Critical Ethnography: Uniting Critical Perspectives With Ethnography - Essay Sample

Introduction

Critical ethnography tends to be a wider approach of ethnography that tries to link or relate the highly detailed analysis of ethnography to the wider social systems and structures of power relationship. Critical ethnography tends to be similar to conventional ethnography since it tries to illicit the subject meanings and capture the subjects point of view. Critical ethnography usually arise out of peoples concern to unite a particular critical conception of cultural and social reproduction to study of a certain social setting or organization. This critical ethnography research also follows the core tenets of ethnographic procedures, such as using the participant's observations in a situation whereby the researcher is considered an observer and participant in a research setting. There are various key elements of critical ethnography. Some of these elements include: first, the critical researchers tend to be politically minded. Secondly, critical ethnographers usually try to change the society. Thirdly, the critical researchers usually try to develop a literal understanding with the research participants they are studying. This study aims to discuss how the elements of critical ethnography are used in the article.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Elements of Critical Ethnography

The critical researcher tends to speak to the audience on behalf of the research participants as a way of empowering the research participants by offering them more power.

In this article, the researcher is delivering the findings of the research to the audience on behalf of the research participants from whom they obtained the results from. The results being delivered are from the research that was trying to assess how the elementary teachers plan and implement the literacy instructions that are under the literacy incentives and policies. The participants of the research in the article, are considered to be the individuals who know how the elementary teachers implement and plan the literacy instruction. However, after receiving the research information, the ethnographic researcher takes the initiative of delivering what was gathered from the participants without specifically allowing the research participant to tell the audience what they think about the issue. When delivering the information to the audience, the ethnographer constantly refers to the participant's feedback on the research topic. In this article, when the researcher is delivering the result, the author constantly refers or quotes what the research participant indicated. For instance, according to the teachers, text dependency and pulling back from the activating background knowledge was encouraged by the teachers in a video that they viewed (Papola, 2014). In this article, when the researcher quotes that article, he is trying to acknowledge the research participants by offering them more power in the research.

The critical ethnographers seek to change the society.

The ethnographers usually conduct research on various issues affecting the society through finding out what exactly is causing a particular effect. The main aim of conducting such research is to bring about change through the implementation of countermeasures that will solve the existing challenges. In this article, trying to identify the teacher's point of view on the issue of teaching under the policy cascades. The ethnographer has conducted the research so that he can identify the challenges experienced when the teachers are teaching under the policy cascaded. The challenges experienced are the once that motivate or help the ethnographer to bring about change through the recommendation of various strategies that are aimed at handling the existing problem. In this article, the ethnographer tries to bring about social change in various ways, that include; first, encouraging the teacher to resist the probable impacts of cascades through navigating the existing policies and mandates. Secondly, utilizing the knowledge that they gain from local experience to create instructional decisions.

The critical researcher tries to create or introduce a literal dialogue with the participants they are studying.

To identify and solve the existing problem within the society, the researcher has to maintain a good relationship with the respondent. The relationship developed helps the researcher to initiate a dialogue that enables him or her to capture the existing problem or setback and also help to come up with the ultimate solution to the existing problem. Absence of dialogue when conducting research makes it hard for the researcher to understand the existing challenge and also to come up with any recommendation to the problem. In this article, the critical researcher has developed a good dialogue with the respondent, which has enabled him to come up with an effective solution to the existing problem. The researcher-initiated the dialogue through the introduction of various data collection methods such as interviewing the teachers. When conducting the interview the researcher and the respondent were able to engage in a conversation which enabled the respondent to open up and give their view on the issue of teaching under policy cascades(Papola, 2014). The dialogue also helped both the researcher and the respondent to give their opinion on the most probable solution to the existing challenge. One of the solution offered include resisting the existing impacts of cascades.

The critical ethnographers tend to challenge the status quo of a particular issue and also ask why it is so.

To identify the existing problem in a particular issue, the researchers have first to challenge its status quo. Once the researchers identified the status quo of the issue, they tend to ask themselves why that particular issue exist. This motivates the researcher to conduct further research and interviews so that he or she can get a clear picture of what is happening. In this article, the critical ethnographer has challenged the status quo of the issue by asking how the elementary teachers plan and implement the literacy instructions that are under literary initiatives and policies. To get the right feedback, the author has interviewed the teachers and also observed how the teachers plan and implement the literacy instructions(Papola, 2014). To create conclusive data concerning the issue, the researcher has been forced to narrow down the issue into various sections such as text dependency questions and text complexity questions. Narrowing down has helped the researcher to identify the exact reason why that problem exists and what exactly should be done to solve the problem.

Conclusion

Critical ethnography is considered to be a wider approach of ethnography that tries to link or relate the highly detailed analysis of ethnography to the broader social systems and structures of power relationship. There are various elements of critical ethnography that have been utilized in the article teaching under policy cascades. These elements include; first, The critical researchers usually intend to create or introduce a literal dialogue with the participants they are studying. Secondly, The critical ethnographers seek to change the society. Thirdly, The critical researcher tends to speak to the audience on behalf of the research participants as a way of empowering the research participants by offering them more power.

Reference

Papola-Ellis, A. (2014). Teaching under Policy Cascades: Common Core and Literacy Instruction. Journal of Language and Literacy Education, 10(1), 166-187. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1030716.pdf