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Open Access Thesis

Keywords

Junior high schools--Iowa; Junior high school students--Economic conditions; Junior high school students--Social conditions; Junior high schools; Iowa;

Abstract

This report begins with a brief discussion of the overall purpose of social science: to be of service to humankind. To examine and report one's findings is no longer the whole of the responsibility of social scientific research. One must also examine the purpose and objectives of that research. In view of those statements, the objective of this project--the gathering and analysis of information on the culture of junior high school students-- is to gain a better understanding of early adolescence and thereby offer opportunities for insights not only into their culture but to add to the body of knowledge about human culture in general. Ethnographic interviewing methods are based on the symbolic interactionist premises that (1) things--people, objects, activities--are all symbolic of socially shared meanings, (2) that meaning derives from social interaction, and (3) that meanings are interpretations of situations. As the theoretical springboard for ethnographic interviewing, it is also asserted that language is the best single way of communicating the meanings of cultural symbols. Ethnographic interviewing techniques and methods of analysis are used to examine and understand those meaning systems. These methods are discussed in turn. Based on the concept that societies have multiple social worlds it is asserted that junior high school culture is one such world in our contemporary complex society. To discover that world two sets of interviews were conducted with informants from Peet Junior High School in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and from Waverly-Shell Rock Junior High School in Waverly, Iowa. Three chapters are devoted to reporting the information gathered from those interviews. Chapter 2 is a discussion of the settings and activities, organized according to informants' respective school. As students' lives have a natural division between school-related and non-school related activities, that is the criteria used here. It was found that although young teens live in the same communities as adults, their "haunts" are not always the same. Each setting becomes a cultural scene in which the culture of these young people is played out. Chapter 3 concentrates on the status hierarchy and "kinds of kids" that attend the two schools. It was found that there is a three-tiered hierarchy of status at each school with popular people at the pinnacle and "Grits" or "Dirtheads" at the lowest stratum. In Waverly it was also learned that a fourth category, "Loners," is also present. Also, in Waverly, there are subcategories within the major "crowds." When analyzed and contrasted with taxonomies and cultural domains found during the interviews, it was discovered that the status hierarchy is a major organizing factor in this culture. It permeates, to one degree or another, many aspects of the lives of these young teens. Chapter 4 focuses on interpersonal relationships of junior high school students. Two such relationships are of greater importance during these years: friends and members of the opposite sex. Friends are fewer in number and more is required of friendship in the way of commitment and such qualities as trust and understanding. "Going together" is a prelude to dating and going steady and it also functions as a means to social climbing and setting a record. The final chapter is a summary of previous data and includes the dual conclusions about the research material and method. In ethnographic interviewing the research conclusion is discovery and reporting of a major cultural theme or themes. It is asserted that the predominance of the categories and the status hierarchy is indicative of the value to be popular and to enjoy the positive attention of one's peers. This in turn suggests the "looking glass self" theory where one's self-image is intimately tied to the response of others to one's self. In early adolescence the quest for self-identity is profoundly important and others, especially peers (here meant as an age category), aid in the formation of that identity and the validation of it. Seeking the answer to the question ''Who am I?" is at the core of early adolescent culture. The final section is a review of the method of ethnographic interviewing in this particular research. It was found that it is indeed an effective tool in the investigation of a culture and especially effective in learning about the culture of junior high school students.

Year of Submission

1985

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Department of Sociology and Anthropology

First Advisor

Ronald Roberts

Second Advisor

Robert E. Claus

Third Advisor

Alice Swensen

Comments

If you are the rightful copyright holder of this thesis and wish to have it removed from the Open Access Collection, please submit a request to scholarworks@uni.edu and include clear identification of the work, preferably with URL.

Date Original

1985

Object Description

1 PDF file (125 leaves)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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