Studies in Education and Culture – serie

The subject of this work is a group of young Latinos in Washington D.C. who came to the United States from war-torn Central America between 1980 and 1982. The study examines their rise out of the poverty in which they lived upon their arrival, their experiences with education and employment, and the impact of these encounters on their family and friends. The author discusses the history of Hispanic populations in Washington, D.C.; the effect of educational and career development programs; school ethnography; schooling as one aspect of acculturation; implications of immigration policy for employment; and different levels of opportunity for immigrant men and women. The chronological narrative charts the challenges of resettlement, schooling, job training, work, social and cultural integration, and young adulthood. An index and a substantive bibliography are provided.

Juan Carlos Tedesco, a prominent Argentinean sociologist argues that qualitative studies of education in Latin America represent a major challenge to current research. Latin American qualitative researchers are producing interpretive studies that focus on the realities of current developmental and educational reforms. Indigenous communities, women, students, and teachers are given voice in these studies, which represent the state of Latin American ethnographic, qualitative, and participatory research. This is the first book in English to offer a state-of-the-art collection of educational qualitative research studies in Latin America. The first three chapters present an overview of qualitative research, while the remaining seven chapters provide studies that explore various aspects of education from public schools to informal educational programs.

This volume examines how employees in two manufacturing concerns perceive and perform their jobs, and how the workplace influences employees thinking. Based on extensive fieldwork, the book describes and explores the experiences of daily work. Workers are observed as they interpret instructions, and deal with often contradictory expectations and ambiguous information. The study shows that this process is far more complex than the one portrayed in discussions of skill requirements by managers, expert analysts, and many educators. The book demonstrates that workplaces impart lessons that are at least as powerful as those conveyed in training programs and other official activities. It explores how people acquire an organizational world view that enables them to interpret the rules of the workplace and to perform appropriately. The book also examines how the new worker becomes part of a dynamic community of co-workers. Ethnographic descriptions document variations in the experiences of different workers and the strategies they adopt. The picture that emerges challenges widely held assumptions about the importance of skill requirements at work and the presumed inadequacy of ordinary people to work effectively. This book is especially timely as the nation seeks to reform education to better meet the demands of increased competition, and to address domestic concerns about preparing people for employment. A bibliography of references is included.

This case study of a small independent parent-run program in Milwaukee's inner city, finds that several factors combine to make the school effective: parental involvement at all levels including governance; a clear and shared sense of mission; and a coherent Montessori curriculum that takes children from preschool through the third grade. The study employed data from several surveys of parents, teachers, interviews with participants, and observation over five years. Begun twenty-seven years ago by parents and community members alienated from dysfunctional public schools and still supported mostly by contributions, Highland today is one of only a dozen schools in the United States receiving some of its revenue under a voucher program that provides state funds to independent schools. After an overview of Highland's history, demographics, and measures of success, two chapters examine the school's commitment to diversity, nonviolence, child nurturance, and egalitarianism. Other chapters focus on how Highland involves its parents and how parents alone govern the school, analyze the role of Highland's trustees, and details the school's Montessori curriculum. The final chapter explores the possibility of applying some of Highland's lessons to public school curriculums.

This work examines international strategies of early education and literacy for disadvantaged children, from a cross-cultural perspective. It brings together theoretical insights, the results of empirical research, and experiences with early educational intervention programmes.

Juan Carlos Tedesco, a prominent Argentinean sociologist argues that qualitative studies of education in Latin America represent a major challenge to current research. Latin American qualitative researchers are producing interpretive studies that focus on the realities of current developmental and educational reforms. Indigenous communities, women, students, and teachers are given voice in these studies, which represent the state of Latin American ethnographic, qualitative, and participatory research. This is the first book in English to offer a state-of-the-art collection of educational qualitative research studies in Latin America. The first three chapters present an overview of qualitative research, while the remaining seven chapters provide studies that explore various aspects of education from public schools to informal educational programs.

This work examines international strategies of early education and literacy for disadvantaged children, from a cross-cultural perspective. It brings together theoretical insights, the results of empirical research, and experiences with early educational intervention programmes.