Esta pesquisa lançou mão da autoetnografia, viés metodológico que transita entre a etnografia e a autobiografia, por meio de observações e auto-observações, para investigar em que medida as teorias de Letramentos (KALANTZIS; COPE 2000, 2008a, LANKSHEAR; KNOBEL, 2003, 2006, 2013, KRESS, 2003, 2010, GEE, 2004) se adequam ou não ao ensino de inglês nos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental-I público, em uma escola da periferia do município de Osasco, na grande São Paulo. Buscou-se, assim, analisar uma proposta pedagógico-educacional orientada pelas referidas teorias, elaborada pelo pesquisador e implementada na escola investigada. O foco de observação e análise foi o desenvolvimento do senso crítico, no que tange aos alunos, e também as estratégias para o ensino de inglês e a atuação do professor-pesquisador nesta proposta. Objetivou-se examinar as epistemologias relacionadas às visões de ensino de língua deste contexto, bem como problematizar outras maneiras de se abordar o ensino da língua inglesa de forma crítica que levassem em conta as características específicas dos indivíduos e do contexto investigado. Considerando-se a existência de graves problemas, tais como a escassez de recursos didáticos e tecnológicos, a falta de espaços adequados para as práticas pedagógicas, o número excessivo de alunos por sala de aula e diversas outras questões de ordem econômica e social, a hipótese levantada é que tais fatores não seriam impedimentos para o desenvolvimento de práticas com um enfoque mais situado, promovendo um ensino plural, pautado na diversidade presente na escola pública, a fim de promover a agência dos alunos e uma educação mais crítica. Constatou-se, a partir da literatura consultada e da análise das orientações curriculares municipais, que as habilidades tradicionalmente trabalhadas no Ensino Fundamental-I público não levam em conta os novos paradigmas da comunicação e da educação. Além disso, a análise dos dados demonstrou haver certa desatualização pedagógica no campo investigado, bem como uma distância entre as práticas observadas e as orientações curriculares que existem atualmente. Finalmente, a tese defendida neste trabalho é a de que, para o desenvolvimento de propostas pedagógico-educacionais orientadas pelas teorias de Letramentos no Ensino Fundamental-I público, é importante considerar, sobretudo, o contexto dos sujeitos, da escola e da comunidade em que as práticas ocorrem. Acrescenta-se que o emprego de recursos de tecnologia digital não é imprescindível para o desenvolvimento da cidadania, da agência e da diversidade no contexto investigado. / This research resorted to autoethnography as a methodological perspective that transits across the ethnography and the biography, through observations and selfobservations, in order to investigate to what extent Literacies theories (KALANTZIS; COPE 2000, 2008a, LANKSHEAR; KNOBEL, 2003, 2006, 2013, KRESS, 2003, 2010, GEE, 2004) suit or not the teaching of English in the early years of Elementary School, in a school located in the outskirts of Osasco, in São Paulo. The study looked at a pedagogical/educational proposal guided by the referred theories, developed by the researcher and implemented in the aforementioned school. The focus of the analysis was the development of the critical sense, as regards the students; the strategies for the teaching of English; and the performance of the teacher/researcher in this proposal. Some of the main objectives were to examine the epistemologies related to the conceptions of language teaching in this context and to problematize other manners to approach the English language teaching in a critical way in view of the peculiar characteristics of the individuals and the field. Considering the existence of serious issues, such as the lack of didactical and technological resources, the lack of suitable spaces for the pedagogical practices, the large number of students per class and several other economic and social problems, the working hypothesis assumes that these issues do not impede the development of situated practices. These practices aimed to develop a plural teaching based on the diversity that takes place in the public school in order to promote the students\' agency and a critical education. Based on the theoretical framework consulted and the municipal curricular guidelines, the study verified that the skills traditionally worked in Elementary School do not take into account the new paradigms of communication and education. The data analysis demonstrated that the field was pedagogically outdated. Besides, there was a certain distance between the observed practices and the current curricular guidelines. Finally, we came to the conclusion that in order to develop pedagogical/educational proposals guided by Literacy theories in public Elementary School it is important to consider the context of the individuals as well as the context of the school and the community where the practices occur. Also, in the context investigated the use of digital technologies is not indispensable in order to develop concepts such as citizenship, agency and diversity.

