Working at an Elementary School from Different Perspectives
Mirella Saucedo Quevedo
California State University, Fresno
Introduction
Some people will think sociology is a difficult major but it is one of the most interesting majors because it lets you step into a group, take data, analyze it, and understand how that organization or group works. Sociologists conduct studies often in order to gain an understanding of the issue or topic they're researching. The research I conducted was based off an elementary school and I observed and interviewed a principal, custodian, teacher, and secretary. While conducting this research I came across a few things that I found interesting like interviewing someone. For the first part of the project, I found that during the observations the most frequently words used were "restrooms". During the interview portion, I found that the most frequent words was "speaker". Lastly, during the content analysis portion, I found that the most frequent words was "teacher". Overall conducting this research project was fun and I gained knowledge on both the research topic and about the process of conducting a research project.
Literature Review
Sociology is one of the most interesting topics. The ideas that some sociologists have had, have been interesting and useful. You can gain an insight on how they thought by reading their books and readings. Some sociology theories have been interesting and have all come from sociologists, their ideas, and beliefs. Although, I liked some concepts and ideas, I would also run into some concepts and ideas where I wasn't sure how they'd work in the real life. After analyzing these theories, the concepts I was confused about made sense. As society we are fortunate enough that we had people who invented the term sociology because the truth is, it is needed in our daily lives in order to understand why people are the way they are and why society is the way that it is.
The first reading is about symbolic interaction based off Herbert Bloomer and George Mead. Symbolic interaction is something that can be applied to our everyday lives, for example, work and school. These two also believed that through social construction our society is created by people interacting and everything is based off of that. At school you interact with others, at work you interact with others, even going to the store you have to interact with others. A concept these two came up with is imagery which divides into two different concepts, one which is society and this is very valuable and is always changing. An example of this can be politics because people pay to make laws change. The second part of that concept is individual, this is very powerful because it is created by interacting with others. Everywhere you go you will experience social construction because people make and build everything in society.
The second reading I chose to discuss on symbolic interaction based off Goffman and his idea on this. Goffman has three main premises which are: 1. We act on how we define things, 2. We learn about different things by interacting with others, 3. We decide how we interpret something. Goffman also discusses that every person within our society has a role and pressure to perform well. From an early age we are also taught about important roles and not so important roles and because of this we are expected to achieve "good" and impress other people. An example of this can be school because from an early age we are told to attend college, if one doesn't attend, they are seen as lazy or not going anywhere with their life. Some terms Goffman discusses in the text is, the definition of the situation in which we are always trying to impress people with the clothes we wear, the car we drive, the house we live in, etc. another term is the impression management front and backstage. This means for example, if you work at a restaurant you have to be happy with customers but once you go to the kitchen you are unhappy or miserable. Goffman also discusses in the text how you act different when you are with different people for example you don't act the same way when you're with your girlfriend/boyfriend versus when you're with your friends, you act different. Another example can be if you're around rich people you might want to act the same way to fit in but reality is you're not rich so what is happening is misrepresentation because your representing something that you are not. Goffman also mentions the term stigma which is when people are negative towards you because of something you do or are for example people can be negative towards you if you're gay.
The last reading, I chose to discuss was the one about phenomenology and symbolic interactions. The constructionist theory which discusses how things in our society are constructed and built. An example of this could be drunk driving. People always blame the drunk but no one ever talks about other issues or related solutions that can be thought of in a different way. Another example could be why people go to college? It could be to learn and graduate but it can also be to follow orders from the professor. In our society, there are always more than one problem and solutions. The constructionist theory consists of three topics: grounds, warrants, and conclusion. First, grounds, which is the people affected, can also ask "what?" an example to this can be college students and debt. Second, is warrants, which is the change over time, can also ask "why?" and is the values and emotions. Third, conclusions, which is what you should do. This last one can also be the action that needs to be taken because of grounds and warrants. An example of this could be giving students loan debit or forget. These concepts and terms suggest we look at other alternatives and solutions within our societies. An exercise we did in class was to look around the room and act as if we had never been in the room and did not know it was for teaching, what would we think it was for? Some possible explanations I gave was that people would face forward so see the white board and did not want to be distracted by the widows that were open.
In conclusion, it is important we study these theories and terms because it is the only way we can understand why our society is the way it is and why people behave and act the way they do. Within these weeks I have studied a lot of symbolic interaction theories from different sociologists and I have also retained their concepts and theories. All of these concepts and terms are necessary for us to know as they pertain to how and why our society works the way it does.
