AltaMira Press
Pages: 276
Trim: 6 x 9
978-0-7591-0527-0 • Paperback • July 2003 • $63.00 • (£48.00)
Harry F. Wolcott (1929-2012) was professor emeritus in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Oregon and a leading author in anthropology and research methods. Wolcott's major works include anthropological studies of American education: Teachers Versus Technocrats and The Man in the Principal's Office: An Ethnography. He also wrote extensively on fieldwork and writing: Transforming Qualitative Data; The Art of Fieldwork; Ethnography: A Way of Seeing; and Writing Up Qualitative Data and is the author of the more recent Sneaky Kid and Its Aftermath: Ethics and Intimacy in Fieldwork (all published by AltaMira Press).
Part 1 Preface, 2003
Part 2 Foreword
Part 3 About the Author
Part 4 Introduction: Bias at Work: Proceed with Caution
Part 5 Part I. The Case Study as an Event
Chapter 6 Chapter 1: Challenge: The Project's Early Days
Chapter 7 Chapter 2: Response: The Pilot Study's Early Days
Chapter 8 Chapter 3: Challenge: The Pilot Study's Later Days
Chapter 9 Chapter 4: Response: The Project's Later Days
Part 10 Part II. The Case Study as a Class of Events
Chapter 11 Chapter 5: Moieties: A Perspective for Analysis
Chapter 12 Chapter 6: Moieties in Traditional Anthropological Literature
Part 13 Part III. Educator Moieties: An Analysis of the Case and Examination of Education Subculture
Chapter 14 Chapter 7: Educator Moieties: An Overview
Chapter 15 Chapter 8: Educator Moieties: Antithesis and Rivalry
Chapter 16 Chapter 9: Educator Moieties: Reciprocity
Chapter 17 Chapter 10: Educator Moieties: Complementarity
Chapter 18 Chapter 11: Summing Up
Wolcott's characteristic 'left-to-the-jaw' style of humor enlivens this important and pessimistic account of the unbelievable stressful things that educators do to educators in the process of innovation and development. This book surely must be read by every educator, whether teacher or technocrat, whether of higher education or common school sort, now under siege by quality-eschewing, quantifying, input-output budgeting systems, and their legislator proponents.
— Jacquetta Hill; American Anthropologist
Educational administrators from budding principals up should read this book, as should anyone interested in the sociology of schools, the way schools operate, and the ways changes can or cannot be made in schools.
— R. A. McDonald; Interchange
Rich in ethnographic detail, the book provides an incredible array of insights. Wolcott's systematic analysis of teacher and technocrats is fascinating, as well as critical to an understanding and appreciation of the world of the school.
— Arnold J. Keller & Maribeth Durst; The Elementary School Principal
The descriptive narrative is lively, fast paced, and sprinkled with fine irony. It is, in brief, a masterful piece of ethnography.
— Paul A. Pohland & Carolyn J. Wood; Educational Researcher
Includes an updated preface for the new edition.