The normativity of the helping child - meta-ethnographic perspectives on individualised learning in age-mixed classrooms

• Published in: Ethnography and education 2017-05, Vol.12 (2), p.165-177
• Main Authors: Huf, Christina, Raggl, Andrea
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: age-mixed learning; Classroom Techniques; Classrooms; Educational Research; Elementary education; Elementary School Students; Ethnography; Foreign Countries; Grounded Theory; helping practices; individualised learning; Learning; Learning Processes; meta-ethnography; Mixed Age Grouping; Primary classrooms; Researchers
• ISSN: 1745-7823; 1745-7831
• DOI: 10.1080/17457823.2016.1192479

This paper discusses possibilities of synthesising ethnographic data. This discussion implies a critical appraisal of the methodology of 'Meta-Ethnography'. Taking Noblit's and Hare's concept of Meta-Ethnography as a starting point to develop their own practice of synthesising data, the paper suggests to reconsider the possibility to bring in primary data into the synthesis, to involve primary researchers and to develop a grounded theoretical synthesis. Building on their own practice of a shared grounded synthesis, the authors discuss how a synthesis of ethnographic data conducted by two primary researchers has the potential to open new conceptual and theoretical perspectives on individualised learning in age-mixed classes. The results of the 'Shared Grounded Synthesising' indicate a strong tendency of individualised learning and teaching to rely on and produce the normativity of the helping child.