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Full-Text Articles in Social Statistics

Support Network Responses To Acquired Brain Injury, Steffany Chleboun, Karen Hux May 2011

Support Network Responses To Acquired Brain Injury, Steffany Chleboun, Karen Hux

The Qualitative Report

Acquired brain injury (ABI) affects social relationships; however, the ways social and support networks change and evolve as a result of brain injury is not well understood. This study explored ways in which survivors of ABI and members of their support networks perceive relationship changes as recovery extends into the long-term stage. Two survivors of ABI and members of their respective support networks participated in this case study integrating information from interviews, field notes, and artifacts. Inductive data analysis revealed themes of adjustment to impairments and compensations, connection changes with other people, feelings of protectiveness toward the survivor, emotional intensity, …

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Stressful Life Events And Behavior Change: A Qualitative Examination Of African American Women's Participation In A Weight Loss Program, Tiffany L. Cox, Christie Zunker, Brooks C. Wingo, Wendy K. Jefferson, Jamy D. Ard May 2011

Stressful Life Events And Behavior Change: A Qualitative Examination Of African American Women's Participation In A Weight Loss Program, Tiffany L. Cox, Christie Zunker, Brooks C. Wingo, Wendy K. Jefferson, Jamy D. Ard

The Qualitative Report

We qualitatively assessed how life stressors affected African American women's participation in a weight reduction program. A sample of 9 women, who completed a behavioral lifestyle intervention, participated in individual, structured, in-depth interviews. Life stressors, ranging from personal illness to changes in employment status, had varied effects on participation. Some women coped with life stressors by using them as a motivational tool to improve their own health, while others reported limited ability to devote time to attend meetings or engage in the prescribed lifestyle changes due to life stressors. A critical key to improving weight loss outcomes for African American …

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Mixed Methods Research Of Adult Family Care Home Residents And Informal Caregivers, Guy C. Jeanty, James Hibel May 2011

Mixed Methods Research Of Adult Family Care Home Residents And Informal Caregivers, Guy C. Jeanty, James Hibel

The Qualitative Report

This article describes a mixed methods approach used to explore the experiences of adult family care home (AFCH) residents and informal caregivers (IC). A rationale is presented for using a mixed methods approach employing the sequential exploratory design with this poorly researched population. The unique challenges attendant to the sampling strategy with this population, and an iterative approach of data collection and data analysis are discussed. A summary of the data integration process and outcome is presented.

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The Phenomenon Of Collaboration: A Phenomenologic Study Of Collaboration Between Family Medicine And Obstetrics And Gynecology Departments At An Academic Medical Center, David R. Brown, Cheryl D. Brewster, Marina Karides, Lou A. Lukas May 2011

The Phenomenon Of Collaboration: A Phenomenologic Study Of Collaboration Between Family Medicine And Obstetrics And Gynecology Departments At An Academic Medical Center, David R. Brown, Cheryl D. Brewster, Marina Karides, Lou A. Lukas

The Qualitative Report

Collaboration is essential to manage complex real world problems. We used phenomenologic methods to elaborate a description of collaboration between two departments at an academic medical center who considered their relationship to represent a model of effective collaboration. Key collaborative structures included a shared vision and commitment by leaders, rigorous quality improvement, clear delineation of roles with built-in flexibility, ongoing commitment to formal and informal communication channels and conflict resolution, relationship development grounded in respect and responsiveness, and shared training in a supportive learning environment with legitimate participation fostering skill development. This study reveals the complexity and resources required for …

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Compatibility Between Text Mining And Qualitative Research In The Perspectives Of Grounded Theory, Content Analysis, And Reliability, Chong Ho Yu, Angel Jannasch-Pennell, Samuel Digangi May 2011

Compatibility Between Text Mining And Qualitative Research In The Perspectives Of Grounded Theory, Content Analysis, And Reliability, Chong Ho Yu, Angel Jannasch-Pennell, Samuel Digangi

The Qualitative Report

The objective of this article is to illustrate that text mining and qualitative research are epistemologically compatible. First, like many qualitative research approaches, such as grounded theory, text mining encourages open-mindedness and discourages preconceptions. Contrary to the popular belief that text mining is a linear and fully automated procedure, the text miner might add, delete, and revise the initial categories in an iterative fashion. Second, text mining is similar to content analysis, which also aims to extract common themes and threads by counting words. Although both of them utilize computer algorithms, text mining is characterized by its capability of processing …

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Themes Of Identity: An Auto-Ethnographical Exploration, Peruvemba S. Jaya May 2011