Methods: Ethnography
The first observation I completed was observing the secretary on November 1st at 2:15pm through 3pm. I observed the secretary when she was in the school's office and she was sitting at her desk. The second observation I conducted was on the principal on November 2nd at about 12pm-12:45pm. I observed the principal while he was in his office. The third observation I conducted was on the teacher on November 2nd at 2pm-2:45pm. I observed the teacher while she stood outside her classroom and while she was inside her classroom. The last observation I conducted was on the schools evening custodian on November 8th at 6pm-6:45pm. I observed the custodian while he vacuumed a classroom and library. In addition, I also observed him while he cleaned a bathroom.
During my observation I tried to get a lot of details from what I was observing. The theories I used to tie sociology and these work positions together were definition of the situation, frontstage/backstage, roles, statuses, and thick description. Then, I used Nvivo to analyze the data I collected. After using Nvivo I was able to create nodes for the data collected and word queries, which is like a word frequency tracker.
Collecting the data during my observation went smooth. The people who I observed are employed by the school that I also work at, so I have talked to most of the people before the observation. I did this research through the observation method as a way to collect my data because all the people I observed were in a quiet space at the time either an office or a closed room. In addition, I felt more comfortable with just observing them. By just observing what they did and what their work place looked like I was able to get a lot of field notes that were useful for the research.
Methods: Interviews
The first interview I conducted was on the secretary. I interviewed her in a quiet room within the school's office. The second interview I conducted was of the teacher. This interview was done in her classroom, after school, once all her students had left. The last interview I conducted was of the custodian. This interview was done in the library after the custodian had vacuumed.
While I interviewed, I tried to get the interviewees to answer with as much detail as possible. The theories I used to tie sociology with these job positions within a school were the definition of the situation, front stage, backstage, roles, status, and role exit. After I identified these theories with the job positions, I used Nvivo to analyze the data I collected. After using Nvivo I was able to categorize the data I collected into categories about theories and word queries.
The only problem I came across while conducting interviews was that since my participants work at a school, they had a whole week off for thanksgiving break. This set me back a little bit, but everything else went well. All of the people I interviewed I knew so I felt comfortable talking to them and listening to what they had to say. I did this research using the interview method and I transcribed the audio afterwards, in order to collect my data. Interviewing my participants was easier than I thought it would be. It's basically having a conversation with someone except you're recording yourself, the person, and the conversation.
Methods: Content Analysis
The first step to analyzing the school and district documents was to obtain any kind of document file. It could be pdf files or even on the internet using the Nvivo software Ncapture. Once I found all of the sources, I needed I went on to uploading them to Nvivo. The theories I used to tie sociology with these documents were claims, typifications, grounds/warrants/conclusions, framing, and controlling images. After I identified the quotes with the appropriate theories, I then was able to use Nvivo to categorize that data I collected into categories about theories and word queries.
Some problems I came across during my project was some of the documents I downloaded had a lot of useful information and enough detail while other documents did not have as much information or detail. The second problem I came across was that I was unable to find thirty sources for the elementary I chose to study. This might have been because the school itself and the district it belongs to are small. Analyzing sources was difficult than I had anticipated. I found this to be the most challenging part of my research project.
Ethnography is the first main topic that makes up a qualitative research project. In order to move on to the other parts that make up the research you first need to start with the ethnography portion. During this section, the researcher must figure out what he or she would like to study. During this phase the research must acknowledge the future and make sure the topic will not be a problem to study. In addition, during this time the researcher should interact with the group they choose to study. This will not only familiarize them with the group but it will also help the researcher identify important people from their group. An important person is a gate keeper, which,, is someone who can help the research get into the group and knows everything about the group (Warren & Karner, 2010). It is important to have a gate keeper as they can guide you through the group if any issues arise. Another important person to have within a group is a key informant. The key informant can be the same person as the gate keeper but it can be someone who also knows their way around the group and can connect you with people who would be of value to the study (Warren & Karner, 2010). The most important part of the ethnography section of your research is the type of method used to gather data. This includes go-along, tour narratives, shadowing, and observing. (Warren & Karner, 2010). During go-alongs, the researcher walks with the person. During tour narratives, the research conducts short videotaping. During shadowing the research follows the person around and acts like the. During observing, the research only observes the person. During all these it'd be useful to take notes as sometimes going based off memory can be difficult.
