8/14/2019 An Ethnographic Approach to Assessment and Intervention by Ripich and Spinelli

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/an-ethnographic-approach-to-assessment-and-intervention-by-ripich-and-spinelli 1/3

 An Ethnographic Approach to Assessment and Intervention by Ripich

and Spinelli 

70's went from artic > L. disorders, 80s > pragmatic and discourse

 problems.

Ethnography - method of study of events and persons that enable us to

ascertain the underlying rules that operate for the participants.

Traditional assessment and intervention has been developed around

deductive reasoning, premise that measurable variables can be

manipulated and that regular and universal laws can be developed based

on the relationships between the variables across all situations. i.e. a

standardized test of L. abilities will demonstrate the child's level of 

linguistic competance. Scientific method. Reflects adult view of 

education, children are passive, "products" of the ed. system. Interested

in measuring how often a child performs a task correctly.

Growing consensus that something as complex as communication or 

teaching and learning cannot be studied using only deductive methods.

 Ethnographic - examines the quality of interactions as well as thequantity of events. Use inductive reasoning; impose and manipulate

 persons and events as little as possible. Child centered, constructionist

view. Interested in the manner in which chn. arrive at the correct task 

 performance. Only by experiencing can we become sensitive to certain

elements in a context.

Wilson's 2 hypotheses that underlie the rationale of ethnographic

approach:

 

1. naturalistic ecological hypothesis - need to study events in their 

natural settings b/c of context influences.

8/14/2019 An Ethnographic Approach to Assessment and Intervention by Ripich and Spinelli

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/an-ethnographic-approach-to-assessment-and-intervention-by-ripich-and-spinelli 2/3

2. qualitative difference hypothesis - need to study behavior within the

framework of the ongoing process rather than to focus on the end

 product.

How gain access? Both physical and psychological - challengesestablished classroom patterns. Once in, need to access the child's

 perspective in the classroom. Children are wary of being studied. Last

obstacle is his/her own internal biases and preconceptions. Believe that

each classroom is a culture unto itself - ask: what rules would I need to

succeed in this particular context?

 

Step 1 - Identify the Child - Teacher questionnaire can serve as a referral

Step 2 - Describe the breakdown - interviews are a way to get info. -

speculate, describe persons and events

Step 3 - Dev. a Summary of the Problem

Step 4 - Observe Interaction in the Classroom a) of the process (i.e.

selection of "captains" during recess) b) of the participant c) audio-

videotapes

Step 5 - Summarize Observations (of patterns of discourse and

 perspectives of children and teachers) and identify patterns of 

communication breakdown

Step 6 - Validate Observations - use multiple viewpoints (more people

examining the database, use teacher interviews, review videotapes with

kids, with teachers etc.) in a variety of ways. Could be a way tominimize interpretation bias to increase accuracy of observations.

 

Ethnographic assessment – 

8/14/2019 An Ethnographic Approach to Assessment and Intervention by Ripich and Spinelli

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/an-ethnographic-approach-to-assessment-and-intervention-by-ripich-and-spinelli 3/3