Abstract
This study used ethnographic methods to examine cultural norms regarding inclusion and cooperation at Banner Middle School, in a western U.S. metropolitan area. Banner's students were predominantly working-class Caucasians and Chicanos. Much middle-school and multicultural educational literature calls for the inclusion of students of diverse abilities and race or ethnicity in school and classroom contexts, and for cooperative rather than competitive norms. There was generally powerful and consistent support at Banner for inclusive and cooperative norms at the sociocultural levels of the school as an institution, peer groups, and parents. Two factors stand out in explaining the high degree of inclusion and cooperation: the strong, effective leadership provided by the principal and the cultural congruity of these norms. This study supports the theoretical compatibility of middle-school and multicultural educational philosophy.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexander, William M., and George, Paul S. (1981).The Exemplary Middle School. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Allport, Gordon W. (1954).The Nature of Prejudice. Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Banks, James A. (1991). Multicultural education: For freedom's sake.Educational Leadership 49: 32–36.
Beane, James A. (1990).A Middle School Curriculum: From Rhetoric to Reality. Columbus, OH: National Middle School Association.
Beane, James A., and Lipka, Richard P. (1987).When the Kids Come First: Enhancing Self Esteem. Columbus, OH: National Middle School Association.
Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development (1989).Turning Points: Preparing American Youth for the 21 st Century. New York: Author.
Clark, Sally N., and Clark, Donald C. (1993). Middle level school reform: The rhetoric and the reality.Elementary School Journal 93: 447–460.
Cummins, James (1986). Empowering minority students: A framework for intervention.Harvard Educational Review 56: 18–36.
Davis, B. R. (1984).Evaluation of the Race/Human Relations Program: A Study of Cooperative Learning Strategies. San Diego: San Diego City Schools, Division of Planning, Research and Evaluation. Washington, DC: Eric Document Reproduction Service, ED 256 862.
Deering, Paul D. (1992).An ethnographic study of cooperative learning in a multiethnic working class middle school. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Colorado, Boulder.
Dillon, Deborah R. (1989). Showing them that I want them to learn and that I care about who they are: A microethnography of the social organization of a secondary low-track English-reading classroom.American Educational Research Journal 26: 227–259.
Eisenhart, Margaret A. (1990). Learning to romance: Cultural acquisition in college.Anthropology and Education Quarterly 21: 19–40.
Erickson, Frederick (1982). Taught cognitive learning in its immediate environments: A neglected topic in the anthropology of education.Anthropology and Education Quarterly 13: 149–180.
Erickson, Frederick (1986). Qualitative methods in research on teaching. In M. Wittrock (ed.),Handbook of research on teaching, 3rd ed., pp. 119–161. New York: Macmillan.
Fordham, Signithia (1988).Peer-Proofing Academic Competition Among Black Adolescents: “Acting White” Black American Style. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Phoenix, AZ.
Fordham, Signithia, and Ogbu, John U. (1986). Black student's school success: Coping with the “burden of ‘acting White.’”The Urban Review 18: 176–206.
Geertz, Clifford (1973).The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books
Gilligan, Carol (1982).In a Different Voice. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Goetz, Judith P., and LeCompte, Margaret L. (1984).Ethnography and Qualitative Design in Educational Research. Orlando, FL: Academic Press.
Goldman, Shelley V., and McDermott, Ray (1987). The culture of competition in American schools. In George D. Spindler (ed.),Education and Cultural Process: Anthropological Approaches, 2nd ed., pp. 282–300. Prospect Hts., IL: Waveland Press.
Gonzales, A. (1979).Classroom cooperation and ethnic balance. Paper presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association, New York City.
Heath, Shirley B. (1983).Ways with Words: Language, Life, and Work in Communities and Classrooms. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Johnson, David W., and Johnson, Roger T. (1987).Learning Together and Alone: Cooperative, Competitive and Individualistic Learning, 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Johnson, Roger T., Johnson, David W., Scott, L. E., and Ramolae, B. A. (1985). Effects of singlesex and mixed-sex cooperative interaction on science achievement and attitudes and cross-handicap and cross-sex relationships.Journal of Research in Science Teaching 22: 207–220.
Johnston, J. H. (1992). Climate and culture as mediators of school values and collaborative behavior. In Judith L. Irvin (ed.),Transforming Middle Level Education: Perspectives and Possibilities, pp. 77–92. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Kagan, Spencer (1984). Interpreting Chicano cooperativeness: Methodological and theoretical considerations. In J. L. Martinez and R. H. Mendoza (eds.),Chicano Psychology, 2nd ed. New York: Academic Press.
