|
The Diary Day and Student Interview Process in Practice
Dennie Palmer Wolf (2005) utilized the Diary Day and Student Interview Process to describe and contrast the experiences of two fourth-grade female students living in a large American city. The girls live in the same neighborhood and both attend public school.
Both are capable and energetic. Either could grow up to be a doctor, school board member, theater director, or mayor – depending on the opportunities she has.
|
To be sure, this snapshot of two girls' lives does not tell us all we want to know about the resources available to them or how they are used. But even a cursory reading of the two diary days makes a strong case that these two girls – both of them potential parents, workers, jury members, and voters in their community – are growing up with very different opportunities. The two girls' experiences differ in:
- the range of adults who know and can support them
- the frequency of interactions with those adults
- the time spent in the role of agent versus more passive roles of witness or consumer
|
|
These differences are far from trivial. They occur in precisely those areas we know to be critical to youth development: respect for one's own identity and agency, the ability to form relationships, and the courage to take constructive risks (e.g., seek new opportunities outside an established community, attempt crossing the barriers of race and class).
Other differences are notable that need to be analyzed with sensitivity to cultural differences. For instance, mainstream American thinking generally privileges the educational value of "investment" activities that enrich an individual (e.g., lessons, clubs, practices) over that of "instrumental" activities that contribute to the welfare of a group (e.g., meal preparation, babysitting). But, independently of the student's evaluation, the student's family and community may highly value these instrumental activities. Care should be taken to identify any cultural assumptions the analyst may bring to the work.
Top
|
|
