A Qualitative Review of Central Valley School District
California State University, Fresno
Soc 176/Dr. Kubal
By: Cherella Nicholson
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………………..…..… 3
INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………………………..……4
LITERATURE REVIEW …………………………………………………….…………………..5
METHODOLOGY ……………………………………………………………………………….9
ANALYSIS ……………………………………………………………………………………..12
CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………………………….30
REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………………………….33
LIST OF FIGURES
Page
Figure 1: Word Cloud of All Words Frequencies …………………………………………… 31
Figure 2: Word Cloud of Nodes ………….…………………………………………………… 31
Introduction
I have an interest in the behaviors of middle school teachers and how they relate to each other. Additionally, I am interest in what teachers think about their struggling students. For the purpose of this qualitative research study by way of ethnography, interviews and content analysis, this study attempts to apply Ering Goffman framing theory to things observed by Central Valley School District. To accomplish this, I observed Westside Middle School for three hours. During my observation, I paid close attention to the setting, discussions and interactions of the group. I found that many of the teachers interacted with other teachers in their department. I am curious to know if the clustered groups are empirically more valuable than comingling with other teachers from different departments. I also noticed the meeting was very lengthy and low energy until after lunch time. The energy in the room increased when the teachers had a brief opportunity to present, rather than the administrators. Phase two, I conducted three interviews, totaling 46 minutest. The interviews allowed me to interact with individuals while using Erving Goffman's framework that individuals are agents in creating their own identity. Lastly, I conducted a content analysis. I completed this portion by collecting documents. Thirty (30) documents were analyzed for prognosis and diagnosis frames. Each document was coded for the type of frame.
This research contends that the use of diagnostic and prognostic framing techniques will vary throughout the growth of the school district and how it addresses problems. This variation will be in response to the changing social statuses of children, such as homelessness, or other civil rights concerns, such as inclusivility of all genders, including the LGBT students.
Literature Review
What is Sociology?
According to Dr. Kubal's lecture on August 28, 2018, sociology can be described as a research science that can be used to explain the social part of our existence. To deepen the understanding of sociology, Amir Marvasti stresses that sociology as a social science seeks to describes the orientation of people's every day experience. Sociology is a science, much like other social sciences that require mixed methods research to answer questions we desire to know. The field of sociology is vast and interesting because it offers a large number of topics. For example, sociologist can investigate education, healthcare, to crime and deviance. A sociologist might ask, why do you believe the United States makes it lawful for a sixteen-year girl to have the right and privacy to get an abortion, while at the same time, it is unlawful for her to vote in an election?
The concept and discipline of asking questions is a form of qualitative research methods. According to Dillon (2014), unpleasant public encounters may cause people to dig deep into thinking and reflect on the events occurred. In many ways, people may reflect on what happened, who was present and how people felt. For example, if someone is at work and a client visiting yells profanity at the front desk clerk and demands to speak to a manager, how does the other visiting clients feel about the outburst? How is the employee receiving the profanity feel about her job and her experience? If the employer wants to understand further, he could perform a thorough investigation that includes asking a series of open-ended questions from all parties and witnesses involved.
To take it a step further, a sociologist may want to investigate patterns of outburst of clients in this environment. Dillon shares in her article 2014 that positivism and constructionism are two different epistemologies that are used to understand theoretical perspectives. Both positivism and constructionism offer a nature of reality and truth of a given topic. Because human beings have unique lenses and perspectives, two people can read something and receive different conclusions. In what areas do you know you should have an open mind about unique perspectives?
According to the text (Dillon, 2014), positivist social scientist believes in patterns and believe that people in what state or similar to the people in other state. Positivist also believe that physical laws of nature are the ideal models for exploring the world. Here, positivist can be described as not looking at things in a holistic approach. I imagine people are stereotype people based on their ethnicities live in this zone. If a black person is a thief in California, do you believe that all black people in California steal? An alternative philosophical school of constructionism offers more explanations to explain human interactions.
A Constructionist understands that people are not robots, people have agency and decide how to feel and what to believe. Constructionist are also more reflective and thoughtful about their data. The author stresses that constructionist should be sensitive to others, perspectives and ideas. Dr. Kubal mentions to never make the interviewee wrong about what they believe.
On September 4, 2018, we discussed theory, its importance and a number of theorists. Theory is important because it makes qualitative methods sociological. Theories are applied to sociological research. To think like a sociologist, is to bring a particular perspective to the interview process, including view of interactions. Symbolic interaction theory is an example of one of the many theories. According to Dillon (2014), George Herbert Mead, an American philosopher is credited with defining the symbolic interaction theory. The pragmatic theorist core theory was that self is the most valuable and practical demeanor of social interaction. Society is a web of communication that includes imagery, individual, agency and social construction.