Themes Of Identity: An Auto-Ethnographical Exploration, Peruvemba S. Jaya

The Qualitative Report

The study is focused on understanding identity construction through combining my own experience with the theoretical underpinnings of postcolonial theory, social identity theory and through the examination of two films. The central question that I am interested in is understanding the identity construction and formation process especially as it relates to individuals who have crossed borders and immigrated or moved to countries other than their home countries. The methodology I am employing is auto-ethnography; I am integrating this by using two films as sites of inquiry. Through this introspective, reflection combined with the theoretical framework of identity I uncover themes …

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"Every Word Is True": Stories Of Our Experiences In A Qualitative Research Course, Janet C. Richards May 2011

"Every Word Is True": Stories Of Our Experiences In A Qualitative Research Course, Janet C. Richards

The Qualitative Report

There is a sparse body of literature about students' and instructors' experiences in graduate qualitative courses. In this study, 11 doctoral students and one instructor employed a narrative framework to uncover our perceived truths about our experiences as we interacted, studied, pondered, and journeyed through a qualitative research methods course. Data were my chronologically ordered notes documenting my thinking and perceptions about my students and me and the doctoral students' chronologically ordered e-mail stories to their peers and to me. The inquiry illuminated the doctoral students' growth as researchers and highlighted the power of shared stories. Our narratives captured our …

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Consistency And Change In Participatory Action Research: Reflections On A Focus Group Study About How Farmers Learn, Fred P. Piercy, Nancy Franz, Joseph L. Donaldson, Robert F. Richard May 2011

Consistency And Change In Participatory Action Research: Reflections On A Focus Group Study About How Farmers Learn, Fred P. Piercy, Nancy Franz, Joseph L. Donaldson, Robert F. Richard

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on our efforts to balance consistency in our multi-year participatory action research study with the need to adapt our research protocol to what we are learning along the way. While both are important, we share several examples of how our flexibility and openness to adapt our protocol to our research findings has lead to methodological refinements and serendipitous learnings. We discuss implications for both agricultural education and research.

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Communicating Qualitative Research Study Designs To Research Ethics Review Boards, Carolyn Ells May 2011

Communicating Qualitative Research Study Designs To Research Ethics Review Boards, Carolyn Ells

The Qualitative Report

Researchers using qualitative methodologies appear to be particularly prone to having their study designs called into question by research ethics or funding agency review committees. In this paper, the author considers the issue of communicating qualitative research study designs in the context of institutional research ethics review and offers suggestions for researchers to consider in their communication of study designs to research ethics review boards. General information about the mandate of research ethics review boards is provided. In light of wide international variability with respect to research ethics regulatory environments and review board processes, specific considerations and suggestions about communicating …

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Research Praxis From Design To Completion: A Review Of Designing And Managing Your Research Project - Core Knowledge For Social And Health Researchers, Ronald R. Kumar May 2011

Research Praxis From Design To Completion: A Review Of Designing And Managing Your Research Project - Core Knowledge For Social And Health Researchers, Ronald R. Kumar

The Qualitative Report

Thomas and Hodges (2010) have written a very practical and indeed a valuable book on how to do research project design and management applicable to a wide readership. The book will be of particular importance to young researchers who are aspiring to hone the art of research and project management from design to completion. For the experienced, it's a book to read and reflect on. Discussing the critical elements involved in research, Thomas and Hodges use consultative-advising-coaching, empathy-towards-researchers and experienced-based approaches to reveal important core knowledge in research as a career whilst laying out the ground rules for effective research …

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Dialogic Exchanges And The Negotiation Of Differences: Female Graduate Students' Experiences Of Obstacles Related To Academic Mentoring, Sharon Hayes, Mirka Koro-Ljungberg May 2011

Dialogic Exchanges And The Negotiation Of Differences: Female Graduate Students' Experiences Of Obstacles Related To Academic Mentoring, Sharon Hayes, Mirka Koro-Ljungberg

The Qualitative Report

This study, framed by social constructionism, investigated the dialogic exchanges and co-construction of knowledge among female graduate students, who met to discuss the ways in which the differences between mentors and mentees might be negotiated in order to develop and maintain mentoring relationships that benefit both partners. Ten female graduate students, with qualitative research experience, participated in individual interviews and focus groups. Findings indicated our participants were open to the differences expressed, focusing on commonalities, rather than accentuating or suppressing stated differences. This negotiation of difference enabled our participants to co-construct more complex and legitimate understandings of mentoring. Collectively, our …

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The Vulnerable Researcher: Some Unanticipated Challenges Of Doctoral Fieldwork, Patricia Ballamingie, Sherrill Johnson May 2011

The Vulnerable Researcher: Some Unanticipated Challenges Of Doctoral Fieldwork, Patricia Ballamingie, Sherrill Johnson

