Pedagogies: An International Journal

ISSN: 1554-480X (Print) 1554-4818 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/hped20

Anthropologies of education: a global guide to

ethnographic studies of learning and schooling, by
Kathryn M. Anderson-Levitt, New York, Berghahn
Books, 2012, vii + 353 pp., US$95.00 (hardback),
ISBN 978-0-85745-273-3
Guat Hua Koh
To cite this article: Guat Hua Koh (2013) Anthropologies of education: a global guide
to ethnographic studies of learning and schooling, by Kathryn M. Anderson-Levitt, New
York, Berghahn Books, 2012, vii + 353 pp., US$95.00 (hardback), ISBN 978-0-85745-273-3,
Pedagogies: An International Journal, 8:2, 191-194, DOI: 10.1080/1554480X.2013.767771
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1554480X.2013.767771

Published online: 15 Feb 2013.

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Date: 28 December 2015, At: 18:13

Pedagogies: An International Journal, 2013

Vol. 8, No. 2, 191196

BOOK REVIEWS

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Anthropologies of education: a global guide to ethnographic studies of learning and

schooling, by Kathryn M. Anderson-Levitt, New York, Berghahn Books, 2012, vii +
353 pp., US$95.00 (hardback), ISBN 978-0-85745-273-3
Any nave newcomer . . . visiting scholar . . . or . . . brand-new student (p. 3) entering the
world of anthropologies of education without this guide might face the initial perplexing
challenge of navigating through the voluminous work produced by researchers in this field
and published as books and journal articles. With this group of readers in mind, Kathryn
M. Anderson-Levitt, professor of anthropology, has designed a world tour by inviting
other experienced anthropologists and ethnographers to share their knowledge and research
experiences in this field. These invited chapter authors review ethnographic work done in
different parts of the world Berlin; the Anglophone World; Mexico; Buenos Aires; Brazil;
the French-speaking World of Belgium, Switzerland and Quebec; Italy; Central Europe
(Bulgaria, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia); Scandinavia;
Japan; China; Israel and the French-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa.
Anthropologies of education, in particular ethnographic studies of education, until
today, have often been associated with work done by scholars in the United States, Canada,
United Kingdom and Australia. By inviting the authors from countries less known for
their research in anthropologies of education, Anderson-Levitt hopes to raise the awareness of the research community to research in the countries that have, so far, been quietly
ignored. This awareness might even spur researchers from other countries not included in
this volume to persevere in their efforts to conduct ethnographic research in education.
The editor poses a series of questions in the introduction to prepare the readers for their
encounters as they proceed to explore the world of anthropologies and ethnographies of
education. She also includes a brief discussion of the global development of the ethnographies of education as a preview to the subsequent 13 chapters which provide more detailed
reports of the development of anthropologies of education in the respective country/region.
Chapter survey
Even though the book comprises 13 chapters (excluding the Introduction and the
Conclusion) written by 20 authors from very diverse political, economic, social and cultural background, a sense of unity is achieved through the questions raised by the editor to
be addressed by the chapter authors:

How do you and your colleagues define the anthropology or ethnography of

education? What kinds of scholarship do you include?

What have been the major themes or the major debates within the literature as you
define it?

To what scholars or schools of thought do you point as sources of inspiration? (p. 3)

This set of questions entails careful research of the historical developments of anthropologies and ethnographies of education, which have been painstakingly carried out by the