For Mead, the "I" and the "Me" is an ongoing interaction that is critical to the development of the self. While considering qualitative methods, observing people in different interactions is key because as Meads stress, we are a different "I" and "Me" based on people are around. The attitudes of the self can greatly differ from interviewing a person in front of their parents versus interviewing the same person in front of a peer at school. How does your behavior change when you are at school versus at home?
On September 11, 2018, we continued to discuss the symbolic interaction theory and Erving Goffman was introduced as a theorist. Goffman was born in Alberta, Canada in 1922, to immigrant Ukrainian Jewish parents (Dillon, 2014). Goffman is known for social roles in the context of sociology theory. During the lecture, we spent a great deal of time on Goffman and practiced a Goffman-style interview technique with our peers. According to Goffman, we have expected roles that are associated with status. For instance, we have roles in society as a student, son or daughter, employee, mother or father. In society, we interchange and can be multiple roles in a day. Because of how society is structured, it is impossible to operate in society without roles. Goffman reminds us that we are always playing a role. While thinking of interview questions, it is important to ask the interviewee which roles and status they play in society and how it impacts how they perceive interactions. How does your status of a janitor influence your role as a father at home?
As we continue to deepen our understanding of Goffman and social interaction, we touched on Goffman's establishing the definition of the situation. Goffman believes that all of the world is a stage and we are actors. In this impressing management, he argues that all social situations that two or more people involve attempting to persuade people of their definition of the situation. Primarily, how we define a situation will determine our behavior towards a situation or situations. For example, why would young people smoke cigarettes when there is plenty of education that points out the dangers to smoking? We need to consider how the young person defines danger and consider the entire framework of their decision. A young person may think smoking is cool and that is the definition of the situation. The symbolic meaning of smoking can override the actual facts regarding smoke and dangers. In what ways can we consider the agency young people have over their bodies?
September 18, 2018, we discussed Goffman's Front Stage and Back Stage approach to how impressions are managed. In summary, Goffman discussed what is viewed by others versus what is private. For example, at work, people put on their front stage face and as actors, show an appearance and acceptable behavior. The backstage can be exampled for the conversation a person may have at home with their spouse or family. Goffman refers to the person's appearance as the things that signal that indicate his or her social statuses and their "temporary ritual state." What are some things you do to prepare for work? How does your attire differ when you have a presentation compared to a holiday off from work?
On September 25, we very briefly discussed the patriarchal society and how practices of sociology crystallize the structural systems that are dominated by men. Dorothy Smith is one of the only female theorists we have discussed to date. In the text, Smith (Dillon, 2014) argues that the privilege of men excludes women. She does not believe that men intentionally exclude women, but society has expectations and structures that perpetuates the rules and roles. Smith used the Bible as an example of a book of many authors who are named by named and the women's stories are told by men with their lens. Smith furthers her claim by switching gears to discuss sexist advertising in the media of femininity and female identity and gender pay gaps. How have you noticed a patriarchal system in the workplace?
Methodology
Ethnography
Ethnography is a distinct method of qualitative research. Of all of the methods, ethnography involves everyday interaction and talk. As a limited definition, it is a deep understanding of time, place, visuals and culture. A holistic study of groups or culture are words to describe ethnography. In order to gain access to behind the scenes individuals or groups, gatekeepers are great points of access to a setting. In the text, gatekeepers accept your presence as a researcher, other people in the setting will have little choice other than to extend at least a courtesy acceptance to you (Warren 2014, pp. 69). If gatekeepers give you time and a place, it is important to be punctual to respect everyone's time. Typically, the gatekeeper will give you a tour and/or introduction of the group along with background information. For example, if a researcher was studying the challenges of a particular neighborhood, a gatekeeper could give the researcher an oral history of the neighborhood, that includes stories of certain streets or landmarks. Additionally, key informants can also serve the researcher well for in-depth understandings. Overall, intention and well developed purposed should be designed before approaching gatekeepers or informants. Both have the choice to let you inside their sacred space. Presentation and the ask are a skill that can be developed over time to determine the success of group entry.
Shadowing staff members can help the researcher understand individual experiences within organizations (Warren 2014, pp. 74). The shadowing and observing process could take weeks and up to years, depending on the time and depth the researcher wants to spend learning. A critical ethical piece that is required for ethnography is both formal and informal permissions by individuals and organizations.
Ethnography can be done is phases. Observations, interviews and content analysis are all a part of ethnography and qualitative research. In the next section, I will discuss interviews and how it connects to ethnography.
Interviews
Interviews is the second major qualitative method and they are conducted out in the field. At times, interviews come after ethnography observations. There are research interviews and non-research interviews. In the text, non-research interviews are job interviews, medical interviews and journalistic interviews. Research interviews are special because the purpose is to actually get to know the person. Qualitative interviews became more useful after World War II because people became more interested in studying armed forces. Qualitative interviews are useful when the researcher wants to answer a particular research question (Warren 2014, pp. 121).
