EDUC 893: SEMINAR IN EDUCATIONAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Dr. Evelyn Jacob, Fall 1998

 

COURSE GOALS

This course examines theory and research in educational anthropology and related work from educational sociology, which offer rich and varied approaches to the study of education. Because many of you taking the course will want to use an approach or approaches to culture as part of your conceptual framework for a research study, the course is organized around different ways culture is conceptualized and examined. Using this basic structure, we will examine how scholars have used these different approaches to study (1) the educational engagement and performance of "cultural groups" and (2) classrooms, schools, programs and innovations.

Through this course you will:

1. Know and be able to critically analyze cultural theories as used in research on "cultural groups" and in research on classrooms, schools, programs or innovations.

2. Be able to relate cultural theories and research from educational anthropology and sociology to an educational topic of your choice.

READINGS

Texts (Available in the GMU bookstore)

Davidson, A. L. (1996). Making and molding identity in schools: Student narratives on race, gender, and academic engagement. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Hostetler, J. A., & Huntington, G. E. (1992). Amish children: Education in the family, school, and community. 2nd ed. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Jacob, E., & Jordan, C. (Eds.). (1993). Minority education: Anthropological perspectives. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

MacLeod, J. (1995). Ain't no makin' it: Aspirations and attainment in a low-income neighborhood. Boulder, CO: Westview.

Other Required Readings (Available in a packet in the Copy Shop, Rm. 117 Johnson Center)

Eisenhart, M. (in press). Changing conceptions of culture and ethnographic methodology: Recent thematic shifts and their implications for research on teaching. To appear in V. Richardson (Ed.), The Handbook of Research on Teaching (4th ed.).

Jacob, E. (1987). Qualitative research traditions: A review. Review of Educational Research, 57, pp. 10-18.

Borko, H., & Eisenhart, M. (1986). Students' conceptions of reading and their reading experiences in school. Elementary School Journal 86(5): 589-611.

Muncey, D., & McQuillan, P. (1996). Reform and resistance in schools and classrooms: An ethnographic view of the Coalition for Essential Schools (pp. pp. 3-5, 16-18, and 45-68). New Haven: Yale University Press.

Jacob, E. (1997). Context and cognition: Implications for educational innovators and anthropologists. Anthropology & Education Quarterly 28(1): 3-21.

Gallimore, R., & Goldenberg, C. (1993). Activity settings of early literacy: Home and school factors in children's emergent literacy. In E. Forman, N. Minick, & C. A. Stone (Eds.), Contexts for learning: Sociocultural dynamics in children's development (pp. 315-335). New York: Oxford University Press.

Yackel, E., Cobb, P., & Wood, T. (1991). Small-group interactions as a source of learning opportunities in second-grade mathematics. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 22(5):390-408.

Ogbu, J. (1995). Cultural problems in minority education: Their interpretations and consequences--Part One: Theoretical background. Urban Review, 27: 192-193 (whole article = pp.189-205].

Ogbu, J., & Simons, H. (1998). Voluntary and involuntary minorities: A cultural-ecological theory of school performance with some implications for education. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 29(2): 155-188.

Foley, D. E. (1991). Reconsidering anthropological explanations of ethnic school failure. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 22(1): 60-86.

Gibson, M. (1997). Complicating the immigrant/involuntary minority typology. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 28(8): 431-454.

Mehan, H. (1992). Understanding inequality in schools: The contribution of interpretive studies. Sociology of Education, 65: 1-20.

Luykx, A. (1996) From Indios to Profesionales: Stereotypes and student resistance in Bolivian teacher training. In B. Levinson, D. Foley, & D. Holland (Eds.), The cultural production of the educated person: Critical ethnographies of schooling and local practice (pp. 239-272). Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Nespor, J. (1997). Tangled Up in School (Preface, Introduction, & Ch. 1). Mahweh, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. [NOTE: This reading is not in the course packet. The book is on reserve in Johnson Center Library.]

Jacob, E. (1995). Reflective practice and anthropology in culturally diverse classrooms. Elementary School Journal, 95(4), 451-463.

Jacob, E., Johnson, B., Finley, J., Gurksi, J., & Lavine, R. (1996). One student at a time: A team's cultural inquiry process, Middle School Journal, 27(4): 29-35.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADES

1. Class Participation--30%

Class Discussions. You are expected to read assignments carefully and critically before each class. I will provide questions to help guide your reading, and I expect you to prepare brief written responses to the questions before class. The class will be run as a seminar and you are expected to actively participate in class discussions. Participation will be graded on a regular basis throughout the semester.

