No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

The article that follows is timely, and it fills a void in the literature on field research in schools. Much has been reported recently on the impact of teacher behavior and school cfimate on student achievement and behavior. Yet there has been little discussion or detailed analysis of the assumptions underlying the kinds of field-based data-gathering tools used. While variants of ethnographic methods are proliferating in investigations of schooling, the methodology remains for many a mystery. The Hitchcock paper fills this gap. Questions concerning (1) what constitutes a legitimate domain of inquiry, (2) what kinds of data are gathered, (3) how data are recorded and ordered, and (4) how "understandings" are teased from the abundance of field notes are all addressed in a sensitive and straightforward way by Hitchcock. While writing about work conducted in England, his perceptive insights into conducting ethnographic investigation are pertinent to an American setting. It is hoped that this paper will help to increase our understanding of previously published work that uses ethnographic methods and will encourage similar research endeavors in the United States.