Preparation is an important part of interviews, even before they occur. It is common for a researcher to prepare fact sheets to college demographic information, such as age and gender. In-person interviews have an advantage over telephone interviews or electronic interviews. In person, the researcher is able to view body language and stress. It is important for interviewees to be comfortable and not showing signs of physical or emotional duress. "Social class, as well as gender, may affect the interview process as it is read through the bodies of the participants. The social class of the interviewer as well as of the respondent has been at issue during the decades…" According to Warren, respondents of lower social status and education may not feel comfortable speaking to someone they perceive as authority.
Building rapport is highly important to the success of interviews. Going back to ethnography, it is important to honor gatekeepers and informants time and space. Additionally, listening is as important as speaking. Those are small tips, but those things matter when it pertains to building trust and rapport. The more rapport the researcher has with the respondent, the more vulnerable he or she may become at answering questions.
After the interview, transcription and field notes ties everything together. To accomplish this, researchers can use audiotape equipment during the interview. Today, technology has advanced to audio equipment on smart phones.
Content Analysis
As qualitative methods are understood better, one section is ethnography, a second section are interviews, and third is content analysis. Content analysis can be described as reviewing media, newspapers, visual images, historical documents, including websites to learn the culture well enough to analyze. Goffman theory can be used here to find out definition of situations. We can also analyze documents by thin or thick descriptions. In our research, thick description is most often used and gives us an in-depth observation of the current situation. Outside of the aforementioned documents, qualitative researchers can also study minutes from business meetings to legislation. If business meeting minutes are used, it is wise to use a number of meeting minutes to find a theme or try to find out if the meeting minutes are connected to any other visual or textual documents.
The process of collecting documents must be as organized as preparing for an interview. The process of locating documents can take a large amount of time. With trust, gatekeepers can share documents with the researcher. Linking themes into analytic descriptions are a way to organize field notes into a research paper. When there are a lot of documents to review, categories are helpful. From there, the researcher can extract quotes to support the category's purpose. After reviewing documents and images, it is great to make connections and themes. The themes are also referred to as nodes, especially if the researcher is using Qualrus, Transana or NVivo data analysis software.
According to the text (Warren 2014, pp. 217), data analysis software programs can assist with data organization, project management, and tracking of the codes created. Moreover, some researchers use visual diagrams, process flow charts, or organizational structure charts (Warren 2014 pp. 232).
Findings and Analysis
Thick Description
Thick description analysis allows a detailed description of the location from the time I entered the observation location until I left.
Quote #1
I am familiar with Westside Middle School so when I drove onto the campus, I knew where to park and how to navigate the campus. Campus was quiet, as I expected, while it was a Monday, and not a federal or state holiday, all students had the day off. All teachers and site administrators were on a duty day called a "buy-back." I have prior knowledge of what a teacher "buy-back" is because work in Fresno Unified School District. I walked into the library on the second floor at 9:15 a.m. and immediately found a chair that was out of the way of the core of the meeting. I immediately noticed the meeting was in full swing. Teachers were seated in clusters and engaged in deep discussion. I first noticed the projector screen on the board. There was a quote on the projector screen that read, "if culture changed, everything changes" – Michael Fullan.
I observed a teacher's training that was led by the school's principal, and two vice principals. At this point, I was observing to gain an understanding of the topics and schedule of the day.
Quote #2
On the board, I see the words, TENANT #1. I assume that all of the teachers know what TENANT #1 means. I do not know what that means. As the time goes on, the chatter from the groups get louder. Teachers appear to be engaged. I notice people smiling, talking, and writing. Others are drinking a beverage that appears to be coffee and water. The group of teachers are diverse in age and ethnicity. It appears the there is one laptop computer in use per group. As teachers are working in small groups, I observe the principal scanning the room. Before today's observation, I have met the principal on several occasions. During this time, we make eye contact, I give her a quiet hello. She then invited me to grab an agenda to follow along. I grab an agenda and a few other papers that were next to stack of agendas.
There were a few things happening during the few minutes I observed this part of the meeting. A new word was introduced, tenant and the teachers used it in a way that I am not familiar. By this point, I have engaged with the principal for the first time that day.
Quote #3
Some people lean in towards each other talking. Facilitator grabs the teachers' attention like you would see in a classroom of learners. The next topic of discussion is about growth mindset evidence. At this time, there are back and forth discussion between current facilitator and teachers. Teachers are free to add to the conversation. I do not know how groups were formed when I walked in, they were already formed.
Quote #4
Mr. Jackson offered me food. I ate a little bit of oatmeal. It was good. I also had nectarines and water. During that time, a few people walked over by the food. I overhead one teacher complimenting another teacher. I did not hear all of the conversation, but I heard one teacher say, "your answer rocked!" it appeared to be an announced break. Teachers were talking outside of their groups. People are up getting snacks and beverages.
Status
Sociologists use the term status to describe the responsibilities and benefits that a person experiences according to their rank and role in society. The statuses in the room were observed and appears different roles allowed for different status or behaviors.