Purpose: This article aims to represent three ethnographers researching an organizational event within academia: the Second International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry. It explores the divergent viewpoints of their ethnographic experiences as well as reflecting upon their relationships with each other as they attempted to understand each others’ viewpoints. Design/methodology/approach: This ethnographic project involved participant observation, full participation, and narrative interviews. However, as the project continued, it evolved to reflexively examining the authors’ own viewpoints and relationships challenges. Findings: This paper contributes to understanding ethnographic research of organizational events in several ways. First, it is an exemplar of how three ethnographers examining the same organizational event view it through differing lenses. Secondly, it shows how the authors worked together through the research, struggling to understand each others’ varied political and personal lenses through dialogue. Research limitations/implications: The research examined only one organizational event, therefore the findings are specific to this site and the same results may not necessarily be found in other organizations. Originality/value: This paper is unique in that three ethnographers from different generations and different political worldviews can come together for the purposes of research, examine an organizational event and learn to cooperate with and appreciate each others’ viewpoints.

Excerpt: In the latter half of 2012 the communication discipline lost two pioneering scholrs when H.L. "Bud" Goodhall, Jr., and Nick Trujillo died within months of each other.

Nearly everyone I know has a relationship with something in popular culture, whether it is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, amassing The Astonishing X-Men comics, or collecting every version of every Star Wars movie. Relationships and pop culture: couldn’t that make an autoethnography? This is a short version of my relationship with a band, Daniel Amos. I am not in Daniel Amos. I don’t know the members of the band (although I am Facebook friends with them now). I first heard them in 1982 serendipitously. Or maybe it was destiny. Either way, they opened my eyes to the wonders, doubts, and excesses of my life, critiqued my faith, and brought me joy. I feel like I know them, and they me. Thirty-one years after first hearing them, I realize our relationship is one of the longest I have had. We grew up and are growing older together.

The purpose of this autoethnographic narrative inquiry was for the researcher to describe and explain how he discovered, constructed, and refined his sense of moral purpose as a principal during his seven-year tenure at Orange Pines Middle School. He inductively analyzed and reflected primarily on self-authored texts tied to critical professional ethical dilemmas so as to discover emergent themes, patterns, insights, and epiphanies in the development of his persona as a morally directed school leader. He then analyzed and reflected on how he applied those defined values in interactions with groups of teachers to design and implement elements of school reform. He re-created these critical events through descriptive vignettes in which he captured personal and social implications of the experiences using Clandinin and Connelly's model of three-dimensional narrative space. In this study the researcher probed especially problematic ethical dilemmas he experienced while working as principal. He viewed the events through the multidimensional ethical frameworks of care, critique and justice of Starratt; the ethic of community described by Furman; and the ethic of the profession, posited by Shapiro and Stefkovich. Included is a discussion of moral purpose by Fullan and Sergiovanni, ethics by Begley, Senge, and others, leadership theories, and perspectives regarding interpersonal conflicts between principals and their staff. The researcher found the ethics of care, justice, critique, community, and the profession provided a useful framework for his professional reflections. He was able to describe and capture the tensions within the dilemmas through the specific language utilized by Starratt, Furman, and Shapiro and Stefkovich to analyze and understand the issues packed within each dilemma. Through the application of these frameworks he determined that his moral purpose has been to approach the position of school leadership with a combination of compassion and justice, in order to establish a collaborative and synergistic school community that works for the greater good of students. The study calls for more autoethnographic research into the dilemmas administrators teachers face in their daily practice, arguing that the best way to improve public education in this era of intense scrutiny and accountability is through the qualitative analysis of individual cases. The author places his particular constructivist approach to autoethnographic narrative inquiry within the broader philosophical background of qualitative research. This study contributes to the literature by showing focused insights into how representative ethical conflicts and dilemmas school leaders face during their daily practice can shape and guide their moral pursuit of effective school reform. It also shows ways that theoretical knowledge can inform professional practice.

