This article reviews six programs that have applied anthropological concepts, methods, and research to implementing change in American schools, school districts, and communities. The programs are: (1) the West Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) Free School, an experimental alternative education program that emphasizes freedom, individualized instruction,…

The issue of national recognition for graduate academic departments is discussed with specific reference to educational administration programs. A sample of 47 educational administration departments that hold membership in the University Council for Educational Administration were surveyed. A conceptual approach based on anthropological studies…

This paper summarizes the results of a participant observation study conducted on two public alternative high schools in the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area. Phase I of the study consists of a literature-generated delineation of larger societal factors which create student unrest and give impetus to the development of alternative schools.…

This paper introduces anthropologists to simultaneous equation models and to a powerful technique for estimating such models. Characteristically a simultaneous equations model consists of more than one equation and allows for interaction and joint determinancies between some of the variables. Basically these models apply to situations in which one…

The purpose of this paper is to explore possibilities which one social science, cultural anthropology, might offer for enhancing the professional competence of an instructional consultant. (IC). The IC is perceived as a facilitator of change in schools for purposes of improved instruction. Application of anthropology to education takes two general…

The objective of this study was to discover what has happened as a result of school desegregation. The research was guided by a major premise that the behavior of students in schools is linked to the social environment from which they derive. Hence the research encompassed the total community as a setting of the differences between blacks and…

Exploratory research on some aspects of the cultural theory of education in concept development are reviewed and the research findings are outlined. Three hypotheses tested are 1) that children will have cultural mappings (systems of codes for perception and action) that differ from adults; 2) that children at different ages will show a…

The recent activity of anthropologists whose primary interest are in education and of educators whose orientation is anthropological suggests this division of labor: The first division, "anthropology and education," is the most expansive and the least specific. A second, "anthropology in education," concerns the anthropological presence, whether…

Introduces a collection of papers presented at a symposium on the situationally-specific character of problem-solving practices. Reports that findings provoke speculation about relations among social contexts, knowledge and activity, and relations between school-learned problem-solving techniques and those used in other settings. (KH)

Asserts that the sociology of education is fraught with noncommunicating paradigms. Outlines this paradigm split from a critical theory perspective. Discusses the use of history to support education reform efforts. (CFR)

Reviews nine titles in the subdiscipline of anthropology and education, which include collections of essays and ethnographic analyses. The works deal with anthropological perspectives on education; the methodology of ethnography; the ethnology of education; anthropological perspectives for educating minority populations; and perspectives on school…

This article examines the implementation of educational policy in a religious education program at a Los Angeles Catholic parish. It charts the elimination of Spanish-based classes ("doctrina") for Mexican immigrant children in favor of "English-only" instruction. The article offers insights into the politics of language use in everyday practice…

This book reports on a study of the perceptions of Oklahoma American Indians about their childhood experiences in government and church-sponsored boarding schools. Drawing on symbolic anthropology, the boarding school experience is interpreted to be a complex cultural symbol and symbolic process that contributes to group collectivity and belonging…

The value system of a school is a major factor affecting the teacher's working conditions, but public discourse on educational reform tends to avoid serious discussion of the most deeply embedded values in our educational system. This absence of serious reflection on values limits consideration of alternatives for improving both education and the…

This 27-item bibliography represent the diversity of articles added to the ERIC database from 1983 to 1988 on the uses of ethnography and personal narrative in education. Included are conflicting opinions concerning the appropriateness of using this form of qualitative research to describe accurately problems within the classroom and to prescribe…