Quote #1
Mr. Jackson is not a teacher and I observed him walking in and out of the room. He was on the phone at times.
Quote #2
Many of the teachers and administrators have school spirit type of shirts. Many of the shirts have school name, mascot or school district region.
Quote #3
Because of where she is sitting, I am unsure if she is a teacher. I assume that she is not since she is sitting next to Mr. Jackson, and not closer with the teachers.
All of the teachers sat together clustered towards the front of the room. There was a table of administrators, which included principals and vice principals. Mr. Jackson sat closer to the back of the room. He appeared to be less engaged and perhaps his role and the meeting of the agenda allowed him to have more flexibility.
Roles
Role performance is how a person expresses his or her role. Sociologist Erving Goffman presented the idea that a person is like an actor on a stage. Calling his theory dramaturgy, Goffman believed that we use "impression management" to present ourselves to others as we hope to be perceived. Each situation is a new scene, and individuals perform different roles depending on who is present.
Quote #1
The voice tone of the teacher workshop is welcoming and soft. Much of my observation is watching and listening to multiple rounds of group assignments.
It is important to acknowledge the traditional role of teachers are nurturing and caring, which differs from other roles, such as lawyers or police officers, whom are often in stressful environments.
Quote #2
Because of where she is sitting, I am unsure if she is a teacher. I assume that she is not since she is sitting next to Mr. Jackson, and not closer with the teachers.
Mr. Jackson is the school psychologist and it was obvious that his role differed from the teachers based on where he sat.
Quote #3
The principal announces, "everyone, it is twelve o'clock. Wrap up and come back at one o'clock."
Front Stage
The presentation of Erving Goffman's describes that people act in a safe way and that it is a performance. It is common for most people to be in front stage at work and following cultural work norms.
Quote #1
Many teachers are wearing a lanyard with a school picture ID attached.
Quote #2
Many of the teachers and administrators have school spirit type of shirts. Many of the shirts have school name, mascot or school district region.
Both of the quotes in front stage remind me of a stage play performance. When actors are on stage, they have a costume, just as the teachers have by wearing school spirit shirts and a lanyard.
Quote #3
A new facilitator came in during the short break. This presentation was about Microsoft One Drive and how to incorporate technology in the classroom and between teachers to increase effectiveness and efficiency. The facilitator gave an example about using the Microsoft product to video conference even if one person is away. During this time, teachers are asking a lot of questions as the facilitator is explaining the One Drive folder.
The Microsoft presenter appeared to be operating in front stage. I have seen the Microsoft presenter at my home church on multiple occasions and I notice the difference in behavior. He was very reserved in this setting.
Back Stage
Quote #1
As I am observing, I noticed the school psychologist, Mr. Jackson. I know Mr. Jackson because we worked together at a school in 2009. Mr. Jackson approaches me, and we have small talk. He does not yet know that I am here as a student.
Because I have a prior relationship with Mr. Jackson, it was easier for him to be in backstage while at work. I also observed Mr. Jackson take off his shoe for a few minutes. He mentioned the top of his foot was in pain. It is my assumption that if I were someone else, he would have not been in backstage.
Quote #2
Observation of more group work. People are talking with their hands. One teacher that I know prior to today, greeted, hugged and we had a brief conversation about hair. Because she is an African American woman, talking about our hair is normal. For this portion of the meeting, it appears most groups stayed seated, but worked in pairs instead of the small group.
Hair is a big deal in the black community and at times, people that are non-black ask questions about our hair that may appear to be tasteless. Because I have a relationship, the conversation about hair was conformable and felt routine.
Quote #3
I talked to Mr. Jackson about his children and what they are up to. He shared that his eldest son is a bit lazy, his middle daughter is excelling in college at Fresno State and the youngest child is doing well, too.
Language
Language can be a barrier in most fields for people listening in from another sector. While I work for Fresno Unified School District and have become familiar with certain education terms, I do not know all of the "teacher lingo." The work that I do does not involved teacher curriculum. I thought this was an important node to explore. Further, in Nvivo 11, I created a query and word cloud using the language node. Please see Figure 2.
Quote #1
All teachers and site administrators were on a duty day called a "buy-back."
I have prior knowledge of what a teacher "buy-back" is because work in Fresno Unified School District. "Buy-back" is a day that teachers are required to attend a training, although it is a school holiday for other staff and students.
Quote #2
"Stay in culture of learning" for all areas was constantly repeated and, on a paper, taped to a wall.
Quote #3
"Ts-Up" is the code word to get the room's attention.
As I observed, I noticed the training facilitators said, "T's Up" and the room immediately silenced. During the next phase of my study, I will conduct interviews. During my interviews, I will be able to ask what that phrase means to the teachers.
