In the section near the end of the chapter on overall research orientations, Cheney et al. observe: "Most analyses of communication content emphasize what is said or what is present in the 'text' . . . . In some cases, however, there might be important elements that are notable for their absence" (p. 465).
Several years ago one of my master's students, Shannon Waltrip-Sequiera, did her thesis research on how parents and teachers socially construct the notions of progression and regression in children with autism. She focused on the communication of two teachers and one parent about the parent's child with autism. As part of the program designed by the child's school, the teachers and parent wrote in a notebook that went to school and home with the child each day. The main focus of the notebook was addressing the child's needs, although topics varied. Shannon analyzed several years of the notebook's content and conducted in-depth interviews with the teachers and parent.
One interesting finding was the near absence of the parent's voice. The teachers dominated the communication in the notebook; the parent generally followed their lead in defining the child's progression and regression. In this case, as Cheney et al. suggest, the absence of the parent's communication was noteworthy, particularly when it was replaced by a grandparent's contributions to the notebook.
~ Professor Cyborg
Managers as Friends?
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I believe title already sounds pretty weird but I would still like to
provoke this idea. Have you ever become friends with your manager? Does it
really w...
16 years ago
2 comments:
While I read your post, I was thinking that the teachers' status as authority figures, from an edicational perspective, seemed to set the agenda for what was included in the journal, as well as who contributed to it. Perhaps the grandparents who had more distance from the situation were less intimidated by the teachers authority.
On a different topic....in my intro to grad studies course with Dr Sprague, I chose Kay Meidlinger's thesis to analyze for an assignment because I like the idea of exploring the way different groups communicate within the same organization.
I agree that the teachers had an educational plan. In addition, because of their knowledge of autism, you're right that they are considered authority figures. The parent was also a single parent at the time, so I suspect welcomed letting others take the lead in deciding on the best course of action. The grandparent was more detached from the day-to-day caretaking (although certainly helped out quite a bit). Age might be a factor, too, in the grandparent being more willing to write in the notebook.
Interesting that you analyzed Kay's thesis. Of course, I found what she wrote about really fascinating.
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