Education - Winter 1998

Education 150 - "Minorities in Higher Education, an Historical Overview"

Instructor:
Francisco J. Hernandez Ph.D.

Class Times:
Tuesday- 3:00-6:30 PM Oakes College Room 102

This course is an historical review and examination of the educational experience of U.S. minorities in higher education. It will include an historical overview of the treatment of minority groups within higher education with special attention to American Indians, Chicanos, Latinos, African Americans, and Asian Americans.

WEEKS ONE and TWO --Through lectures, discussion and readings the students will compare the levels of participation of minority students in different types of higher education institutions including community colleges, private colleges, and research universities. The comparison will include a review of levels of enrollment and graduation as well as numbers of staff and faculty. This initial examination will include levels of participation in degree programs, co-curricular activities, governance structures and curriculum development.

WEEKS THREE and FOUR--Through readings and lecture students will examine the historical treatment of minority students by higher education institutions. Special attention will be given to the development of separate universities for minority group members, (including higher education institutions for women) admissions practices limiting minority enrollments and special programs developed for minority students.

WEEKS FIVE and SIX --Through lectures and readings the students will examine the personal views of minority students as they participated in higher education institutions. Students will discuss biographical and autobiographical materials that detail the experiences of selected minority students.

WEEKS SEVEN and EIGHT--Through lectures and readings the students will examine the efforts on behalf of minority groups to reform higher education. Students will review reform efforts to change admissions policies, to create additional degree programs, and to effect curriculum changes.

WEEKS NINE and TEN--Through guest lectures and class presentations students will critically examine current issues raised by the participation of minority students within colleges and universities. The students will review the issues of admissions, affirmative action, ethnic studies curricula, and multicultural education.

Based on readings on affirmative action, curricular reform, minority programs, "Balkanization", ethnic studies and admissions, students will examine the different viewpoints put forth by selected authors.

Students are expected to attend all class sessions and presentations and to complete all assigned readings, writing assignments and examinations. Writing assignments and examinations will require using information from class presentations, lectures, and reading assignments. Students will complete a group research assignment.

Writing/Classroom assignments 50%

Final examination 25%

Research Project 25%

Priority enrollment is given to education graduate students but graduate students from other department are most welcome to enroll on a space available basis. Interested students should contact the instructor before enrolling.

Margaret Gibson
Education Department
ggibson@cats.ucsc.edu
phone: 459-4740

Course description: This course is designed to introduce graduate students to different qualitative research traditions and to provide experience in designing and conducting small-scale qualitative studies. Special emphasis is given to the ethnographic tradition of research and to ethnographic studies of schooling. Lecture-discussion, readings and student projects will proceed from research design, discussion of grounded theory and the ethics of qualitative field research to issues of reliability, validity and subjectivity in field research, access to field settings, selected data gathering techniques, modes of analysis, and styles of writing. The class will be run as a seminar and enrollment is limited to 15, with priority given to graduate students in education.

1. Complete required readings and written assignments by the date they are due.
2. Participate actively and cooperatively in class discussions and fieldwork exercises. Regular class attendance is expected.
3. Lead discussion of one or more assigned readings.
4. Design, conduct, write-up and report on a small qualitative research project
5. Maintain a course notebook.

Typed work is preferred, although for fieldnotes, journal entries, and short discussion questions handwritten work will be accepted if it is easily legible and in blue or black ink. Students may be asked to revise a written assignment if it is not responsive to the guidelines. All assignments are expected to be of "passing" quality, which for graduate students is the equivalent to a letter grade of "B" or better.

Office Hours: To be arranged

Voice mail, 459-4740; e-mail ggibson@cats.ucsc.edu
Written messages: leave in my mailbox at Crown Faculty Services

1. Bogdan, R.C., and S.K. Biklen. 1992. Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to Theory and Methods. 2d ed.
2. Seidman, I.E. 1991. Interviewing as Qualitative Research. New York: Teachers College Press.
3. Maxwell, J.A. 1996. Qualitative Research Design. SAGE

Readings will be discussed initially on the day they appear in the syllabus. Recurrent themes will be addressed throughout the course.

Written Assignments are due the day they appear in the syllabus. Each Written Assignment should be numbered as in the syllabus.