Thick Description
Thick description analysis allows a detailed description of the participants personal view of the buy-back meeting I observed on Monday, October 29, 2018. I asked each participant in the interview "what was going on at the meeting on October 29? What is a buy-back meeting?" Each of the participants had a very unique response to the question. Overall, I understood the purpose of the buy-back meeting.
Quote #1
"…Um, the second half of the meeting is conducted by the Bengal Climate Culture team it's called a BCC team. Climate and the culture establishes the culture for academic and behavior throughout the school. So, whether it was in a classroom or in common areas like the stairs or the restaurant or the lunch room or wherever. We the team is using guidelines to a book called Foundations and Safe and Civil. Safe and Civil is a program started by Randy Sprick from Oregon, I believe it is the Oregon or Seattle because of origin and the safe and civil has many different components to it. One component is the safe and civil…"
Mr. Jackson, the school psychologist discussed the Climate and culture's team responsibility at the buy-back meeting. He also went into a lengthy discussion of Safe and Civil. He showed me a variety of books that support his comments.
Quote #2
"…Well, you know, the buy-back is something that is crafted and it's a joint venture between the administrative team as well as the climate and culture team because it's teacher led as well as administrative lead. So, there's a partnership in deciding the extras that will go into that and the teachings that we're going to that based on the data that we've gathered and based on the decisions that have been made by the climate and culture team and the tights and loose from downtown. So that's, that's how it flows. That's, that's how it goes…"
Ms. Flower's description and personal definition of the buy-back meeting was precise and inclusive. She described all parties involved and included the climate and culture team, just as Mr. Jackson discussed.
Quote #3
"…In all honesty, I'm, I'm not going to give it a political answer for a buyback. Um, I'm not a really a big fan of the buy-back. I feel like it's a waste of time. We can be using our time doing something else a little bit more beneficial for the students and set of us just I'm doing certain activities that just take up time. But what I say the buy-back is, um, it's a district mandated. Um, that's a district mandated day for us teachers to make up the hours that we miss, so, thus the best way I can to find a buy-back…"
Mr. T opened up with not being a fan of the buy-back meeting. He defines buy-back as district mandated activities that take up time. Mr. T also gives suggestions on how that time could be better spent.
Status
Sociologists use the term status to describe the responsibilities and benefits that a person experiences according to their rank and role in society. The statuses in the room were observed and appears different roles allowed for different status or behaviors. I asked each participant about their status. The following are the quotes.
Quote #1
"Yeah, totally. I think most psychs do are because we. Yeah, definitely. At home I'm expert father, at home I am the expert husband. At church, I am the expert Christian, well that's always. I am the expert psychologist. Yeah. I think I'm always the expert. In everything I do…"
Here, I found it interesting that Mr. Jackson wears his status every he goes. At work, Mr. Jackson is a school psychologist and he has certain amount of duties at work, including an expert. Mr. Jackson believes he is the expert everywhere he is, not just at work.
Quote #2
"…It may be connecting with the systems that undergird the work that we're moving forward at the school, connecting student to service; service to student, parent to service. I'm just an ancillary to whoever needs that. Supporting new teachers, supporting veteran teachers who may need not just teaching support, but there may be a management support issue for classroom, be it behavior management or even time management support with those things…"
Ms. Flower's role is a teacher on special assignment. Here, she discusses her status and describes what she does weekly. Her status changes from teacher coach, management to administrative duties.
Quote #3
"…It gives me status in a sense that not, not in the sense that I'm better than anyone, I'm more of the person. So in between the electives, b team and our school administrator. So, for school administrators gives us a specific focus such as a literacy focus…"
Mr. T's status is to act as a mediator between his department of teachers and the administrators, including the principal. He also describes his status as leader by facilitating department's goals with others.
During my observation on October 29, 2018, I noticed all of the teachers sat together clustered towards the front of the room. The seating distinguished the roles and statuses of the staff. There was a table of administrators, which included principals and vice principals. Mr. Jackson sat closer to the back of the room. He appeared to be less engaged and perhaps his role and the meeting of the agenda allowed him to have more flexibility.
Roles
Role performance is how a person expresses his or her role. Sociologist Erving Goffman presented the idea that a person is like an actor on a stage. Calling his theory dramaturgy, Goffman believed that we use "impression management" to present ourselves to others as we hope to be perceived. Each situation is a new scene, and individuals perform different roles depending on who is present.
Quote #1
"…I'm also getting an administration credential so that I can be a better advocate for my students at a larger level, will also be an advocate for my teachers and providing the type of training to make them socially aware of what type of neighborhood they're working in and what students that they're working with…"
It is important to acknowledge the traditional role of teachers are nurturing and caring, which differs from other roles, such as lawyers or police officers, whom are often in stressful environments. Mr. T's role as a teacher is identified along with his role as a student and neighborhood leader.