The interview is the second part of what makes up a qualitative research study. It is important to gather the information needed in the ethnography portion as it can be seen as a way to gather data and also get to know the group you are studying. This is helpful to know which questions to ask. Interviews are important to a qualitative research study because it is important information that the researcher can use as theoretical import (Warren & Karner, 2010). Interviews recordings are a collection of data and should be used appropriately, such as, having a conversation rather than asking and responding. In order to conduct a successful interview, the interviewer should connect with the interviewee by asking questions and following through after the interviewee has responded. For example, the interviewer asked a question, the interviewee responded, now the interviewer says, "okay, how does that make you feel?" (Warren & Karner, 2010). In other words, using ethics and probes. It is extremely important a researcher acknowledges the interviewee's feelings as they can be asked questions that may make them feel emotional even though the interviewer may not think it's a big deal (Warren & Karner, 2010). This not only helps the interview run smoothly but, it also lets the interviewee know you're listening. The last part of the interview section is transcribing the interview recording. It is important that a researcher record the interview because if the researcher bases data off memory there is bound to be a mix up of information and taking notes would take more energy than required (Warren & Karner, 2010). There are different apps and websites now that help you transcribe an audio file rather than doing it by hand (Warren & Karner, 2010). After the researcher transcribes the audio, they are ready to use the data on NVivo.
The last part of what makes up a qualitative research project is the content analysis. It is important that the two previous steps are taken in order for this part of the research to run smooth. In order to get started on the content analysis the researcher must gather sources that pertain to the research topic or group. Sources include magazines, newspapers, images, internet, videos, and historical documents (Warren & Karner, 2010). When using the internet the researcher can use websites blogs, and photo sharing websites (Warren & Karner, 2010). These sources are analyzed through culture which means that everything that is surrounds us represents some type of culture (Warren & Karner, 2010). Researchers study these sources the same way that they have studied observations and interviews as it is all part of the research process. A picture can mean a thousand words, which is why the images ad sources chosen must make sense to the researcher and also be on the lines of what the research is about or the research can suffer greatly as it doesn't have a purpose or context within it (Warren & Karner, 2010). If sources are gathered from the internet the researcher should treat all information as it were real in order to get the most out of sources from the internet (Warren & Karner, 2010). Sometimes we go on the web and are cautious about what we read and see as they might not be facts but as qualitative researchers it is important, we think of everything as useful as long as it pertains to the topic being studied or group being studied (Warren & Karner, 2010). The next step in content analysis is to analyze the data collected and upload all the sources onto Nvivo in order to start collecting data and find results.
Analysis: Ethnography
The first theory I used to tie sociology into my project was the definition of the situation. When I ran a query for the definition of the situation the most frequently used words were "restrooms" with 5.19% and "explained" with 3.90%. For this theory I was able to get three quotes that I felt described the definition of the situation perfectly.
"As I walked into her class, I noticed she was standing outside with a basket filled with pears and plums, which she left right beside her door. When I asked her where she'd get the fruit from, she said she would get it from left over breakfast fruit. She explained that she lets students eat a fruit on breaks or if they get hungry while lea rning."
I felt this first quote tied back to the definition of the situation because from another person's perspective she could just be giving out fruit but her story for giving out the fruit goes further than just what's on the outside. I believe this because she's a teacher and understands that some children unfortunately do not have the resources to eat all three meals at home. The second quote that ties back to the definition of the situation is
"While observing her classroom I noticed she had a small fridge, printer, and microwave. I noticed these things in her room because I'd assume, they'd provide these things for staff in the staff room. The teacher explained to me that she has these things in her room because the staff room is too far from her room and she has the microwave in there so she can heat up her food and eat it comfortably in her room with her fellow teachers."
I picked this second quote because it talks about her perspective as an employee and how she feels more comfortable eating from her classroom than the staff room. The last quote I chose for the definition of the situation was,
"On the other side of her desk she has a lot of pictures. These pictures are of a baby, toddler, young boy, and a pre-teen boy." "All of these boys in the picture looks like the same boy but throughout the years."
I thought this quote was a good example of the definition of the situation because from a visitors perspective they would have only seen pictures of different aged boys that could've been the secretary's sons. From my perspective, as an observer, those young different aged boys were only one boy whose pictures were from when he was in kindergarten through current grade.
The second theory I used to tie sociology into my project was frontstage and backstage. When I ran queries for each node, I found that for frontstage and backstage the most frequently words used were "restrooms" with 5.19% and "explained" with 3.90%. For this theory, I was able to get three quotes that I felt described frontstage and backstage perfectly. The first quote is,
"Before we actually went into the restrooms, the custodian explained to me that it was going to be messy and smelly. He didn't seem too happy about cleaning the restrooms and complained about how the 4th and 5th grade boys often just play around in the restroom instead of using it properly. He explained that sometimes the restrooms are flooded, wet toilet paper on the ceilings, feces in the urinals or urine on the floor."
