The article presents the findings of an ethnographic study carried out among Italian "attrazionisti viaggianti" (fairground and circus people) who lead a nomadic life and work in four Veneto provinces (Padua, Vicenza, Treviso and Venice). Defining parents as "marginalised pedagogues" engaged in the task of enculturating their…

Anthropological suggestions for educational research are contrasted with the psychological and sociological approaches to the study of education. The statement of problems in educational research when education is defined as cultural transmission implies equal interest in all parties involved in educational systems and transactions, as well as in…

Upon visiting her own elementary school, the author reflects on school life today as opposed to that of 30 years ago. In contrast to the author's experience of "playing dead" when performing on stage, these children celebrated life, an indication of a positive attitude lacked by the author. (Author/LHW)

Discusses the history of the "Quarterly," and describes its readership as increasingly tending to include readers outside of university anthropology departments. Invites a wider range of contributors to submit articles, stories, poems, etc. (KH)

Considers the need for critical inquiry into the notion of identity, suggesting that the field might reconsider an approach that moves beyond identity toward consideration of cultural models of self. Cultural theory, multiculturalism, and transcultural comparisons of teacher and learning are suggested as areas where self appears to be a useful…

In the works of Wilhelm von Humboldt education took on a new quality, focusing firmly on the importance of the individual. "Bildung" was to become the principal task with a view to preparing the individual for the requirements of future life. In this article, the author investigates two aspects relating to the "Bildung" of the individual. First,…

This study examines the national division of history teaching in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the war and post-war period. The process of division of schooling into three curricula (Bosnian Serb, Bosnian Croat, and Bosniak) is presented. Representations of other national groups are central in 8th-grade history textbooks used by the three national…

The reason modernity has become a core topic in the field of educational anthropology is because it has caused tremendous changes in education, making the content, the form, and even the concepts and substance of education different from what they were before and creating a historical process that people often describe in terms of…

Several issues related to conducting ethnographic research in schools are explored under 4 criterion headings: 1) appropriateness of the problem; 2) appropriateness of the ethnographer; 3) appropriateness of the research "climate"; and 4) appropriateness of expectations for the completed study. (AUTHOR/NQ)

The articles in the volume on ethnography and education are seen as an attempt to think through the underlying conceptions of ethnographic method in order to provide a context and logic for its application to education. They represent an effort to bridge the gap between anthropological and educational ethnography. Some of the discussions address…

An historic contextualization of the development of educational anthropology provides the frame from within which extant theoretical and methodological issues are critically delimited. Possibilities for future areas of activity and concern are explored, and specific recommendations for future directions are presented (Author)

Comments on the cross-cultural research reported in the two preceding articles on comparisons of a German and American school and Dutch and Israeli teachers. Considers the emphasis on anthropology by the term "educational anthropology." Argues that an educational perspective ought to be valued as well. (LHW)

Questions the use of a large mainframe computer and special software to assist with data analysis. Raises the following three cautions: (1) labor and expense; (2) access and control; and (3) reductionism. (LHW)

Discusses important but relatively neglected themes of the 1954 Carmel Conference on anthropology and education: (1) search for philosophical as well as theoretical articulation of education and anthropology; (2) necessity for sociocultural contextualization of educative process; (3) relation of teaching and learning to life cycle; and (4) nature…

Describes ethnography as a form of research that allows the researcher to be part of daily events within the school setting. This form of research combines the objectivity of an outsider with the sensitivity necessary for understanding settings in which information is exchanged. (KC)