***NOTE: dates and readings are from Winter 1997; course will be updated somewhat for Winter 1998.

Overview of the course; Personal Data Sheet (please fill out in class)

READINGS:

• B&B text. Chap. 1, in particular pp. 1-3, 29-32, 42-49
• Glesne & Peshkin, Chap 1, in particular pp. 4-11 (#2A)
• In Eisner & Peshkin, pp. 171-73, "Generalizability" and R. Donmoyer "Generalizability and the Single-Case Study," pp.190-97 (#2B)

DISCUSSANT ROLE: On a rotating basis, students will be assigned responsibility for leading discussion of assigned readings. For case studies, discussant should come prepared to (1) review briefly (very briefly) the objectives of the article/study (identify the author's research problem or central research question) and the author's theoretical framework (if apparent). (2) Then proceed to discussion of the research techniques employed and the manner in which the data have been organized and presented in the article. (3) Attention may also be directed to the strengths and limitations of the study (as you see them) and/or to any other points of special significance or interest related to methodology. For example, is the presentation convincing? Did the author provide enough data for her/his conclusions to be believable? How were the data presented? Did the author situate her/himself within the context of the research? What did you learn about doing and writing up qualitative research from reading the article?

Presentation of required readings should take only 5-6 minutes (everyone will have read the article). The purpose is to help focus our in-class discussion of the article. The discussant should be prepared to help lead group discussion (you may want to come with discussion questions in mind).

Presentation of additional readings (Marked ** and to be read only by the discussant) may take somewhat longer.

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT #1: Two or three written discussion questions based on the readings, or suggestions for topics you want us to cover during the quarter.

READINGS:

• B&B chap. 4, pp. 106-28, on Fieldnotes (pp. 111-18 may be skimmed).
• Glesne & Peshkin, Chap 3, "Developing Understanding through PO" (3A)
• R Goodenough, "Small Group Culture" (3B)
• Kinds of Fieldnotes, Spradley (handout, 3C)

Assignment #2: Fieldwork Exercise, Observation.

Part One: (1) Before reading B&B or G&P: Observe for 15-20 minutes in the following setting. Think about the setting, the activity taking place and what it means to the local participants. Think about how to describe what you are observing. Also, try to determine what the shared rules for behavior are and what they may mean. Since this is a familiar scene to UCSC students, it may help to imagine as you observe that you are a stranger to the scene. You may even wish to imagine that you are foreigner on your first visit to the U.S., or possibly any Western country.

Setting: Ride a UCSC shuttle bus

While observing the first time make no written notes. Ideally, ride the shuttle twice, for comparative purposes. Do this before the weekend.

(2) At a later date (at least one hour later and still before reading texts make notes in your notebook (handwritten is ok for now). Make notes on what you observed. Make your notes in your field notebook, or on loose-leaf paper that can later be filed in a field notebook (8 1/2 x 11 paper or smaller). Date your notes (each page) and number each page consecutively.

In making notes wear the hat of field researcher. First, describe what you observed as accurately as possible. Second, try to identify patterns of behavior and the "rules" that appear to be guiding the behavior. Finally, write down your analysis of "shuttle bus riding," including your hunches about the cultural meanings of the riders' behavior.

NOTE: There are many different things which you might observe, but those you might wish to focus on are body language, eye contact; use of space/seating; verbal interaction; what passengers are doing.

Part Two: After reading B&B and G&P on fieldnotes, repeat the assignment. This time take notes (as best you can) while you are riding the shuttle and immediately following. Look at B&B, G&P, for guidance on making fieldnotes.

DUE in class on January 13th: I would like no more than 4 single-spaced typed pages of organized notes, drawn >from your field notes. These should include (1) Observation/Description; (2) Analysis: Patterns and rules; (3) Analysis: your own hunches and interpretation; (4) Reflections. You may also wish to include a brief preamble. The format you choose is up to you.

READINGS: -B&B text, Chapter 2

• Reflections from the Field, Hornberger (handout, 4A)
• S. Bogdewic, "Participant Observation." (4B)
• Gearing and Epstein chap., ex. of microethnography (4C)
• R. Page on "Lower Track Classrooms..." (4D)

Assignment #3, Discussion Questions. Handwritten list of 2-3 questions, issues or comments for discussion arising from the readings for today that you wish to pursue in class; or other topics that you hope we will cover.

IN CLASS: Preliminary discussion of individual fieldwork project plans. Over the next several weeks you will be conducting a set of interviews, ranging from informal interviews, to more in-depth tape recorded interviews, to semi-structured comparative interviews with a a number of informants. Your interviews should revolve around a common research question. Better still, you may wish to identify a location/setting where you can also participate in a "new" culture. In this way, you can practice learning about the culture through a combination techniques--participation, observation and interviewing. Team projects are a possibility. See "Upcoming interview assignments" (handout) and below.

