Ethnography, a research method associated with anthropology, means "portrait of a people." It involves extensive fieldwork, including observation and interviews, to describe cultures and groups ranging from tribes in faraway places to local offices and classrooms. Ethnographic studies combine detailed narrative with interpretations of the events being observed. In middle school reading interventions, ethnographic studies enable researchers to observe instruction firsthand, along with the students' responses to it and the extent to which the instruction impacts their reading performance.
Ethnographic studies of middle school reading intervention programs combine classroom observation, interviews and focus groups, and document analysis. Researchers may study the lesson plans and other materials used in the intervention programs themselves. Observation is a major element of ethnographic studies. In a middle school reading intervention setting, researchers observe the classrooms in which struggling readers receive instruction. Observations combined with document analysis enable researchers to study the extent to which teachers follow the lesson plans outlined in the programs. Researchers can then interview teachers and students or conduct focus group interviews to assess perceptions of the programs and whether they help improve students' reading abilities.
Hope Smith Davis of Indiana University South Bend, studied students' and teachers' understanding of reading by reviewing two ethnographic studies of middle school reading interventions. Her study appeared in the 2009 edition of the "American Reading Forum Annual Yearbook." Davis noted that many reading intervention programs are scripted, utilizing packaged materials designed by a publisher and a set format for instructing students that allows for little modification by teachers. Davis concluded that the activities and skills given priority by these programs impact students' perceptions of reading. For example, programs that emphasize decoding, or the sounding out of words to build vocabularies, reinforce students' ideas of reading as a decoding exercise rather than an activity for engaging with text.
Although ethnographic studies can reveal important findings about reading interventions themselves, as well as student and teacher responses to these programs, such studies have limitations. Depending on study methodologies, they may not demonstrate a strong connection between participation in these interventions and improved scores on standardized reading tests.