Quote #2
"…I'm a wife, I'm a mom, I'm a best friend. I'm probably someone's worst nightmare. Um, I'm a part of a fraternal organization. I'm part of the Association of black social workers. So, um, I'm a minister's wife and a minister myself…"
Ms. Flower shared a variety of roles she plays on a daily basis. Ms. Flower is very positive and intuitive, so it surprised me that she describes herself as "probably someone's worst nightmare." However, she may have been facetious.
Quote #3
"…the first one I was in the military, I was in the Marine Corps, so I was an aviation ordinance. I built bombs, rockets and missiles and guns for jets or the different five years, got out the marine corps and went to school, Fresno State. I was at Fresno State for about two and a half years with us three years actually. And I quit school, started my own business…"
Mr. Jackson was detailed in answering about the different roles he plays or played in the past. Mr. Jackson shares about his military experience and also identified when and why he transitioned from one role to the next. Here, there is a bit of Goffman's exit role description described by Mr. Jackson.
Front Stage
The presentation of Erving Goffman's front stage describes that people act in a safe way and that it is a performance. It is common for most people to be in front stage at work and following cultural work norms.
Quote #1
"…Oh, those faces are totally different. Um, a lot of my students, they respect me, they liked me, they liked the, I'm able to relate to them and they relate well to me, but I, I cannot show the side of school or at work that I show my family just because that'll break the bond…"
Mr. T describes the importance of acting a certain way in front of his students to set boundaries.
Groups
Goffman explores nature of group dynamics through a discussion of "teams" and the relationship between performance and audience. He uses the concept of the team to illustrate the work of a group of individuals who "co-operate" in performance, attempting to achieve goals sanctioned by the group. Below are quotes from each of the participants describing group dynamics.
Quote #1
"…They were not sitting by department, but they were sitting in collaborative groups that those collaborative groups being people that they really just wanted to sit with, just like the students we, uh, adults are realizing that they too want to be with their friends that they may or may not see or their department or outside of the department. So, it gives them the opportunity to hear and to socialize because it's not just a cannot be all work that has to be that life work, inter personal communication time as well as getting the work done…"
Ms. Flower acknowledged that adult peers like to socialize with their friends and other adults just as children. Ms. Flower is discussion the groups at the buy-back meeting I observed on Monday, October 29, 2018.
Quote #2
"…I'm supporting member of the community group, which is called action and change. And what they do is organize a community in order to make sure that we are getting our people's voices are being heard at the city level. I'm also a chairperson, the chairperson of a community-based organization, a community benefit organization called the Saint Rest Economic Development Corporation where we are finding ways to engage a church with the community and the community with the church that's in the area. So, what we're doing is we're building a green space because southwest Fresno really lacks greenspace. Um, it's very sad that our kids have few places to spend time, our kids and family. So, what we're doing is we're advocating for them. We're building a green space and also a community center amongst other things. So that's another hat that I wear one more is I come from a family of educators. So, both of my parents teach a combined. They've been teaching for over 40 years. My middle sister is a vice principal in my oldest sister teaches elementary school. She teaches first grade. So, we worked together to come up with different ways and different strategies to further the better reach our kids in the educational environment. Um, I'm also a member of Saint Rest Baptist Church…"
Mr. T acknowledges that he is a part of a lot of groups. He describes each group in great details and his role.
Quote #3
"…We wear our lanyard so we're very proud of them. They look nice but also was connected to our lanyards are our keys. So sometimes during the buy-back we go to our classroom and get things done or if we have a break we'll run copies real quick so we can prepare for the next day or buy-back is usually on a Monday and the next day as a school day. So, we sometimes try to sneak in and get things done. So yes, we look uniformed with our lanyards…"
During my observation on October 29, 2018, I noticed most of the teachers wore lanyards around their neck. During the field interview, I asked Mr. T about the lanyards. He described the pride teachers have and the oneness by wearing the lanyards. The lanyards play a dual role in that they hold the classroom keys.
Exiting Role
Goffman's theory describes entering and exiting roles. I asked Ms. Flower about retirement and the following is her response.
Quote #1
"…I have no idea. I don't intend to and I don't… I don't under the understand the concept of retirement because as human beings we are designed to work. So that particular concept I don't understand. For me, movement is just movement. So, when I leave this campus to do something else, it will look like that in that moment…"
Thick Description
The term thick description was first introduced into the literature of qualitative research by the noted anthropologist Clifford Geertz in the early 1970s. Thick description is not a science but an interpretive approach to understanding the many layers of what is going on in the social word. In this content analysis, I used thick description model to understand Central Valley School District better. My goal was to understand the board policies and new programs the District launched.