This quote is a perfect example of frontstage and backstage because front stage the custodian seemed like he is happy with his job and enjoys working as a custodian. During backstage he seemed to hate his job, or at least the part where he has to clean the dirty bathrooms. The second quote that I thought related to frontstage and backstage was,
"While observing her I noticed she was on the computer working on payroll but kept getting interrupted by parents and employees."
I chose this quote because the secretary seemed so happy and cheerful while she talked to parents but during backstage, she seemed stressed and had to multitask in order to get two jobs done at once. The last quote I chose was,
"Teacher explained to me they've been studying hard for the benchmark tests and students even complain to her that they have not learned anything."
This is the last quote I chose that represented frontstage and backstage because frontstage the teacher seems happy to study for the exams but during backstage, she isn't too happy and she would rather have regular teaching sessions where students learn new material, than having to study for the benchmark tests. In addition, I ran a query between frontstage/backstage and the definition of the situation, the most frequent words used were "room" with 3.64% and "boy" with 3.03%.
The third theory I chose to tie sociology into my project was status. When I ran a query for status the most frequently used words were "black" with 9.80% and "wearing" with 9.80%. For this theory I was able to get three quotes that I felt described the status perfectly. The first quote is,
"The custodian was wearing a blue uniform for working"
This quote describes what the custodian is wearing which is a uniform that custodian wears. In addition, this uniform can identify the custodians on campus. The second quote I found was,
"The principal is dressed professionally and is wearing black slacks, dressy shoes, and is wearing a tucked in polo shirt that has the school's mascot."
This quote is a good example of what status is because the principal is wearing clothes that is professional for his work as a principal, you wouldn't see him working in shorts and Nike shoes. The last quote I found was,
"The secretary is wearing pantyhose with a knee length skirt, black blouse, a thin cardigan, and tall heeled black boots. She is dressed professionally and appropriate for her job."
This quote explains how the teacher was dressed professionally. Every position has its own dress code that pertains to a specific job or status. Afterall, it would be interesting if the president of our school showed up for work in khaki pants, levi's tank top, and some sandals.
The fourth theory that ties my project with sociology is roles. When I ran a query for roles the most frequently used words were "principal" with 8.96% and "teacher" with 8.96%. For this theory I was able to get three quotes I felt described social construction perfectly. The first quote is,
"Before I finished the principal's observation someone called the principal on the walkie talkie asking if the principal wanted them to put all the tables down or only half."
This quote explains the duties of both the principal and custodian because a principals job is to direct the custodians and the custodians job is to ask the principal if they have any questions. The second quote I found is,
"A teacher came into the teacher's room and they're discussing lesson planning."
This quote ties back to the theory roles because it's in a teachers job description to lesson plan for the days that follow. The last quote I chose is,
"Some of the secretary's duties that I have seen her do is answer phone calls, communicate with vice principal and principal, guides substitute teachers and substitute employees."
This quote is a perfect example of roles because the secretary does all these things as part of her job as a secretary. In addition, after I ran a query with both the theories roles and the definition of the situation the words "room" came up the most with 5.18% and "teacher" with 5.16%.
The fifth node I focused on was thick description. When I ran a query for thick description the most frequently used words were "office" with 3.28% and "black" with 1.77%. For thick description, I was able to get three quotes that I felt described what thick description is. The first quote is,
"One thing I noticed about what the custodian would do to clean the room was he would turn the rubber mats upside down and throw the dirt that was on the mat onto the carpet and vacuum that dirt that landed on the carpet."
I chose this as my first quote because I thought it was interesting how the custodian flipped over the mat and threw the dirt on the carpet then, vacuumed it. This is a good way of cleaning as he is trying to get every detail when he vacuums. The second quote I chose is,
"Some classroom jobs in the teacher's class is breakfast monitor, light monitor, door monitor, line leader caboose, computer monitor, teacher helper, pencil sharpener, and substitute. She also has two shelves filled with books. In one corner of her room she has black and white pillows. Two of those pillows say "Hi". The other two pillows are two big pencil pillows. On a small chalk board, she wrote "welcome to 3rd grade." In her classroom, there are six tables and on each table, there is one basket filled with white boards."
This is a good example of thick description because I was able to look at every detail in the teacher's class. I was also able to look at these labels in her classroom and come to the conclusion that she has roles and statuses in her classrooms. The last quote I chose is,
"Her classroom has a lot of black in it. It has black curtains, black back drops on posters, black bulletins, and black crates. In her class room she has twelve caddies filled with rulers, markers, and glue sticks. I'm assuming each table gets 2 caddies."
This is another good example of thick description because I came to the conclusion that the teacher had a theme color in her classroom and it was black. She had black backdrops, curtains, crates, etc.