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192

Book reviews

various authors, as evidenced by the abundance of information that could be gained from
the reading of each chapter. Going through these 13 chapters, readers will find that research
in this field has gained more recognition and momentum mostly in the last 30 years. Each
chapter includes reports on the development of the field, from the earliest known dates to
more recent studies in the respective country/region. Ethnographic studies in most of these
countries have focused heavily on areas like school; work of teachers; performance of students, in particular those who have failed in formal educational institutions; ethnicity and
minority groups and cultural diversity. However, there are also different emphases due to
each countrys/regions unique background and what the authors hope to achieve through
the report. For example, the authors of the first two chapters go beyond the objective of
purely providing a country review of the field.
In Chapter 1, readers are provided with a short sketch of an example of historical cultural anthropology, The Berlin Study of Rituals. Readers will learn from Wulf that, by
penetrating into the inner-city school to study the roles of rituals in four areas of socialization, namely, families, schools, childrens and youth culture and the media, a combination
of the diverse methods can be used by ethnographers for research. Wulf also deals with
issues that are more internationally significant (p. 30) and aids the readers in understanding the educational phenomena, processes and institutions in a globalized world
(p. 30) through his discussion of the development of anthropology of education in Germany
through five major anthropological paradigms.
Chapter 2 provides valuable information concerning ethnographic research in the
Anglophone world. Rather than merely reviewing the development of the field, Delamont
inclines towards a more critical analysis of the academic research arena and the ethnographic studies carried out in this part of the world. Although a lot of work has been done
on anthropologies of education, according to Delamonts research for this chapter, most of
this work has been concentrated in the North American region, in particular, the United
States. Delamont notes that research done by North American scholars has been the centre of attention of researchers in the field, and, with reference to the countries other than
those in the Anglophone world, comments, We and our countries do not exist (p. 62).
This signals a call for the research community to begin to pay more attention to studies by
non-Americans.
Delamont evaluates the studies done so far and points out several shortcomings of
the North American research. She is critical of the narrow focus of research on schools,
which is also true of the studies reported by many of the other chapter authors, with the
lenses zoomed in on minority groups and immigrants. For example, the North American
researchers have focused heavily on Native Americans and the other ethnic minority
groups, paying particular attention to the poor performance of these minority students
in the mainstream schools and investigating the cause of their failures in school. Yet,
those who have succeeded often disappear from the researchers field of vision. Failures of
minority students have been attributed to the clash of culture between the students and the
state school. It should be noted here that many of the research foci of researchers from the
other countries are similar to these highlighted by Delamont.
A survey of the other chapters reveals the influence of each countrys diverse political,
economic, social and cultural background on the authors reports of the development of the
countrys research in anthropologies of education. Several of the authors explicitly refer to
the political influence on the direction of progress and the themes of focus. Neufelds
brief sketch of Argentinas history shows the suppression of the military government on
research in anthropology, which led to preferences for topics related to the effects of that
period of dictatorship, when research and teaching of sociocultural anthropology in the

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Pedagogies: An International Journal

