Critical Ethnography in a Language Classroom

The chapter discusses a critical mini classroom ethnography as a pedagogical tool for educators working with multilingual learners in K-12 or adult settings. Critical classroom ethnography and culturally responsive instruction in language teaching are discussed. For practicing language educators, a questionnaire, an interview guide, and a reflection template are offered. For pre-service teachers, a structured observation template is included. The suggested tools are discussed in relation to equitable and inclusive educational practices to help develop critical ethnographic skills as they pertain to critically reflective observation which can be utilized by all teachers. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how the mini classroom ethnography's use by a candidate in a language teacher preparation program in the US led to the process of critical and linguistic self-reflection and transformation towards becoming a more culturally responsive and inclusive practitioner.

SCIENCE CLASSROOM PRACTICES IN AN ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS SECONDARY SCHOOL: ADAPTING CLASSROOM ETHNOGRAPHY

This article is a response to the article “Classroom Ethnography: Adapt or Adopt?” The aim of this article is to guide potential local postgraduates on the coding process for the selected classroom ethnography which is not well understood. Qualitative data collection and data analysis were used from a larger ethnographic study. We explored in-depth the influence that culture has on learning science in an Islamic Religious Secondary School form five science classrooms. The ethnographic fieldwork capturing the informants’ beliefs and values central to their distinctive way of life could provide emerging data for understanding the culture sharing group’s learning of science in a period of time. The choice of manual coding attempts to describe the nature of science classroom practices at this Islamic Religious Secondary School science classroom. This article presents findings that adapting classroom ethnography is possible. We found that the students’ initial sources of cultural influence are the nature of science classroom practices.

On and Off Script: A Teacher’s Adaptation of Mandated Curriculum for Refugee Newcomers in an Era of Standardization

English Learners (ELs) make up 9.6% of the total student population in the U.S. (National Center for Education Statistics, 2019). Students with interrupted formal education (SIFE) are a subgroup of ELs who have had at least two fewer years of schooling than their peers, and function at least two years below grade level in reading and mathematics (DeCapua, Smathers, & Tang, 2007). To meet the demands of high stakes testing, schools have been increasingly implementing commercially published, scripted programs for ELs/SIFE (Reeves, 2010). Against this backdrop of the standards-driven and testing-based system, this article reports one of the key findings of a yearlong classroom ethnography of SIFE in an urban public secondary school in the United States, focusing on the experiences of the students and their teacher with two types of curriculum. Drawing on critical theory and culturally relevant/responsive pedagogy, the data tools include classroom observations, interviews with students and the teacher, and the videos of classroom interactions. Findings from our analysis demonstrate that the teacher played an active role in ensuring students learning through her role as a negotiator of the scripted curriculum. This study reaffirms that teachers can find ways to resist the totalizing effects of scripted curriculum.

CLASSROOM ETHNOGRAPHY: ADAPT OR ADOPT?

Ethnography, in general, is a methodology that has been well known to many as conducted to study a culture-sharing group that could provide an understanding of a larger issue. However, ethnographic research in an educational setting is defined as research on and in educational institutions based on participant observation and/or permanent recordings of everyday life in naturally occurring settings. Then again, classroom ethnography who possess a family resemblance to ethnography is not well understood to many qualitative researchers in this region. Its value in the body of knowledge is not well understood also. In order to appreciate the value of this methodology, the history and development of this research with relation to science education could better enlighten the research community of its value and appropriateness in this region rich in its diverse culture and ethnicity. Different scholars have different scope and perspectives in understanding ethnography. The aim of this article is to open up new research directions in research methodologies for potential local postgraduates.

IMPLEMENTASI PENDIDIKAN NILAI MULTIKULTURALISME DALAM PEMBELAJARAN SEJARAH INDOENSIA

Pembelajaran sejarah Indonesia di kelas multikultural, siswa, guru praktek langsung menanamkan nilai pendidikan multikulturalisme dan terciptanya budaya belajar multikultural mampu menghasilkan motivasi siswa tentang Bhineka Tunggal Ika. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode Classroom Etnografi dengan pertanyaan masalah, implementasi pendidikan nilai multikulturalisme dalam pembelajaran sejarah Indonesia. Implementasi dari nilai multikulturalisme pada pembelajaran sejarah, siswa membuat konten video vlog dengan materi sejarah Indonesia seperti toleransi, menjaga keberagaman, plurarisme serta multikultural. Konten ini merupakan salah satu bagian dari pengembangan digitalisasi literasi sebagai alat untuk menangkal perang Cyber yang dikhawatirkan akan memecah belah bangsa dampak hoax.Learning the history of Indonesia in multicultural classes, students, practical teachers instill the value of multicultural education and the creation of a multicultural learning culture capable of producing student motivation about Unity in Diversity. This research uses the Classroom Ethnography method with problem questions, the implementation of multiculturalism value education in learning Indonesian history. Implementation of the value of multiculturalism in history learning, students create video vlog content with Indonesian historical material such as tolerance, maintaining diversity, pluralism and multiculturalism. This content is one part of the development of digitization as a tool to ward off the Cyberwarar which is feared to divide the nation's impact of hoaxes.