Analysis: Interview
The first theory I used to tie sociology with my interview project was the definition of the situation. When I ran a query for this theory the most frequent words that came up were "speaker" with 14.33% and "like" with 3.22%. In addition, I was able to obtain three quotes that describe the theory very well,
"Interviewer:
What does being a teacher mean to you?
Interviewee: mmm
Being a teacher is what I've always wanted to be.
Interviewer:Really.
Interviewee:
Yeah I found like journals from not when I was in third grade it says I want to be a teacher a teacher or a marine biologist but being in ______ that's not realistic.
Interviewee:
We're not really close to the marine. Marina.
Interviewee:
Yeah yeah I've always wanted to be a teacher I always had really good elementary teachers that always wanted inspired me to be a teacher."
I chose this first quote because the teacher is explaining why being a teacher means a lot to her. This ultimately is giving the definition of what the term means. It's important for someone's job to mean something to them because if their job doesn't mean anything to them then they will not take their job serious. The second quote that ties to the definition of the situation is
"Interviewer:
So you've never been to another district then?
Interviwee:
No no this was it my parents used to work here for the district also.
Interviewer:
Interviewee:
Years ago yeah my mom and dad put in thirty years each so.
Interviewee:
We have a name in the district I guess that qualified help me get my job.
Interviewee:
Always use all the help we can get huh yeah."
I chose this second quote because the custodian is stating that working for the school district is meaningful to him because of the fact that his parents worked for the district for more than thirty years. The last quote I chose was,
"Interviewee:
My godmother well she was also a teacher.
Interviewer: oh okay.
Interviewee:
And she should always give me books for Christmas and I used to hate cause I'd say aww she's going to give me another book and another book and she was like oh you have to read mija because you have to read reading is going to get you places. And I was like aww
Interviewee:
Another book and now here I am now it's me telling the kids you have to read you have to read reading is going to get you places so it's just like circle of life type thing."
I chose this quote because the teachers other reason for being a teacher was inspiration from her godmother. Her godmother was a teacher and would take her books as presents. At the time it didn't seem meaningful to the teacher but now it is meaningful to her. In addition, when I ran a word frequency query between the theory the definition of the situation and role exit I found that the most frequent words were "speaker" with 14.72% and "like" with 3.25%.
The second theory I used to tie sociology into my interviews was frontstage and backstage. When I ran queries for the theory I found that the most frequent words were "speaker" with 13.64% and "person" with 4.09%. The three quotes I found interesting for this theory were,
"Interviewer:
okay so some of the questions I'll be asking you just answer as much as you can who are you when you are doing your job verses when you're not.
Interviewee:
I find myself to be very similar in my job and in my personal life because I take everything I do very seriously I am a person who likes to interact with.
People. But at the same time I'm a person who can also work individually so here I am in my job I feel that as my.
As my duty as a secretary of the school I carry myself very professionally and at home as well you know I'm a single mom and I try to encourage my my child to be very positive and also show him how things are done I don't like to sugar coat anything I'm very.
Very forward because I believe that that's the best way to get your job done both here at work and in my personal life from a very forward person can both."
This quote describes how frontstage backstage can also be neutral as the secretary feels she acts the same way she does at work and at home. The second quote I chose that describes the theory is,
"Interviewer:
Who are you.
Interviewer:
When you're doing your job verses when you're not.
Interviewee:
Who am I sometimes I feel like a dictator because I'm do you have to do this and you have to do that and we have to work towards this test and this is to help you get better.
Interviewee:
I try not to be because kids don't learn that way they want somebody if they want to.
Interviewer:
okay and then how are you when you're not working.
Interviewer:
Or.
Interviewer:
Not teacher.
Interviewee:
When I'm not a teacher.
Interviewer:
Do you act the same way or are you different?.
Interviewee:
I keep to myself a lot think I do that here too with the colleagues.
Interviewee:
I am very much a type b person not type a person.
Interviewer:
Interviewee:
Am introvert persons let that means like I don't like I'm not very social like I'm not like not to go up to a person and just have a random conversation with them and it's like oh if I've seen a few times or if I talk to you then okay then.
Interviewee:
Then uhm I'm comfortable but usually not.
Interviewer:
Okay so you act the same way and then.
Interviewee: yeah pretty much"
This quote is a perfect example of frontstage backstage because when the teacher is at work she feels like a dictator as she has to tell students what to do all day. When she's at home she doesn't feel like a dictator. She just keeps to herself. The third quote I found that describes the theory frontstage backstage is,
"Speaker 1:
Who who are you when you're doing your job verses when you're not.
Speaker 0:
Who am I when im doing my job.