Kagan, Spencer (1986). Cooperative learning and sociocultural factors in learning. In Bilingual Education Office, California State Department of Education,Beyond Language: Social and Cultural Factors in Schooling Language Minority Students, pp. 231–298. Los Angeles: Author.
Kapferer, Judith L. (1981). Socialization and the symbolic order of the school.Anthropology and Education Quarterly 12: 259–274.
Kochan, Frances K. (1992). A new paradigm of schooling: Connecting school, home and community. In Judith L. Irvin (ed.),Transforming Middle Level Education: Perspectives and Possibilities, pp. 63–71. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Lewis, Anne C. (1990).Making It in the Middle: The Why and How of Excellent Schools for Young Urban Adolescents. New York: Edna McConnell Clark Foundation.
Little Soldier, L. (1989). Cooperative learning and the Native American student.Phi Delta Kappan 71: 161–163.
Mandell, Nancy (1988). The least-adult role in studying children.Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 16: 433–467.
Merten, Don E. (1993). The cultural context of aggression: The transition to junior high school.Anthropology and Education Quarterly 25: 29–43.
National Commission on Excellence in Education (1983).A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform: A Report to the Nation and the Secretary of Education, United States Department of Education. Washington, DC: Author.
Oakes, Jeannie, Quartz, Karen H., Gong, Jennifer, Guiton, Gretchen, and Lipton, Martin (1993). Creating middle schools: Technical, normative, and political considerations.Elementary School Journal 93: 461–480.
Ogbu, John U. (1987). Variability in minority school performance: A problem in search of an explanation.Anthropology and Education Quarterly 18: 312–334.
Ogbu, John U. (1988). Class stratification, race stratification, and schooling. In Lois Weiss (ed.),Class, Race and Gender in American Education, pp. 163–182. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Padilla, Raymond V. (1991).HyperQual Version 4.0. Chandler, AZ: Author.
Philips, Susan U. (1972). Participant structures and communicative competence: Warm Springs children in community and classroom. In Courtney Cazden, Vera P. John, and Dell Hymes (eds.),Functions of Language in the Classroom, pp. 370–394. New York: Teachers College Press.
Scales, Peter (1991).A Portrait of Young Adolescents in the 1990's. Carrboro, NC: Center for Early Adolescence.
Slavin, Robert E. (1983).Cooperative Learning. New York: Longman.
Slavin, Robert E., and Oickle, E. (1981). Effects of cooperative learning teams on student achievement and race relations: Treatment by race interactions.Sociology of Education 54: 174–180.
Spear, Robert C. (1992). Appropriate grouping practices for middle level students. In Judith L. Irvin (ed.),Transforming Middle Level Education: Perspectives and Possibilities, pp. 244–274. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Spindler, George D. (ed.) (1982).Doing the Ethnography of Schooling: Educational Anthropology in Action. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Stevenson, Christopher (1992).Teaching Ten to Fourteen Year Olds. New York: Longman.
Stevenson, Christopher, and Carr, Judy F. (1993).Integrated Studies in the Middle Grades. New York: Teachers College Press.
Strauss, Anselm, and Corbin, Juliet (1990).Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Tharp, Roland G., and Gallimore, Ronald (1988).Rousing Minds to Life: Teaching, Learning, and Schooling in Social Context. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
Trueba, Henry T. (1988). Culturally based explanations of minority student's academic achievement.Anthropology and Education Quarterly 19: 270–287.
U.S. Department of Education (1991).America 2000: An Overview. Washington, DC: Author.
Van Hoose, John, and Strahan, David (1991).Young Adolescent Development and School Practices: Promoting Harmony. Columbus, OH: National Middle School Association.
Webb, Noreen M. (1984). Sex differences in interaction and achievement in cooperative small groups.Journal of Educational Psychology 76: 33–44.
Webb, Noreen M. (1989). Peer interaction and learning in small groups.International Journal of Educational Research 13: 21–40.
Weigel, R. H., Wiser, P. L., and Cook, S. W. (1975). Impact of cooperative learning experiences on cross-ethnic relations and attitudes.Journal of Social Issues 31: 219–245.
Wheelock, Anne (1986). Dropping out: What the research says.Equity and Choice 3: 7–11.
Wheelock, Anne (1992).Crossing the Tracks. New York: New Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Deering, P.D. An ethnographic study of norms of inclusion and cooperation in a multiethnic middle school. Urban Rev 28, 21–39 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02354376
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02354376