Very few published materials adequately address what happens at the nexus of applied anthropology and education. The anthropology of education is a well established sub-field of anthropology to the extent that it has a distinct history and is securely housed in a number of highly rated academic institutions. Conversely, a more recent trend of "doing" rather than "teaching" the anthropology of education has become the professional mainstay of many applied anthropologists. In this brief introduction to the novel concept of "Applied Educational Anthropology," we provide a rough sketch of the well-established sub-field. We also offer a brief description of SfAA's response to this recent trend in applied anthropological work in education.
Background/Context This article describes a series of events that brought matters of discipline to the forefront for all concerned at Loyola Middle School, a Catholic Jesuit middle school for disadvantaged Latino boys located in a midwestern city. A narrative of these events will be followed by a brief literature review that illustrates the preponderance of research conducted with a discipline-oriented approach to classroom activity. Research Design This qualitative case study was based on a yearlong ethnographic study and a content analysis of discussions that occurred during weekly faculty meetings. Purpose It will be argued that discipline may not actually deserve the importance it has received. Furthermore, it will be argued that the attention that has thus far focused on discipline has missed essential features of discipline's operation. Highlighting hidden processes of deliberate change involving discipline, the analysis focuses on a secondary tale that begins with actions of teachers that make student behavior horribly visible and then completely invisible. Conclusions The article concludes by linking this analysis to Cremin's definition of education as deliberate efforts to change one's consociates. Extending Garfinkel's classic description of degradation ceremonies, this analysis points out the danger that all participants share in such activities. When degradation ceremonies of individual students become potentially too dangerous for the survival of the school's reputation, it will be shown that deliberate efforts of “succeeding schools” can include “regrading” students.
chat during the cash bar reception after Saturday evening's Business Meeting in San Franciscoleft agreeing with discussant McDermott's comment that if we intend to use culture, we must "Square it with the local uses of the term."
Power and Justice in Schools
By James Mullooly (Columbia u)The participants in the panel, "Transformational Processes in School: Issues of Power, Social Justice and Critical Pedagogy" responded to the call to face up to the "public face of anthropology." As we reconsider our position as anthropologists in society, making clear what we stand for is paramount. The panelists were able to do this by illustrating "educational processes that are transforming schools in vaxious local setting" (Martin). Topics included: teachers becoming more equal to other teachers and administrators (Weiss and Martin), responding to the needs of bilingual populations (Anderson and Lavadenz), preparing students to work against injustice (Smith and Hauser) and reducing violence in schools (Musselwhite). Although most panelists focused on transformative practices (eg, applying conflict resolution to teen violence), studying why teens participate in violence or why this is currently of interest to researchers might also prove fruitful. Problematizing notions of transformation and education in this way indexes the growing role that social justice (eg, liberation education, democratic education and critical pedagogy) plays in schoohg. It reminds us that one cannot merely analyze issues of injustice from a value-free "objective" standpoint. Knowing this, these panelists actively embody the theoretical arguments upon which their data rely. The reflexive quality of these presentations (ie, practicing social justice by describing it) became a potent response to the theme of this year's meeting. In rare moments when word and deed become one, the value of the anthropological practice of ethnography of education is undeniable.
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