Speaker 0:uhm
Speaker 0:
I guess I'm I'm just what my title tells me I'm a custodian and.
Speaker 0:
God what else a what else to say that when I'm not at work.
Speaker 0:
I guess I'm a.
Speaker 0:
Ordinary.
Speaker 0:
Husband and father, I guess so I don't know else to put it"
I chose this last quote because the custodian describes how ultimately, he is the same person at work and at home. He is neutral as well. In addition, when I ran a word frequency query between frontstage backstage and status, I found that the most frequent words used were "speaker" with 14.58% and "know" with 2.27%.
The third theory I chose to tie sociology with my interviews was roles. When I ran a query for this theory I found that the most frequent words were "speaker" with 11.35% and "expectations" with 3.69%. I was able to identify three quotes that tie with the theory. The first quote is,
"Interviewee:
My duties consist of keeping the classrooms are all clean.
Iinterviewee:
Emptying the trash keeping the bathrooms cleaned and sterilized.
Interviewee:
And being the evening custodian, I have to make sure all my classrooms for all the gates in classrooms are locked up before I leave the campus and the alarm activated when I leave."
I found that this quote ties with the theory because the custodian is stating his duties and what he is in charge of. The second quote I found was,
"Interviewer:
Tell me a story about when someone broke these expectations that you mentioned earlier.
Interviewee:
Expectations god
Interviewee:
Okay.
Interviewee:
Well when I work with somebody I expect to uhm
Interviewee:
We have to have good communication between one another especially when one guy is over here and one in the back you know we're.
Interviewee:
Suffering.
Interviewee:
And if a school teacher happens to be looking for one of us to open the door or move something.
Interviewee:
We have to be around.
Interviewee:
And there's times where I've had people that I work with.
Interviewee:
That aren't around.
Interviewee:
And they need to be around and when I try to call them they don't answer
Interviewee:
Stuff like this you cant have that.
Interviewee:
Can't have that especially nights.
Interviewer:
Yeah.
Interviewee:
Because we got so much to do and and so little time to get it done.
Interviewee:
And we have to be on the same page because if we're not and things don't get done were going tomorrow morning we're gonna have to answer for it __ comes in and didn't get done for the principal sees it it didn't get done then it."
This quote is a good example of roles because the custodians are expected to open doors for teachers or whoever needs the custodians and sometimes a custodian breaks the rules and isn't there when he's needed. The third quote I found is,
"Interviewee:
I;ve been seeing a lot of people in our district say well I have union. I understand you have union, I have union too. Because of certain people who take advantage of that it affects the rest of us. Uhm a lot of this has to do with well that's not my job description. Well. Everybodys job description in our district falls under other and if they're asking you to do it, do it.and it's very hard it's very hard union is good but at the same time I see that it uhm it protects a lot of the lazy people
Interviewer
yeah
Interviewee:
and so to me uhm a person that is going to come and do their job you know what I expect you to be here. You know, you say you're going to be here at seven oclock I expect you to be here at seven oclock not at seven ofive or seven ten or whatever. Okay once in a while I understand you're caught in traffic or had to pump gas but I expect you to be here and because that is what your contract says, you know and it's not a oh well my role as a secretary is very difficult because I have to learn to outweigh my personal life from my work because like you had asked me earlier what is expected of you I have deadlines I have funerals I have these things that I need to turn in and I need them from you and if you're not turning them in it falls on me and the district office puts it on me saying hey you haven't turned this in you haven't turned that in then I go back to hey I need this and they get very defensive. You know and I tend to find that throughout the years that I have been here people take that personally like you really need to understand that I'm not attacking you personally im just doing my job. Im asking you for it because the district office is asking me for it and if you don't get it in on time they're not coming after you they're coming after me because I'm not meeting my deadline.
Interviewer:
Mmhmm"
I chose this last quote to tie with the theory because the secretary states what roles are broken when a worker isn't being truthful when it comes to attendance. This situation only makes her job difficult and also others jobs.
The fourth theory that ties my interviews with sociology is status. When I ran a query for status the most frequent used words were "speaker" with 15.26% and "know" with 3.25%. The three theories I was able to identify with the theory status were,
"Interviewer:
Okay so who are you what's your position.
Interviewee:
I am the secretary at.
Interviewee:
this elementary school in __."
This first quote is an example of the theory, the secretary states straight forward her position as a secretary. The second quote I chose is,
"Interviewer:
how do people in this school or outsiders treat you.
Interviewee:
You know it's it's.
Interviewee:
It's very different you know because here at work you know I feel that I am treated with respect uhm the teachers come to me when they need something not just teachers all staff members.