NOTE: Students who wish to do an alternate type of project should make an appointment with me to discuss other possibilities. Those who have not already had experience doing, analyzing and writing up qualitative interviews will be encouraged to do the interview assignments. It is anticipated that some projects will involve observation or even participant observation along with interviewing, while others will rely almost entirely on interviewing. Students with prior experience in both observation and comparative interviewing may wish to consider a project focusing on some other type of or aspect of qualitative research (e.g., conducting a life history or focusing primarily on the data analysis process).

READINGS:

• C. Dicker, "Methodological and conceptual considerations" (5A)
• M. Fine, "Working the Hyphens..." (5B)
• **Fine and Zane chap. on low income women (more on othering)

Assignment #4: Fieldwork Exercise, Observation and FieldnotesStudents should observe at the Whole Earth Restaurant for 20-30 minutes, making notes while you observe. Adopt a note taking system that separates description, from quotations of conversation, from observer comments, and from your own analysis and/or interpretation. As with Assignment #2, look for patterns of behavior, rules that guide these behaviors, and your hunches about meaning. What can we learn about American or California or UCSC or student culture, or the culture of restaurant eating in Santa Cruz, from your observations? You may want to observe more than once, noting how things change as the restaurant becomes more crowded.

Please turn in no more than the equivalent of 3 to 4 typed, single space pages of fieldnotes (along with your actual notes taken in the field). Focus on: (1) Describing patterns of behavior, in particular nature of contact betw/among individuals with respect to physical space, eye contact, verbal exchanges. (2) Look for rules which seem to govern behavior. (3) What hunches can you come up with about the culture you are observing? What can you intuit about shared cultural meanings? (4) Include your Reflections on this assignment. Please number and date your assignments and paginate all written work. Leave a wide right margin for my comments.

READINGS:

• B&B, Chap 3 (Gaining Access); Ch. 4, (pp. 128-152), as you find useful
• Seidman (text), Interviewing as Qualitative Research (pp. 1-45)
• A. Kuzel, Sampling in Qualitative Inquiry (6A)
• A. Lareau, "Appendix: Common Problems in Field Work" (6B)
• Spindler, Criteria for a Good Ethnography of Schooling (Handout, 6C)
• (optional) In Shaffir & Stebbins (McHenry reserve): Read one chap. from Part 1 or Part II (Getting In and Learning the Ropes). Note: skim your chapter to be sure you find it of value. Chapter titles may be misleading.

DUE: Assignment #5: Topic for your Fieldwork Project: What is the question you are interested in investigating? Who will you observe and/or interview? Do you have access to this site/these informants? Is formal permission needed? Does the topic lend itself to the several types of interviews that we will be practicing (see handout)? To what degree does your project involve participation? observation? What are some of the most general level questions that you will use to guide your first informal interview? Do you have/have access to a tape recorder? To a transcriber?

Note: Turn in one copy of the above to me, and keep a copy for yourself.

NOTE: Readings marked with ** are additional readings; I will make a copy for one student to read and present.

READINGS:

• Seidman, Interviewing as Qualitative Research (pp. 46-84)
• Gilchrist, "Key Informant Interviewing" (7A)
• **Fujita & Sano, "...American and Japanese Day-Care Centers"
• **Heath, "Questioning at Home and at School..."

NOTE: If you want to do your first Informal Interview

(Assignment #6) by 1/29, that's fine, if I've approved your topic and you have access. Our experience last year was that the class fell behind the schedule laid out, so by all means begin as soon as you're ready. (see guidelines for Assignment #6, below).

ADDITIONAL READINGS (if and as time permits throughout quarter)

Ethnographic Microanalysis, Erickson's chap. 5, in Le Compte handbook

Discourse Analysis, chap 6, in Le Compte Handbook

Symbolic Interactionism, chap 8, in Le Compte Handbook

Critical Ethnography (w/ Postmodern Considerations), Chap 10 in Le Compte Handbook

Qualitative Evaluation, Chap 16, in Le Compte Handbook

Case Studies, Chap 5 in Lancy

Any other of the materials on reserve at McHenry

READINGS:

• M. Gibson, on school adaptation patterns of West Indians (8A)
• Stiles letter (read in class)
• Wilson, Trauma of Sioux Indian High School Students (8B)

DUE: Assignment #6: Informal Interview (Int. #1): You should use your informant to teach you about how s/he conceptualizes the research problem, question, topic that you have selected as your project. Pick someone who you think will be a 'good' informant. Make a few notes during the interview (to jog your memory later), but write up full notes after you leave the interview. Be sure to ask permission to take notes, and explain to informant that their identity will be protected, what your purpose is for doing the interview. Put informant at ease and be sure you have their permission to interview them. Turn in your interview and/or field notes for me to review.