Quote #1
"…The SSC shall develop bylaws based on the district sample bylaws attached hereto, and not in conflict with this Board Policy, or adopt the attached sample bylaws as their own in a duly noticed SSC meeting. In either case, the SSC shall select one of the two election processes required by Board Policy and otherwise comply with this Board Policy. SSCs shall review the bylaws annually at the beginning of SSC member terms and make them available to the public on request. Each SSC shall review its bylaws annually and submit those bylaws to the Board for review and approval through the single plan for school improvement approval process. Until the SSC adopts approved bylaws through this process, the district sample bylaws shall be controlling. Failure to adopt approved bylaws or failure to submit bylaws annually for review and approval by the Board shall be considered approval of the district bylaws by the SSC for the SSC…"
The SSC is the school site council. Here, this is a thick description of the duties of the school site council. The above paragraph discusses the bylaws the SSC should create that does not conflict with Central Valley Board Policy. The school site council is a public extension of the District whose purpose is to review and approve a single plan for school improvements.
Quote #2
"…Recently, the California Department of Education updated graduation rates to align to federal requirements. In doing so, statewide graduation rates
decreased by 2-3%. With the shift in reporting, Central Valley's graduation
rate went from 85.5% to 82%. The update in reporting now includes Central Valley students who transferred into programs that did not lead to a regular high school diploma --students who went into alternative education, our adult school or earned their GED. The decrease in graduation rates depicts a shift in how they are calculated, and for me, calls out a need to do more to lift those students in our alternative education programs. However, it in no way diminishes the ongoing effort district-wide to close achievement gaps and increase the number of students crossing that graduation stage…"
It is critical to note that Central Valley School District is not an isolated institution without any oversight. The state of California's Department of Education charges the local school district with new policy. The District has to move swiftly when changes come down from the state. Because the guidelines were changes, graduation rates descreased. The District will have to work harder and smarter to educate its students.
Quote #3
"…African American Task Force Working on Recommendations:
Central Valley has formed a new taskforce that will continue to meet this
school year and make recommendations on how to accelerate academic achievement for African American students. The district's Office of African
American Academic Acceleration launched during the last school year oversees the task force. Goals are: 1) Build a common understanding of the strengths and obstacles in existing programs and practices in Fresno Unified, focusing onAfrican American students; 2) Identify effective practices from other districts on African American Academic Acceleration; 3) Understand the existing research on effective strategies and practices that promote, increase and improve African American academic
success…"
The prognosis here is African American students are the lowest performing subgroup. Central Valley School District has failed educate African American students over a long period of time. The diagnosis of the problem was the creation of African American Taskforce and the Office of African American Acadmeic Acceleration.
Role
Role performance is how a person expresses his or her role. Sociologist Erving Goffman presented the idea that a person is like an actor on a stage. Calling his theory dramaturgy, Goffman believed that we use "impression management" to present ourselves to others as we hope to be perceived. Each situation is a new scene, and individuals perform different roles depending on who is present. While reviewing the District's documents, I noticed roles are important to the District. Here, roles support statuses and job descriptions.
Quote #1
"The Superintendent or designee shall provide technical assistance and support to any school participating in the Title I program, including consultation in the development and implementation of school plans and activities. The Superintendent or designee shall ensure the coordination of Title I activities with other programs as appropriate…"
The Superintendent has a large role to support Title I programs. I gathered Title I programs are important to and the role of the Superintendent is to provide support, as needed.
Quote #2
"…Fresno Unified has hired Maria Ramiro as the district's new public
information officer. Maria comes to Centrall Valley School District from Telemundo, where she served as anchor. She has an extensive media background a comprehensive understanding of communication needs. Ramiro is an Emmy award winner and also placed second in the Fresno Farm Bureau's Ag Annual Awards…"
Ramiro was introduced as a new employee. A short biography followed her role. Central Valley values media and its public image to the public.
Quote #3
"…The Board shall review and approve or disapprove each school's single plan for student achievement at a regularly scheduled meeting. The Board also shall review and approve any subsequent revisions that include material changes affecting the academic programs for students participating in these categorical programs. The Board shall certify that, to the extent allowable under federal law, the plan is consistent with district local improvement plans
required as a condition of receiving federal funding. (Education Code 64001)…"
Central Valley School District has a 7-member board that are elected by citizens. The Education Code gives the board members roles. Everyone has a role and responsibility at Central Valley School District and all roles are public record. While the District is a public entity, I believe they could still keep things way from the public's eye. The school board members have a large role to approve and oversee legal education codes.
Accountable Communities
Accountable Communities was a special node I created because it falls under the buy-back umbrella. In my ethnographic and interview studies, buy-back meetings were large explanatory themes. In my review of the documents, I noticed there was not a lot of explicit information on buy-backs, but it appears that it is within Accountable Communities.
Quote #1
"…The Accountable Community (AC) Model is a well proven researched based strategy to build capacity in educators with direct impact on student learning for every student. The foundation of the Accountable Communities rests upon the four pillars of mission, vision, values and goals that drive the daily workings of the school and align practices…"
Accountable Community Model is the diagnosis to the teacher isolation problem or prognosis. As a goal to get teachers to work together on serving students well, ACs were created and launched.
Quote #2
"…Essential Components of an Effective Accountable Community (Foundations)Four guiding questions:
Accountable Community members work interdependently to achieve common goals; What do we want students to learn for which members are mutually accountable? How will we know they learned it? How will we respond when they don't learn?"