This article considers the impact of new technologies on the adolescent experience of live, literary theatre. Drawing together the work of theorists in literacies, new technologies and audience studies, together with brain research, and the results of a focus group of four secondary students who have seen four plays at Canada’s National Arts Centre, it examines the consequences of young people’s immersion in digital culture and the new mindset that often results. The expectation of instant access to data, inter-connectivity, stimulation and control can make it difficult for adolescents to decode the metaphorical aspects of a theatrical performance. The article concludes that language arts and dramatic arts educators have a key role in teaching students how to decode—and therefore enjoy and appreciate— a play.

This article considers the impact of new technologies on the adolescent experience of live, literary theatre. Drawing together the work of theorists in literacies, new technologies and audience studies, together with brain research, and the results of a focus group of four secondary students who have seen four plays at Canada’s National Arts Centre, it examines the consequences of young people’s immersion in digital culture and the new mindset that often results. The expectation of instant access to data, inter-connectivity, stimulation and control can make it difficult for adolescents to decode the metaphorical aspects of a theatrical performance. The article concludes that language arts and dramatic arts educators have a key role in teaching students how to decode—and therefore enjoy and appreciate— a play.

This thesis uses autoethnographic research of the Mexican American art community in Austin, Texas to demonstrate how edgewalkers, people to move between multiple cultural worlds yet retain their own identity, become informal art educators through the process of transculturation. The work describes this cyclical and on-going process that includes curiosity, knowledge gathering, and awareness of self and others and the summation of these elements, which leads to transculturation. For this research, four informal art educators practicing in Austin were interviewed. Each of the collaborators practices art in different media including visual art, curating of exhibitions, performance, and graphic design. The descriptions and analysis of the researcher’s experiences along with those of the informal art educators reveal a third landscape, or an alternative space and identity, where multiple cultural worlds overlap into bicultural, bilingual and/or biconceptual environments. This thesis demonstrates how informal art education, made possible through transcultural experiences, is an effective tool in art education and culturally responsive instruction. / text

Stereotypes about Appalachia abound through dubious and reductive representations of the ‘hillbilly’ icon. Sexuality and how it functions in Appalachia is usually cast from the outside as wild, violent, bestial, incestuous and generally base. Movies such as Deliverance and television shows such as The Beverly Hillbillies and The Dukes of Hazard render images of Appalachian sexuality as hyper-sexual, both naive and violent. These images of Appalachian sexual ignorance and violence that permeate popular culture have had problematic and reductive implications for rural gay/trans Appalachian folk. Mainstream gay culture has often used the perceived meanings of these images to circumscribe and foreclose upon the possibility of rural queer life, rendering the rural as monolithically homophobic and impenetrable. This research attempts to destabilize this perspective and critique the impulse for mainstream gay culture to further marginalize rural gay/trans folk in Appalachia. The project reveals the possibility for rural queer life to exist in Appalachia to show not only its presence, but also its varying forms of visibility. To do this, experimental methodologies are employed, drawing on autoethnography that have located my body as an active participant and research object in one particular Appalachian queer geography. By actively participating in a rural queer network, the possibility for Appalachian queer geographies to exist in ways that surpass popular representations emerge in a way that force us to renegotiate our understandings of homophobia and what sets its conditions. This project begins to uncover and theorize the ways in which kinship as a ‘social technology’ mitigates social strangeness and operates as a means for social protection and intimacy within rural queer populations. This research is presented in a way that neither dismisses nor emphasizes homophobic violence, but rather argues the imperative for strong political advocacy that recognizes both the struggles and accomplishments of rural gay/trans folk. Three interlinked approaches are used to highlight these possibilities and foreclosures: the exterior representation of Appalachian sexuality in American metropolitan gay cultures and its politico-cultural effects on rural gay/trans folk, a more nuanced interpretation of homophobia in Appalachia, and how ‘place’ is made through the operation of rural queer networks.

This article considers the impact of new technologies on the adolescent experience of live, literary theatre. Drawing together the work of theorists in literacies, new technologies and audience studies, together with brain research, and the results of a focus group of four secondary students who have seen four plays at Canada’s National Arts Centre, it examines the consequences of young people’s immersion in digital culture and the new mindset that often results. The expectation of instant access to data, inter-connectivity, stimulation and control can make it difficult for adolescents to decode the metaphorical aspects of a theatrical performance. The article concludes that language arts and dramatic arts educators have a key role in teaching students how to decode—and therefore enjoy and appreciate— a play.