193

country resumed. Ouyang from China recounts the political leaderships ban on the discipline during the Cultural Revolution and its revival after a change of political leadership
in 1978. Shlasky and his colleagues from Israel comment that the diverse research topics
engaging researchers reflect the problem of identity (p. 270) that the State of Israel, made
up of Jewish immigrants from other parts of the world, has to grapple with.
In addition to political and economic factors, a regions social and cultural history also
exerts a strong influence on researchers choice of topics. Among the many themes that
Rockwell and Apodaca have identified in culturally diverse Mexico are themes related to
culture, power, identity and indigenous rights. In Brazil, another culturally diverse society,
Gomes and Gomes report that culture and education and race relations and education, are
among the focal themes. The Roma issue has been a prominent focus for researchers in five
of the six countries making up Central Europe, Poland being the exception. Erss describes
the Roma people as a numerically and symbolically important minority group of people in
these countries. Gobbo notes that anthropological research in Italy has been influenced by
the cultural, ethnic, occupational and religious diversity existing together with immigrant
diversity in the Italian society. Research themes include cultural diversities and minority
childrens schooling.
In the other countries, a different set of factors exists. In the French-speaking world
of Belgium, Switzerland and Quebec, Raveaud and Draelants report an increased interest
in the ethnography of education through the influence of American and British literature,
with research focusing on primary and secondary school students and their learning in
school and in the playground, school culture and practices and educational segregation
and discrimination. Anderson, Gullv and Valentin write from the perspective of the welfare state of Scandinavia where children and youth are seen as social actors. Minouras
review of the research history of Japan, a relatively homogeneous society with only 1.6%
non-Japanese by year 2005, shows an emphasis of studies on the countrys ordinary
educational institutions (p. 214), management of student behaviour and teachers work
and exhaustion. According to Diallo, in recent years, research themes in the Frenchspeaking Sub-Saharan Africa have been largely dictated by international funding agencies.
Some examples are studies on improving the quality of education, higher education, girls
education, citizenship and the impact of ICT and HIV/AIDS on education.
The survey mentioned will provide newcomers with some understanding of the kind of
work done in the field and the kind of influence external factors exert on the researchers
choice of themes to study. I shall next discuss some of the challenges this volume poses for
less-initiated scholars in this field.
Challenges for newcomers
One challenge newcomers reading this volume would have to confront would be understanding the many technical terms anthropology and anthropologies, sociology, ethnography and ethnographies and ethnology, just to name the few more frequently used.
Embedded in the chapter reviews, readers will come across the authors differing perspectives and definitions of the various terms. The editor herself notes in the Introduction the
term anthropology does not mean the same thing everywhere (p. 5). Her explanation
of the terms (pp. 56) will serve to clarify the interrelatedness of the concepts for readers who already have some knowledge of the field, but newcomers might need more help.
Likewise, in the Conclusion, Professor van Zantens insightful global analysis of the field
of anthropology, ethnography and the role of ethnographers themselves is again valuable
knowledge for the more experienced scholars, but can overwhelm newcomers who are
preparing to take the first step into the field.

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Book reviews

Throughout the volume, the many references to prominent scholars, past and present,
with whom experienced anthropologists and ethnographers are familiar would pose another
challenge for the newcomers. To appreciate these great scholars impact on ethnographic
studies in anthropologies of education and their theoretical perspectives, newcomers who
might not have much knowledge in this field might need to do further research concerning
their background and their contributions to the field. So it appears that more homework
needs to be done in order to participate in this world tour.

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Opportunities for further exploration

Newcomers will be able to find many unexplored areas to venture into. Taking heed
of Delamonts criticism above of the narrow focus of ethnographic research in the
Anglophone world, future exploration could focus on education outside schools where
teaching and learning are also taking place. Investigating minority students who are able
to defy the bane of culture clash to succeed in state schools will be another refreshing
angle. Another potential area of research would be to focus on main stream population
rather than on minority group and immigrants.
Potential researchers should also take note of Delamonts criticism of the anthropology
of education carried out in North America as an undertheorized field (p. 60) where studies have been carried out without any anthropological theory. Another point raised is that
there has been little discussion on the methodology employed. Such comments serve as a
reminder to potential researchers of the need to consider these issues.
Conclusion
This volume not only contains a vast amount of information concerning ethnography of
education but also introduces to the world the works of previously unknown ethnographers. Anderson-Levitts early effort (p. vii) might just be the catalyst for further fruitful
exploration of the field.
Guat Hua Koh
School of Foreign Languages, Shaanxi Normal University,
Peoples Republic of China
Email: guathua@gmail.com
2013, Guat Hua Koh
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1554480X.2013.767771

Anthropologies of education: a global guide to ethnographic studies of learning and

schooling, by Luciana C. de Oliveira, Charlotte, NC, Information Age, 2011, xviii +
152 pp., US$45.99 (paperback), ISBN 978-1-61735-336-9
In order to successfully think like historians (p. 15) and interpret and write about
historical content, secondary level students, especially English Learners (ELs), need an
understanding of the subject-specific ways in which language is used in historical discourse (Fang & Schleppegrell, 2010). In this important new study, Luciana de Oliveira uses
findings from her work with the University of California Davis History Teacher Project
to discuss the expectations that participating history teachers tend to have about student