Interviewee:
It I I feel like I'm treated with respect of course you know you have those days where you don't agree but still even though we don't agree we agree to disagree we we keep in a very professional level with parents it just depends what the situation is you know that we have parents who come here and they bring tamales and I have a the parents who are upset about a situation that happened with their child and they want to come in expressed their frustration and get to the bottom of it so it's very diverse you know then some of it could be a really good days and they could be a really bad day you know not every person has the same personality not everybody handled things differently so.
Interviewee:
some parents are good some parents are bad somewhere in between so you never seen and same with staff members some very needy some are not.
Interviewee:
And uhm some are in between some I never see yeah."
This quote is a good example of status because the secretary states that she feels she is treated with respect as a secretary but there are those difficult days. The third quote I chose is,
Interviewer:
Okay, what about outsiders so like parents.
Interviewee:
In the parents.
Interviewee:
Parents this too there's very understanding very supportive and they keep in contact with me so that's always nice to be able to help their kids and their learning.
Interviewer:
Okay."
This last quote states how the status of the teacher is a teacher. As a teacher she works with students but also works with parents and so she needs to communicate with them even though they don't necessarily attend school.
The last theory I chose to tie the interviews with sociology was role exit. When I ran a query for this theory the most frequent used words were "speaker" with 15.83% and "happen" with 4.17%. The three theories I found that related to role exit were,
"Interviewer:
Does your behavior change throughout the day work time.
Interviewee:
All the.
Interviewee:
I try not to let it.
Interviewee:
But there are times when I open a classroom door and it's just.
Interviewee:
That changes.
Interviewer:
Yeah I can see why
Interviewee:
But the uhn
Interviewee:
Not very often though.
Interviewee:
I try not to let that happen but you know."
In this first quote, the custodian describes how sometimes his behavior does change throughout the day because sometimes classrooms are left messy or restrooms are left messy and he has to clean it up in a certain amount of time. The second quote I found that related to the theory was,
"Interviewer:
When that does happen like How do you control yourself.
Interviewee
Take a deep breath.
Interviewee:
Look at the situation take a deep breath.
Interviewee:
And just go ahead and do my job that's all I can do I mean.
Interviewee:
As long as it doesn't happen.
Interviewee:
On a regular basis you know what.
Interviewee:
This is going to happen is part of the job is going to happen."
In the second quote the custodian describes what he has to do in order to not let his behavior go overboard. The last quote I found was,
"Interviewer:
and the last question how does your behavior change throughout the day?
Interviewee:
Uhmm I get very angry so if it's lunchtime and I'm like dude it's almost time for lunch lets pack up and go so sometimes when I don't have breakfast in and they don't have a snack or anything then by the time it's lunch time I'm pretty like moody and I'm like why are you guys doing this or what you doing that why aren't you following directions."
This last quote the teachers' behavior changes throughout the day because she has been with about thirty students and she just wants to go on lunch break or wants it to be the end of the day.
Analysis: Content Analysis
The first theory I used to tie sociology with my content analysis was claims. When I ran a query for this theory, I found that the most frequent words that came up were "schools" with 3.34% and "student" with 2.19%. in addition, I was able to obtain three quotes that describe the theory very well. The first one is,
"Under the California Family Rights Act of 1993 (CFRA), if you have more than 12 months of service with us and have worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12-month period before the date you want to begin your leave, you may have a right to family care or medical leave (CFRA leave)"
I chose this first quote because this is stating a law that is in the employee's handbook. It is important all employees understand their rights. The second quote I chose is,
"In addition to falling behind in academics, students who are not in school on a regular basis are more likely to get into trouble with the law and cause problems in their communities."
I chose this second quote because the school is making a claim about when a child does not attend school there are serious consequences. In addition, the source went on to provide typifications which I will discuss later in the paper. The last quote I chose was,
"The teachers involved with the program say the festival teaches students a lot of skills from history to acting."
I chose this quote because the teachers are making a claim that this festival is good for the students as it helps them gain multiple skills that can range from a school mandatory subject such as history to acting.
In addition, when I ran a word frequency query between the theory calims and controlling images I found that the most frequent words were " school" with 3.17% and "student" with 2.08%.
The second theory I used to tie sociology into my project was controlling images theory. When I ran queries for the theory I found that the most frequent words were "duties" with 6.52% and essential with 6.52%. The three quotes I found interesting for this theory were,
"I incumbent may perform any combination of the essential functions shown below. This position description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all of the duties, knowledge and abilities associated with this classification, but are intended to accurately reflect the principal job elements. All of the duties listed below are considered to be "essential" with the exception of "Other duties as assigned."