Note: If your project also involves participant observation, be sure to keep up with fieldnotes. Also keep notes on your experience in the interviews and questions you have about the process. Keep notes on who your informants are (gender, age, status, why you picked this person as an informant, etc.). Use pseudonyms for all informants in work turned in to me, and in class discussion. Project your informants' identity (unless they give you explicit permission to reveal it)

READINGS:

• B&B, pp. 77-78
• Maxwell, Qualitative Research Design, chap. 4; also pp. 73-76, 81-83
• Herr/Anderson, "Oral history.... students' inner voices" (9A)
• Weis, "High School Girls..." (9B)

DUE: Assignment #7: Informal Interview #2A:

Conduct your second informal interview (pick a new informant). Follow the same pattern of having your informant help define your research question from her/his perspective. The goal is to help you form a set of questions to follow up with a broader sample of informants. Take as full notes as you find comfortable during the interview, while also maintaining sufficient rapport and eye contact with your informant. Complete your notes after the interview. Notes need not be turned in, unless you would like some feedback.

Optional: Informal Interview #2B: Have a second short informal interview with informant 1.1, or with a new informant, to follow-up on questions and further develop your "insider's" perspective on the topic.

READINGS:

• On taping interviews: Seidman, pp. 86-89; B&B, pp. 128-31
• In Eisner & Peshkin, pp. 97-99, "Validity" and Wolcott chapter, "On Seeking--and Rejecting--Validity in Qual. Research," pp. 121-35 (10A)
• (Optional) Chap 14, in Le Compte Handbook (on reserve)
• (Optional) Chap 7 in Silverman (on reserve)
• **Deyhle, "Empowerment... Navajo parents and... children"

DUE: Assignment #8: In-depth Interview, Int. #3:

1. Conduct a 40-50 minute interview. Have a set of questions and follow-up probes in mind, but be willing to let your informant take you in new directions that contribute to your general "insider" perspective on your topic. Take notes during interview
2. Following the interview. Complete your interview notes and any fieldnotes.
3. Prepare typed notes to turn in to me. Steps 2 & 3 can be combined.

READINGS:

• Reed-Danahay/Anderson-Levitt, "French teachers images..." (11B)
• **In Handbook if Qual. Research in Ed., G. Jansen and A. Peshkin chap. on "Subjectivity in Qualitative Research"
• Discussion of Consent Forms & Human Subjects Protocol (handouts)

DUE: Assignment #9, Int. #4: Tape Recorded Interview:

1. Conduct a second 40-50 minute interview with a new informant. Take some notes, but also tape record the interview (be sure to get permission from your informant, and to promise her/him anonymity. It's best not to use your informant's name on the tape. S/he should know if you will erase the tape after you have made notes from it. S/he should also know how your notes will be used. Again, have some questions and follow-up probes in mind (and in writing) to help you guide the interview, but use the interview to derive new topics, categories, questions and issues. Be open to your informant taking you in new directions that contribute to your general "insider" perspective on your topic, but also touch on similar questions as in Assignment #8 to determine similarity and differences in informants' perspectives.
2. Complete your interview notes (thoughts about the interview) following the interview; continue your fieldnotes if doing participant observation.
3. Transcribe verbatim (preferably on a computer) the first 15 minutes of the interview (expect this to take you 8 or 9 minutes per minute of tape, depending on quality of tape, your speed in typing, and whether you have access to a transcription machine. After transcribing verbatim the first 15 minutes of the interview, make an outline or notes of the rest (keeping a log of how to go back to passages which you wish to return to, using the tape counter), and taking down verbatim only what you think is especially quotable. Keep track of who was speaking: R = researcher; I = informant (or T for teacher, M for mother, etc., but giving yourself a code key)

NOTE: If you can't finish this assignment on 2/12, it may be turned by 2/14.

READINGS:

• In Eisner & Peshkin, pp. 243-245 "Ethics" and Soltis chapter on "The Ethics of Qualitative Research" (12A)
• M. Punch, "Politics and Ethics in Qualitative Research" (12B)
• Suggestions for oral reports and writing your final paper (handout)

DUE: Assignment #10: Develop a Short Interview Schedule, with open-ended semi-structured questions that are derived from all your earlier interviews and that will allow you to get a comparative perspective on your topic.