The Qualitative Report

This paper draws explicitly on the field experiences of two doctoral researchers in geography to elucidate some of the challenges and issues related to researcher vulnerability that are especially acute for graduate students. In spite of significant differences in context, both researchers experienced an unanticipated degree of professional vulnerability during their doctoral fieldwork that warrants further exploration, including a theoretical interrogation of the complex (and shifting) terrain of power relations within qualitative research projects. This paper addresses the lacuna in the qualitative methodological research literature on the topic of researcher vulnerability (in contrast to the well-developed discussion of participant vulnerability). …

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Public Opinion And The Death Penalty: A Qualitative Approach, Diana L. Falco, Tina L. Freiburger May 2011

Public Opinion And The Death Penalty: A Qualitative Approach, Diana L. Falco, Tina L. Freiburger

The Qualitative Report

Strong public support for capital punishment is arguably the number one reason why the death penalty continues to be used as a form of correctional policy in the U.S. criminal justice system. Therefore, it is fundamental that the measure of death penalty opinion be heavily scrutinized. Utilizing a methodological approach not typically employed in this area, the current study conducted six focus groups to gain a better understanding of the complexity of these opinions. During the focus groups, participants were asked to state their general beliefs concerning the death penalty, respond to scenarios, and respond to research findings regarding the …

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Socio-Cultural Challenges In Conducting Ethnographic Research Among Ethiopian Street Youth, Patricia Guy Walls May 2011

Socio-Cultural Challenges In Conducting Ethnographic Research Among Ethiopian Street Youth, Patricia Guy Walls

The Qualitative Report

Little has been written on the personal experience of the researcher as it relates to data collection, data analysis and interpretation of results. Even more scarce has been knowledge that addresses the challenges and barriers faced by 21st century researchers engaged in ethnographic data collection amidst culturally diverse populations. The present work has addressed these gaps in the literature by detailing the personal, methodological and cultural challenges encountered by this researcher in a larger study which utilized a mixed method design to investigate homeless street youth in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Results indicated the need for social workers to possess an …

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Choreographing Intertextual Stories: Qualitative Inquiry Meets Oral History, Thalia M. Mulvihill, Amanda O. Latz May 2011

Choreographing Intertextual Stories: Qualitative Inquiry Meets Oral History, Thalia M. Mulvihill, Amanda O. Latz

The Qualitative Report

In Oral History for the Qualitative Researcher: Choreographing the Story (2010), Valerie J. Janesick offers readers an engaging conversational exploration of oral history methods using the metaphor of choreography. Janesick weaves together the theoretical and practical dimensions of conducting oral history projects and generously shares valuable examples throughout the text.

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Narrative Research Methodology In Mobile Work Research, Li Jin May 2011

Narrative Research Methodology In Mobile Work Research, Li Jin

The Qualitative Report

This book review provides a summary of the content of the book "Mobile Work, Mobile Lives: Cultural Accounts of Lived Experiences" and a critical review of the methodological strengths of the articles included in the book. It also points out one structural weakness of the book. The appropriate readership is recommended as well.

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The Challenges Of Reflexivity, Sarah Flogen May 2011

The Challenges Of Reflexivity, Sarah Flogen

The Qualitative Report

Perils, Pitfalls & Reflexivity aims to stimulate solutions to qualitative challenges that researchers encounter in countries with less research infrastructure and experience, and to expose to critical gaze the methodological and ethical assumptions that may be taken for granted in countries where there are more formal research processes. I read this book as a novice qualitative researcher with an active interest in reflexivity who lives in Canada, intrigued to learn from others' fieldwork, keen to encounter another point of view of ethics.

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"I Can See You": An Autoethnography Of My Teacher-Student Self, Erika França De Souza Vasconcelos Mar 2011

"I Can See You": An Autoethnography Of My Teacher-Student Self, Erika França De Souza Vasconcelos

The Qualitative Report

This article is an autoethnographic investigation of my second-nature teacher-student self. What has made me into the teacher I am? What makes me the teacher I am? In order to address these questions, I draw upon my memories of my own teachers and students. As I portray my teaching-learning experiences as textual "snapshots," I find that my most cherished memories come from when my teachers acknowledged my presence and listened to me, and when I have been in dialogue with my own students. My autoethnographic journey ends up linking the personal to pedagogical theory centering attention to relationships between teachers …

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Utilizing A New Graphical Elicitation Technique To Collect Emotional Narratives Describing Disease Trajectories, Marianne K. Thygesen, Birthe D. Pedersen, Jakob Kragstrup, Lis Wagner, Ole Mogensen Mar 2011