"Incumbent may perform any combination of the essential functions shown below"
The reason why I chose these two quotes was because they used the word "incumbent" which I felt treated a person as an object and not a person. The second quote I chose that describes the theory is,
"Prideful mascot demonstrate respect and responsibility by living by the 3 R's in and out of the classroom!"
I thought this quote was a perfect example of the theory because the sentence refers to students as panthers and not students or people.
The third theory I chose to tie sociology with my project was framing. When I ran a query fro this theory I found that the most frequent words were "golden" with 6.56% and "teacher" with 6.56%. I was able to identify two quotes that tie the project with the theory, the first quote is,
"Technology is always a great engagement opportunity for students"
I chose this quote to tie sociology with my project because what if from another person's point of view they see technology as not so much of a good way for students to engage in learning. The last quote I was able to find was,
"I would like to share with you my background and my vision for the community that makes up G Elementary. I have worked in the school district since the year 2000. I began my path in education as a substitute teacher, 4th grade teacher at C school, 6th grade teacher at G Valley, Resource Teacher/Literacy Coach, Learning Director at both G school and elementary school. I strongly believe that these experiences have prepared me to lead and work collaboratively with the students, staff, and parents that make up G school."
I found this quote to relate back to the theory because what if from another person's perspective they think that the principals experience would've been stronger in order to prepare her better for the position.
The fourth theory that ties my project with sociology is grounds/warrants/conclusions. When I ran a query for this theory, the most frequent used words were "school" with 2.15% and "students" with 1.43%. the three quotes I was able to identify the theory with were,
"Our goal is to ensure all students make at least one year's growth annually through engaging in challenging, relevant coursework that will prepare them for college, career, and community and receiving appropriate supports when needed."
I chose this quote because it's identifying why a student must make a certain amount of growth. The second quote I chose was,
"The program focuses on preparing, training, and recruiting high-quality teachers. Allows LEAs increased flexibility to allocate funds among professional development, class-size reduction, and other teacher quality activities"
This second quote ties with the theory because it explains why these procedures must be done in order for a class to function with class size reduction. The last quote is,
"In addition, our students are expected to read, speak and write regardless of the subject."
The last quote is a perfect example of the theory because it explains that every subject has requirements that need to be met and the requirement for all students is they're expected to read, speak, and write in all subjects.
The last theory I chose to tie sociology with my project is typifications. When I ran a query for this theory the most frequent used words were "school" with 2.84% and "students" with 2.50%. the three theories I found that related to this theory were,
"This leave may be up to 12 workweeks in a 12-month period for the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of your child or for your own serious health condition or that of your child, parent or spouse. While the law provides only unpaid leave, employees may choose or employers may require use of accrued paid leave while taking CFRA leave under certain circumstances."
I chose this quote to identify typifications because it is providing a description of what is needed in the circumstance of a maternity leave. The second quote is,
"The attendance rate is important because students are more likely to succeed in academics when they attend school consistently. It's difficult for you teachers and your class to build students' skills and progress if a large number of students are frequently absent."
I chose this second quote to identify the theory because it is providing support for a claim and states that students will succeed if they attend school on a daily basis. The last quote I chose is,
"Elementary School teacher Colleen Berry said, "Because it really brings out and lets them be themselves and they did work as a team." And it seems the words they memorize and teamwork they share, is bringing them a new sense of self confidence"
This last quote is a perfect example of the theory because it explains clearly the description of the circumstance which is when a student participates in Peach Blossom they gain skills such as memorization and teach work building skills, and lastly, self-confidence.
In conclusion, at first, I was very nervous about this research because I had never done one but now, I am starting to feel a little more confident. The first thing I have done to complete this research is I conducted an observation and took field notes of four people, a principle, secretary, teacher, and custodian. After conducting the observation, I was able to code the data with nodes and run word queries in order to find the frequently used words. Some of my top words were black, wearing, principal, and teacher. I have also grouped the quotes with what theory I thought related back to the quote. In order to conduct the interview I had to get participants. Next, I had to interview them, then I had to transcribe the audio file, and lastly, I had to code the interviews on Nvivo and group quotes with sociology theories. In order to conduct the content analysis, the first thing I had to do to conduct this part of the research was look, look, look, and look for sources. Once I gathered my sources online using Ncapture I was able to transfer them to Nvivo. After I did this I started coding quotes into theory categories. Lastly, I ran queries and was able to start writing my paper. Overall, conducting this research was good practice for future research projects.
Bibliography
Warren, C. A., & Karner, T. X. (2014). Discovering Qualitative Methods: Ethnography, Interviews, Documents, and Images. New York: Oxford University Press.
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