State first your larger research question or problem (best to phrase it as a question) and then your specific questions that you will ask in your comparative interviews (Assignment #11). It's helpful to have some "probe" or follow-up questions in mind in case the first response doesn't sufficiently answer the question.

Continue fieldnotes, as appropriate

NOTE: For the next two classes, 2/19, 2/24

(1) I will discuss how I have coded data for my current
research on Mexican high school students;

(2) I'll share examples of how students from 200C in past
years have analyzed their data

(3) we'll discuss computer software programs for qualitative data analysis.

READINGS:

• In Seidman, chap. 8
• In B&B, Chapter 5
• In Maxwell, pp. 77-80

Continue working on your projects

READINGS:

• In Glesne & Peshkin, "Finding Your Story: Data Analysis" (14A)
• (Optional) Chap 5 in Crabtree & Miller, (codebooks; text analysis)
• (Optional) Chap 7, by Reid, in Crabtree & Miller (computer management)
• (Optional) Miles and Huberman, Qualitative Data Analysis
• (Optional) Fielding and Lee, Using Computers in Qualitative Research

DUE: Assignments #11 and #12: Conduct 2 Comparative Interviews, Int. #5, #6 using your interview schedule. Each interviews should last about 30-40 minutes. Take field notes during all interviews. You can also tape record them, but try to take adequate notes that would not require your relying on the tape (for at least two of the interviews).

Note: If you fall behind, you can turn in Int. #6 next class (Feb. 26).

READINGS:

• Maxwell, chap. 7 and Appendix A
• Gibson, brief outline for a proposal (handout)
• Example of a short proposal (handout)

DUE: Assignments #13 and #14: Conduct 2 more Comparative Interviews, Int #7, #8 using your interview schedule. Each interviews should last no more than 30 minutes. Take field notes during all interviews. You can also tape record them, but try to take sufficient notes so that you need not rely on the tape (for at least two of the comp. interviews).

NOTE: If you fall behind, you can turn interviews #7 & #8 on March 3.

READINGS:

• Selected portions of Gibson's Papua New Guinea report on Equity for Female Teachers (16A)
• Zajano & Edelsberg, "Living and writing the researcher-researched relationship" (16B) ____________
• In B&B, Chapter 6

ASSIGNMENT: Continue working on your projects

READINGS:

• In G&P, Chapter 8, on "Writing your story" (17A)
• (optional) Wolcott module on Writing up Qual. Research, or his new text
• (optional) Understanding Ethnographic Texts, Atkinson module

We will spend time in class discussing your questions about writing up your projects.

Begin student presentations on individual field projects: (please have a brief outline of your oral presentation to share)

     1:40 - 2:20  (plan 20 minutes for your report)
     1:40 - 2:00  1. ______________________  2:00 - 2:20 2. ______________________ 
     2:20 - 2:40  DISCUSSION

Class will begin at 12:30 so that we will have time for 4 reports

Oral Reports (each 20 minutes followed by general discussion)

     12:30-12:50  3. _____________________   12:50-1:10  4. _____________________
     1:10-1:30    DISCUSSION                 1:30-1:45   BREAK
     1:45-2:05    5. ______________________  2:05-2:25   6.____________________
     2:25-2:45    DISCUSSION

ASSIGNMENT: Continue working on your analysis and write up

Class will begin at 12:30 so that we will have time for 4 reports

Oral Reports (each 20 minutes followed by general discussion)

     12:30-12:50  7. _____________________   12:50-1:10  8. _____________________
     1:10-1:30    DISCUSSION                 1:30-1:45   BREAK
     1:45-2:05    9. ______________________  2:05-2:25   10.____________________
     2:25-2:45    DISCUSSION

NOTE: This is an extra class in lieu of a final exam: Please let me know if you will not be able to attend

DUE: Readings Evaluation Form (handout)

     CLASS EVALUATION:  1:00-1:20  Fill out Department form
     1:20-1:40  11. _____________________  1:40-2:00  12. _____________________
     2:00-2:20  DISCUSSION

ASSIGNMENT #15: Final Written Papers, which will be the written report of your interview and/or participant observation projects are due in my office by 4:30 p.m. on March 19 or they may be turned in that evening at my house.

NOTE: IF YOU HAVE AN EXAM OR OTHER SCHEDULE CONFLICT ON 3/19, PLEASE LET ME KNOW ASAP. We may be able to reschedule the Potluck.

Revised 7/12/04.