Volume five of this expanding series of books draws together a collection of papers based on a particular form of critical ethnography developed by Phil Francis Carspecken and his colleagues at the University of Houston. Each chapter is based on a unique field project conducted in the Houston area which was planned and conducted by its particular author, but each chapter shares and exemplifies a common methodological theory. The Houston version of critical ethnography attempts to deal with some challenges from certain feminist and postmodern writers about the validity of qualitative research, and the authors argue that clear methods and standards exist for conducting qualitative studies such that well supported findings may be distinguished from highly questionable ones. Following an initial chapter by Carspecken which outlines the theory and methodology adopted, are seven case studies which cover such topics as multicultural literature, the supervision of teachers in training, school restructuring, charter schools, and race and standardized testing.

In 1981, Liverpool Council ordered the closure of Croxteth Comprehensive School because of falling rolls. The local residents protested, and when this failed occupied the school and for a year ran it themselves with the help of volunteer teachers. Phil Carspecken was one of those volunteers, and this book, first published in 1991, tells the stor

In 1981, Liverpool Council ordered the closure of Croxteth Comprehensive School because of falling rolls. The local residents protested, and when this failed occupied the school and for a year ran it themselves with the help of volunteer teachers. Phil Carspecken was one of those volunteers, and this book, first published in 1991, tells the stor

In 1981, Liverpool Council ordered the closure of Croxteth Comprehensive School because of falling rolls. The local residents protested, and when this failed occupied the school and for a year ran it themselves with the help of volunteer teachers. Phil Carspecken was one of those volunteers, and this book, first published in 1991, tells the stor

In 1981, Liverpool Council ordered the closure of Croxteth Comprehensive School because of falling rolls. The local residents protested, and when this failed occupied the school and for a year ran it themselves with the help of volunteer teachers. Phil Carspecken was one of those volunteers, and this book, first published in 1991, tells the stor

We conceived of this book with the idea that critical explorations into the key philosophical issues in qualitative research could throw light on distortions, power relations, hidden assumptions and possibilities within the field, and could ultimately provide the groundwork for needed change and new directions. We wanted to do this with rigor, getting underneath the contemporary divisions in qualitative research, first building up philosophy and core concepts and then returning to specific practices in qualitative research. The book, in a way, then, is a statement of hope.We have seen many promising trends in the last few decades as academics from the groups who have traditionally been studied and spoken for in the past – indigenous peoples, women, minorities, gays and lesbians, for example – make their voices heard, as the «other» speaks back, and as the uses to which research is put receive more scrutiny. We see signs that qualitative research may begin to turn the tables on its own history and become a tool for emancipation rather than its opposite.The book is divided into five sections which each focus on different aspects of qualitative methodological practices and the concepts which are inherent in the practices themselves. The editors of this book are experienced with conducting qualitative research and two of the editors teach multiple university courses on research methodology and the social and epistemological theories associated with inquiry. Many of the books available for our courses divide qualitative research into a number of disparate types and then explain philosophical and epistemological positions according to those divisions. In our opinion, such approaches inadequately confront orienting questions of human knowledge implicit to all forms of social research. We intend to produce a new book that exemplifies theory and methods in qualitative research in relation to a sound presentation of social-theoretical core concepts.

Volume five of this expanding series of books draws together a collection of papers based on a particular form of critical ethnography developed by Phil Francis Carspecken and his colleagues at the University of Houston. Each chapter is based on a unique field project conducted in the Houston area which was planned and conducted by its particular author, but each chapter shares and exemplifies a common methodological theory. The Houston version of critical ethnography attempts to deal with some challenges from certain feminist and postmodern writers about the validity of qualitative research, and the authors argue that clear methods and standards exist for conducting qualitative studies such that well supported findings may be distinguished from highly questionable ones. Following an initial chapter by Carspecken which outlines the theory and methodology adopted, are seven case studies which cover such topics as multicultural literature, the supervision of teachers in training, school restructuring, charter schools, and race and standardized testing.

In 1981, Liverpool Council ordered the closure of Croxteth Comprehensive School because of falling rolls. The local residents protested, and when this failed occupied the school and for a year ran it themselves with the help of volunteer teachers. Phil Carspecken was one of those volunteers, and this book, first published in 1991, tells the stor

In 1981, Liverpool Council ordered the closure of Croxteth Comprehensive School because of falling rolls. The local residents protested, and when this failed occupied the school and for a year ran it themselves with the help of volunteer teachers. Phil Carspecken was one of those volunteers, and this book, first published in 1991, tells the stor

In 1981, Liverpool Council ordered the closure of Croxteth Comprehensive School because of falling rolls. The local residents protested, and when this failed occupied the school and for a year ran it themselves with the help of volunteer teachers. Phil Carspecken was one of those volunteers, and this book, first published in 1991, tells the stor

In 1981, Liverpool Council ordered the closure of Croxteth Comprehensive School because of falling rolls. The local residents protested, and when this failed occupied the school and for a year ran it themselves with the help of volunteer teachers. Phil Carspecken was one of those volunteers, and this book, first published in 1991, tells the stor

We conceived of this book with the idea that critical explorations into the key philosophical issues in qualitative research could throw light on distortions, power relations, hidden assumptions and possibilities within the field, and could ultimately provide the groundwork for needed change and new directions. We wanted to do this with rigor, getting underneath the contemporary divisions in qualitative research, first building up philosophy and core concepts and then returning to specific practices in qualitative research. The book, in a way, then, is a statement of hope.We have seen many promising trends in the last few decades as academics from the groups who have traditionally been studied and spoken for in the past – indigenous peoples, women, minorities, gays and lesbians, for example – make their voices heard, as the «other» speaks back, and as the uses to which research is put receive more scrutiny. We see signs that qualitative research may begin to turn the tables on its own history and become a tool for emancipation rather than its opposite.The book is divided into five sections which each focus on different aspects of qualitative methodological practices and the concepts which are inherent in the practices themselves. The editors of this book are experienced with conducting qualitative research and two of the editors teach multiple university courses on research methodology and the social and epistemological theories associated with inquiry. Many of the books available for our courses divide qualitative research into a number of disparate types and then explain philosophical and epistemological positions according to those divisions. In our opinion, such approaches inadequately confront orienting questions of human knowledge implicit to all forms of social research. We intend to produce a new book that exemplifies theory and methods in qualitative research in relation to a sound presentation of social-theoretical core concepts.