Utilizing A New Graphical Elicitation Technique To Collect Emotional Narratives Describing Disease Trajectories, Marianne K. Thygesen, Birthe D. Pedersen, Jakob Kragstrup, Lis Wagner, Ole Mogensen

The Qualitative Report

Elicitation techniques in connection with semi-structured interviews are scantily used, but reported to be beneficial to research. We developed and tested a new visual technique to be utilized in the latter part of semi-structured interviews. It has proved to be feasible and beneficial to use, and it could possibly be used by others. This way of extending the interviews generates more data in a visual form, as well as in a verbal form, by supporting the participants in remembering nearly forgotten parts of their experiences and in expressing emotions associated with those significant experiences. As a contribution to qualitative research, …

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Successfully Writing And Defending The Dissertation Proposal: A Review Of Designing Qualitative Research, Diana Riviera Mar 2011

Successfully Writing And Defending The Dissertation Proposal: A Review Of Designing Qualitative Research, Diana Riviera

The Qualitative Report

Designing Qualitative Research (5th ed.) by Catherine Marshall and Gretchen B. Rossman (2011) is, in my opinion, a book of compiled elements central to the design and defense of the qualitative research proposal. The authors provide invaluable examples through the use of vignettes. Overall, the book is an easy read that is essentially divided into two parts: research design and proposal defense. As a whole, this book is a useful tool for anyone taking on a qualitative research study for the first time.

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Welcome (Back) To The Old World: A Review Of Peter Swanborn's Case Study Research: What, Why And How?, Maja Miskovic Mar 2011

Welcome (Back) To The Old World: A Review Of Peter Swanborn's Case Study Research: What, Why And How?, Maja Miskovic

The Qualitative Report

Case Study Research, a book by Peter Swanborn, a former chair of methodology at the Universities of Utrecht and Amsterdam, joins the collection of scholarly sources available to students, researchers and practitioners interested in doing case studies. The author situates the book within a general methodological framework, useful for graduate courses with a strong emphasis on quantitative research, mainly organizational science, information management, marketing, health sciences, and psychology. The book offers precise advice regarding the case study design, steps to be followed in conducting it, and a secure epistemological-methodological space in which appropriate strategies lead to solutions/answers.

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Sometimes I Am Afraid: An Autoethnography Of Resistance And Compliance, Paige Averett, Danielle Soper Mar 2011

Sometimes I Am Afraid: An Autoethnography Of Resistance And Compliance, Paige Averett, Danielle Soper

The Qualitative Report

Utilizing a feminist autoethnographic stance and method, this article is based upon the dialogues produced by a student completing an assignment for a social work instructor. Various tensions are explored, including the role of autoethnography in both qualitative and feminist research and the role of fear in a woman's life. A critique of the role of culture in the experience of fear as well as the student's use of autoethnography to resist and accept fear is explored. The uses of autoethnography for social workers are also discussed.

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The Conflicts Between Grounded Theory Requirements And Institutional Requirements For Scientific Research, Jason Luckerhoff, François Guillemette Mar 2011

The Conflicts Between Grounded Theory Requirements And Institutional Requirements For Scientific Research, Jason Luckerhoff, François Guillemette

The Qualitative Report

The authors examined the conflicts between grounded theory (GT) requirements and institutional requirements for scientific research such as they were experienced by researchers and students. The overview of how GT was originally conceived served as background to the analysis of the problems GT users often faced when they submitted research projects to academic or granting committees. Three especially contentious aspects that arose from the data were discussed: the circularity of the general research method, the suspension of references to theoretical frameworks, and theoretical sampling. Participants to this study have explored some possibilities to overcome those conflicts.

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Reflection On The Methodological Aspects Of A Critical Ethnographic Approach Used To Inform Change For Adolescents With Disabilities, Sonia Gulati, Margo Paterson, Jennifer Medves, Rebecca Luce-Kapler Mar 2011

Reflection On The Methodological Aspects Of A Critical Ethnographic Approach Used To Inform Change For Adolescents With Disabilities, Sonia Gulati, Margo Paterson, Jennifer Medves, Rebecca Luce-Kapler

The Qualitative Report

Debate remains about how to effectively obtain information from adolescents with disabilities in marginalized areas and how to apply this knowledge to shape rehabilitation activities. This study explored how to empower adolescents in the urban slums of North India to assume greater control over their rehabilitation within the context of a local community-based rehabilitation program. Participants included 21 adolescents with and 11 adolescents without disability (aged 12 to 18 years), and 10 community-based rehabilitation workers. A critical ethnographic approach was adopted. Fieldwork was conducted from January to May 2005 and October 2006 to March 2007. This paper focuses on the …

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How To Conduct Ethnographic Research, Nisaratana Sangasubana Mar 2011

How To Conduct Ethnographic Research, Nisaratana Sangasubana

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of conducting ethnographic research. Methodology definition and key characteristics are given. The stages of the research process are described including preparation, data gathering and recording, and analysis. Important issues such as reliability and validity are also discussed.

