This article draws from a 23-month ethnographic study conducted in mixed-status Mexican homes to detail the particular methodological concerns that arise when conducting research within these legally complex and vulnerable families. Specifically, the analysis illustrates when and why undocumented parents in one focal family asked the ethnographer…

Youth organizing work benefits young people in myriad ways, equipping them with the skills and dispositions to organize around the systemic inequities and policy decisions that threaten their communities. The findings from this life histories study in the Philadelphia Student Union (PSU) reveal that the organization's collectivist leadership model…

An examination of postmodern grounded theory and narrative research methodology philosophies should make us rethink foundational issues in writing assessment design. Postmodern approaches emphasize interpretation and meaning-making, arguing that truths are made rather than found. In fact, many postmodern researchers emphasize the impossibility of…

Focus group interviews and individual interviews were conducted with 47 faculty members and administrators in a rural school district in Western Pennsylvania to determine strategies for consideration when attempting to establish and implement a co-teaching program. Participants were part of a school district in its second year of adopting a…

This qualitative study utilized a meta-ethnographic approach to synthesize findings of five dissertations that focused on distance learning support services. The history of ethnographical studies stemmed from an anthropological background. Researchers have applied ethnographical approaches to examine and document various phenomena. This…

The objective of this article is to present the Pre-Conceptual Map methodology as a formalized way to identify, document, and utilize preconceived assumptions on the part of the researcher in qualitative inquiry. This technique can be used as a stand alone method or in conjunction with other qualitative techniques (i.e., naturalistic inquiry).…

The Pennsylvania High School Coaching Initiative (PAHSCI) seeks to improve student achievement in high-need high schools across Pennsylvania by enhancing the teaching of literacy skills across subject areas. It is ambitious in its scope as a statewide initiative and distinctive in its direct focus on instruction as the pathway to improving…

This article looks at the lessons that a novice qualitative researcher learned from interviewing an adolescent on AIDS education. The data informs us of what can be missed when adolescents are surveyed and not talked "to." As Toni informs us, "They should teach you this." The article points out how reciprocity, responsibility,…

Kensington High School is a neighborhood school located in the Kensington area of Philadelphia. After a successful campaign led by Youth United for Change, Kensington High School was broken up into three small schools, with a fourth to be built. Youth researchers explored the relationships between adults and students in all three of the new small…

The Temple University Center for Vocational Education Professional Personnel Development (PPD), one of three regional centers in Pennsylvania, used qualitative strategies for steering PPD programs. Center personnel found that collecting quantitative data was absolutely necessary to determine whether objectives were being met, but was not always…

In this article, we present a novel way to integrate psychological theories and research methods in an applied social psychology course as a means to foster engagement in a university-community partnership. We taught an advanced course on the application of social psychological theories and research methods to junior and senior undergraduates. Our…

This document contains papers from a Pennsylvania conference on adult and continuing education research. The following papers are included: "Violence against Women: Looking behind the Mask of Incarcerated Batterers" (Irene C. Baird); "Refocusing Faculty Development: The View from an Adult Learning Perspective" (Patricia A.…