Listserv Discussions. I have a listserv set up for this class. You are expected to read postings at least weekly and to actively participate in discussions of them.

Criteria for evaluation of class and electronic discussions: evidence of careful and analytic reading of the assignments, thoughtfulness of questions raised, and the relevance and thoughtfulness of remarks to subjects under discussion.

2. Written Projects--60%

I'd like your written work in the course to provide the opportunity for you to (a) extend and deepen your understanding of different approaches to culture and (b) apply a cultural approach or approaches to an educational topic of particular interest to you. For those of you interested in using an approach to culture as part of your conceptual framework for a research study, you could use the written assignments in this course as a way to build a foundation for that framework.

In order that you get feedback early in your work, I would like you to submit two written projects, with the second building on the first. The first written project (20% of grade) is due Oct. 21, the second written project (40% of grade) is due Dec. 9. The final project needs to involve analytical consideration of the material, not just description. (See suggestions below.)

I will meet with each of you early in the semester to discuss your written projects. After we have an agreement about what you will do for your projects, send me a short email summarizing what you will do for your written projects.

Suggestions for possible written projects:

(1) The first project might involve further examining one approach to culture examined in the first half of class and applying it to a selected topic in education (a possible dissertation topic, for example). The second project might involve examining the same educational topic from two different approaches to culture (presumably including the one examined in the first project) with the goal of evaluating the usefulness of the two "lenses" for your study of the topic.

(2) The first project might be a (descriptive) review of a subset of studies on a particular topic which use one or more cultural approaches. The second project might be an analytic review of a broader set of studies on the same topic with the goal of identifying unresolved questions and areas for future study.

(3) The first project might involve examining an approach to culture in depth, possibly examining how the approach has developed over time. The second project could involve applying that cultural approach to a particular educational topic.

Criteria for evaluation: selection of appropriate topic(s), use of cultural perspective(s), demonstration of thorough and thoughtful command of topic(s) and understanding of the approaches(es) to culture examined, clear organization and writing, analytic and conceptual treatment of topic(s) in second project.

3. Oral Presentations on Written Projects--10%

You will each give a brief presentation to the class of your written projects. The goals of the presentation are to convey to the class what you have learned that is of interest to the whole class, to link your written projects to the ongoing conversations we've had in class, and to get feedback from class members on your work.

Criteria for evaluation: clear and indepth discussion of project, linking it in an appropriate way to required readings; completion of presentation within allotted time.

COURSE OUTLINE


9/2 Introduction to the course.

Holistic Approaches to Culture


9/9 Education within a cultural group (Culture as a "way of life")

9/16 Holistic approaches to cultures constructed in schools

9/30 Culture and cognition: Cultural-historical (Sociocultural) approach

Culture as Ways of Life and Involving Negotiation

10/7 Cultural-ecological theory

10/14 Mid-semester Break

10/21 Reports on First Written Projects

Culture and Social Class: Ways of Life and Negotiation

10/28 Social and cultural reproduction

11/4 Critiques of cultural differences, cultural-ecological approach, and social reproduction

Foley (1991), Reconsidering anthropological explanations of ethnic school failure [re. cultural differences and cultural-ecological approach]
Gibson (1997), Complicating the immigrant/involuntary minority typology [re. cultural-ecological approach]
Mehan (1992), Understanding inequality in schools [re. social reproduction]
 
Related Reading:

Cultural Identity

11/11 Identity and Academic Engagement

Eisenhart (in press), bottom of p. 14 - bottom of p. 24
 
Davidson (1996) book: Introduction, Chs. 1-3, 6, 7-9

Cultural Productions

11/18 Cultural Productions and the Study of Education

Using Various Approaches to Address Educational Puzzlements

11/25 The Cultural Inquiry Process (CIP) and the CIP Web Site

12/2 No Class (AAA meetings) -- Work on Final Projects

12/9 Reports on Second Written Projects. Course Conclusion. Course Evaluations.

OFFICE HOURS


My office is A333 Robinson; my phone is 703-993-3138. My office hours are Mondays and Wednesdays 2:45-3:45 pm and other times by appointment.

My email address is ejacob@gmu.edu. I encourage you to use email to communicate queries to me that do not require face-to-face discussion. I also encourage you to use email to communicate with other members of the class.