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Corporate Ethnographers: Master Puzzlers, What They Do, And Their Value To The Business Sector, Alice Obenchain-Leeson Mar 2011

Corporate Ethnographers: Master Puzzlers, What They Do, And Their Value To The Business Sector, Alice Obenchain-Leeson

The Qualitative Report

Melissa Cefkin's book Ethnography and the Corporate Encounter is the fifth volume in a six-volume series on studies in public and applied anthropology by Berghahn Publishing. Cefkin unearths the world of corporate ethnography by explaining how the field evolved from the larger field of anthropology. Through collecting a variety of corporate ethnography studies conducted at Intel, Microsoft, and others, Cefkin brings to life the work of corporate ethnographers as master puzzlers as she attempts to answer the questions: What are corporate ethnographers and under what conditions do they work? What value does ethnography bring to the understanding of complex business …

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Clear And Engaging: A Review Of Sidnell's Conversation Analysis: An Introduction, Oksana Parylo Mar 2011

Clear And Engaging: A Review Of Sidnell's Conversation Analysis: An Introduction, Oksana Parylo

The Qualitative Report

Conversation Analysis: An Introduction by Jack Sidnell is a concise and clear primer to describing, analyzing, and understanding human talk. Combining theoretical descriptions and analysis of transcribed conversations, Sidnell (2010) explains the elements of conversational organization: turn-taking, action and understanding, preference, sequence, repair, turn construction, stories, and openings and closings. In addition, Sidnell opens the discussion about the role of topic and context in conversation analysis. Conversation Analysis: An Introduction is a good guide to conducting conversation analysis. This book is appropriate for those who are not familiar with conversation analysis and want to get a better understanding of this …

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A Reflexive Pragmatist Reading Of Alvesson's Interpreting Interviews, Brian T. Gearity Mar 2011

A Reflexive Pragmatist Reading Of Alvesson's Interpreting Interviews, Brian T. Gearity

The Qualitative Report

Remember those interviews you collected for that qualitative research study? How did you address issues of interviewee power, impression management and rationality? Was it "trustworthy"? Really? In Interpreting Interviews, Mats Alvesson summarizes the current state of thought on interviews as a tool for qualitative data collection and challenges this framework as simplistic and failing to account for its complexities as a social act. Alvesson argues for a critical consciousness and pragmatic approach to interviews. This review blurs genres from autoethnography and more traditional approaches while taking Alvesson's approach, reflexive pragmatism, to its logical consequences. As a whole, Interpreting Interviews is …

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Reflexivity And The Sociology Of Science And Technology: The Invention Of "Eryc" The Antibiotic, Fran Collyer Mar 2011

Reflexivity And The Sociology Of Science And Technology: The Invention Of "Eryc" The Antibiotic, Fran Collyer

The Qualitative Report

Until recently, the social-technical process of invention has fallen between sociological investigation of the genesis of a new idea (an ideational phenomenon) and the production of a new technology (a material phenomenon). The advent of post-modernism and post-structuralism offered new avenues for theorising invention, accounting for, on the one hand, its material nature, and, on the other, its ideational nature, through the notion of socio-technical ensembles: phenomena constructed through the co-producing, mutually constitutive action of actants (both human and otherwise). This paper argues that despite its potential, theorising within the sociology of science and technology is hampered by insufficient attention …

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Growing…But Constrained: An Exploration Of Teachers' And Researchers' Interactions With Culture And Diversity Through Personal Narratives, Kimetta R. Hairston, Martha J. Strickland Mar 2011

Growing…But Constrained: An Exploration Of Teachers' And Researchers' Interactions With Culture And Diversity Through Personal Narratives, Kimetta R. Hairston, Martha J. Strickland

The Qualitative Report

Educators from all realms of education who engage in in-depth conversations and reflections about personal experiences and perspectives related to diversity are significantly important to the cultural understandings in Education. This paper is a narrative analysis of how teachers who were enrolled in a Master's Program from two university campuses of the same predominantly White university participated in an in-depth look at their diverse cultural experiences through reflection and dialogue. Two researchers, one African American female utilizing the Critical Race Theory perspective the other Caucasian female using Socio-constructivism, interacted with one another and the teachers' narratives through several personal experiences …

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