community Relationship; *Urban Schools; White Students IDENTIFIERS Pennsylvania (Philadelphia); *Philadelphia School District `PA ABSTRACT Student acquisition of reading and language arts skills was monitored etWaographically in a study of several .schools in a largely black setting in Philadelphia,. PennOlvania. Fundamental to this extensive study was the development' and maintenance'of cooperative relationships with the urbpu schoolsdeing investigated. The ethnographic monitoring process itself involvedthree steps: (1) consultation with teachers to !.'.entify issues of concern; (2) observation of behavior relevant to these issues; and (3) the sharing of findings with teachers and school officials. The acquisition of reading and language skills was examined from several perspectives which included community involvement, pari.nt teacher relations, instructional techniques, and administrative effect. It was intended that, the results of these inquiries would be provided to school personnel and regarded as contributions in a mutual research effort. This reciprocal relationship, betVeen researchers aid school personnel was evaluated and suggestions were made to improve theefficad, of their interaction. (IPM) *****#####**********Iltig*MIO******************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that scan made * * from the original document. ********************************************************************* 4 ETHNOGRAPHIC MONITORING or PROJECT: FINAL REPORT VOLUME I a U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION fek EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document his been reproduced as received how the person or organization txlg{IMLng It Li Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quelitv Points of view or opinions stated si this docu merit do not mama* 'cement office' ME position or poky ETHNOGRAPHIC MONITORING OF CHILDREN'S ACQUISITION OF READING/LANGUAGE ARTS slums IN AND OUT OF THE CLASSROOM Dell H. Hymes, Ph.D. Principal Investigator r Final Report to The National Institute of Education Marcia Whiteman., Ph.D. Project Monitor February 5, 1981 TABLE OF CONTENTS vouplE I I. Mode of Inquiry II. Development of Relationships with School III. School Leaders as Participants in Research IV. Individual Reports ,A. Harriet Tubman School: Community Perspectives (Davis) VOLUME II B. Shortridge School and Community: Portrait of the Prin= cipal (Anderson)' C. Shortridge School and Community: Teacher-Parent Rela- tionships (Watkins) D. Shortridge School and Community: Attitudes and Admis- sion to Literacy (Gilt! ) . , E. Shortridge School and Community: Boy's Verbal Abilities (Lussier) F. Spaulding School: Attention and Styles of Interaction (May) VOLUME III C. Commodore School: Teaching Writing: One Teacher's Ex- perience (Woods-Elliot) H. Commodore School:, Unofficial Writing (Fiering) V. General Findings (Smith) VI. Ethnographic Monitoring: A Way to Understanding By Those Who Are Making.Schooling Work 4 I. MODE OF INQUIRY The purpose of this, project has been three-fold: (1) to .contribute to our knowledge ofteaching and learning; (2) to develop and sustain cooperativerelationships with a set of schools in a largely Black urbansetting; (3) to employ a,mode of inquiry compatiblewith the demands of both knowledge and cooperation., Our term for such a mode of inquiry been "ethnographic monitoring" (cf. Hymes 1979). As practiced in this project, ethnographicmonitoring has three steps: (a) consult teachers (or printipals) toidentify an issue of concern to them; in a series of contexts (b) observe behavior relevant to that issue 1 in and out of the classroom; (c) share the findings with theteacher (or principal.). The point of the first step isto ensure that the focus of study is definition of problem meaningful to the school. One does not want to impose a At the that is unrelated to problems perceivedby teachers and principals. knowledge. same time, we believe thatsystematic observation can contLitmlte new That is the purpose of the second step.Teachers and principals have the opportunity to develop insight into theinstruccioriarprocas cf which they vantage are a part, but, like anyof us, must view it'from a particular series of contexts to which point withinit. By tracing behavior through a behavior in the the teacher or principal does nothave access. and by'viewiag issue. One classroom independently,'nne"maybe able to shed new lfght on an oft 2 I cannot and should not conOreer suchfindings only as contributions to knowledge for its own sake, to scholarly literature and careers. The purpose of the k third, step is to make the findings the possession of theschool people who have contributed to theirtdi5covery. The three steps overlap in time. The researchers and the school personnel interact in e'veriety of ways, professional andpersonal. Sometimes there is significant interaction and sharing of finding:in the very midst of observa tion (see the report by WoodsElliotr(IV,G.)). Sometimes preliminary findings stimulate experiments in curriculjim(see Fiering (IV,H.)). Sometimes research stops as all concerned mobilize to opposehe threatened closure of the school end to (see May (IV.F.)). And the end of the project does not imply an interaction. Some ofthe researchers are continuingtheir work, pastthe extended, intensive studies, and forma closing date, so as to provide "Ire School these products will be shared. The several schools, and the Graduate cf Education; see the project as one partof a larger, continuing relationship. (Section II describes this more fully.) The three steps are straightforward,add in themselves may not distinguish understand -this mode of inquiry from others.The logic of the steps, as we them, make; p,sumptions that may notbe generally- shared. These assumptions derive from nthropologyj In starting with iss,_.esLientified by people in the schools, we (a) 4 aSslime th0such people have somaof the knowledge that is sought. In knowledge and describing a ',Unship system, ananthropologist dependsupon, In describing a language, understanding already posst:ss2d byL:s4rticipants. one attempt3 to mcAlci aKnowledge that speakers ofthe language already 3 description may to beyond what implicitly command. To be sure, a complete 4 to-experience the kinship any one person knows or olp say;none will be likely The system or the language from everystandpoint and in every context. anthropologist will attempt to'becomprehensive. And of course he or she will bring to the description an-understandingof what kinship systems and languages for making them explicit. in general are like, togetherwith frames of reference that The point is that the final resultdepends upon knowledge of two.kinds, Both are of the investigator, and thatof those among whom h' inquires. "informant" is being replaced by essential. That is why the older term accurately reflects "'consultant" in'anthropology. The term "consultant" more (III), consul- the' cooperative nature of therelationship. And as will be seen tants may themselves beresearchers. confirm the understandingsalready held by The outcome of research may ti them with an independent a consultant, such as aprincipal or teacher, supporting The final result may complementthe range ofobservations'ard evidence. and evidence to consultant's understandings,bringing to them observations And the result may run counter toprior which he or she did not have access. certain interpretation inone understandings. Issues that seem to have a A dimensions,' when observed in avariety of, setting may take on additional ty settings and'from other pointsof View. The principal. All three kinds of resulthave emerged in this project. knowledge of the humdhrelationships atSuercriige.has a rather finely-tuned and his sense of hisstanding in the situations withwhich he deals (IV.B.), Teachers at Spaulding are in the community islargely confirmed(IV.B.). fine-grained aspects ofattention (IV.Y.).. ware of, andatticulaz:e about, quite 4 At the same 'bile., some occasions of inattention have a content pertinent to .instruction that the classroom situation can prevent teachers from noticing .(IV.F.). Similarly, systematic observation may show. that ate role of writing. in children's lives goeg considerably beyond what usually comes to thenotice of -the teacher (IV.O. Finally, the point of view of other parties to a relationship, and direct observation of ;heir circumstances, may challenge a picture built up without such input (IV.C.). (b) The point of the second step is to ensurethatthe results of the study are true to,phe meanings that events and activitieshave for those whopahicipate in them. Insofar as the behavior/in question is that'of children, one must try to understand its place in the livesof the children.

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