Accountable Community members value their time together. Teachers ask eacher guided questions each time they meet. The qustions shows the commitment and seriousness of education young people.
Quote #3
"…A cohesive school organized into interdependent collaborative teams united, what must our school become to accomplish our purpose? What is our compelling Accountable Community (AC) foundation with a shared mission, vision, values, and future? (Vision) goals. How must we behave to achieve our vision? What are our collective commitments? (Values) How will we mark our progress? What are our targets and timelines?"
This quote deepens the understanding of ACs foundation, shared mission, and vision. By observation of the Accountable Community document, ACs are run like nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit organizations are mission and vision focused with everything they do.
Board Policy
Board Policy frame is important and often acts as a diagnosis to many of the District's problems. The board sets policies that is exectuted at the 94 school sites. The board is responsible for quickly responding to problems to ensure all children are feel safe and receive equal opportunity to free public education.
Quote #1
"…Assembly Bill 1266, the School Success and Opportunity Act, was signed into law by Governor Jerry Black in August of 2013 and went into effect January 1, 2014. The Bill amends the California State Education Code to clarify the roles of school staff in working with students of all genders and clarifies that students' access to educational resources shall correspond with the student's gender identity. Both state and federal law already prohibits
discrimination against transgender students, and Central Valley School District unequivocally supports these policies. Before the School Success
and Opportunity Act, many districts did not understand how to fulfill their obligations to support these students. Transgender and gender non-conforming youth face unique challenges and obstacles in schools that may
inhibit a student's ability to learn…"
Govenor of California amended the state's education code which meant Central Valley's board had to quickly respond and update its board police so transgeder and non-confomring youth are safe at school.
Quote #3
"Here at Central Valley, all persons, including students, have a right to privacy; the right to decide when, with whom, and how much highly personal information one wants to share about oneself to others. This includes the right to control dissemination of highly personal and private information such as one's transgender status or sexual orientation. STUDENTS: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS. Respect for Your Gender Identity. You have the right to assert your gender identity at school, regardless of your gender presentation. We recommend talking and working with your school if possible, especially if you transition while in school. The Right to Be You…"
The school district learned about students' rights of sexuality and gender identity. Numersous of incidnets occurred on school campuses. The board responded with this policy.
Students
Goffman explores nature of group dynamics through a discussion of "teams" and the relationship between performance and audience. He uses the concept of the team to illustrate the work of a group of individuals who "co-operate" in performance, attempting to achieve goals sanctioned by the group. Below are quotes from each of the participants describing group dynamics. Students as a collective also have a group dynamic and they rally behind each other for support.
Quote #1
"…All students have the right to be treated equally and to be free from bullying, harassment, and discrimination, regardless of gender identity or gender expression. Privacy and Outing Students. You have the right to keep your gender identity private, which means that school staff cannot out you without your permission to other students or other school staff.
Students have the right to be protected while they are trying to learn.
Quote #2
"…All students will be College and Career Ready Graduates Vision: All students are given an equal opportunity to graduate with the greatest number of postsecondary choices from the widest array of options."
Central Valley School District owe their students the best possible education. Our society functions better when we are educated properly. The Central Valley is one of the least educated counties in the country. That is a problem. This promise is a solution or diagnostic frame.
Quote #3
"…Students in Central Valley. School District — much like all other urban school districts — face personal challenges and. require the support of the County of Valley's DSS and. DBH, such as foster, mental health, and protective services. The unique partnership between the district and these county departments allows for immediate and. effective case management and mental health treatment to ensure that the individual needs of students are addressed, while making sure these students receive the education they deserve…"
Students are unique in that some come from two parent households, while others are adopted, homeless or in foster care. Central Valley School District address the invidiual needs of students so that receive the education they deserve.
Conclusion
In this study, I have learned about self-identification as a member of Westside Middle School. I also found out how participants discuss their roles and define things on campus, like buy-back meetings. There were many commonalities among participants and a diversified perception among self and relation to groups. Through the content analysis, I learned about board policy, students, thick description and how Central Valley School District uses its Superintendent and school board members to protect students' rights and right to a public education. I also gathered that the district cares deeply how it is perceived in the public. All of the documents flowed in a template style, especially the Factsheets. Overall, the school district supports a lot of what I learned in the observations and interviews. The District heavily support buy-backs and other teacher trainings.
In the future, I would like to specifically bserve math documents in particular to learn more about the math department and my quantitittve research.
Figure 1
Word Frequency
Figure 1.
Figure 2.
Word Frequency of Nodes
References
Dillon, M. (2014). Introduction to Sociological Theory: Theorists, Concepts, and Their Applicability to the Twenty-First Century. John Wiley & Sons.
Warren, P. E. (2014). Discovering Qualitative Methods. New York: OXFORD University Press.
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