- To find the scholarly sources, I’ve used the SU library database primarily. I’ve noticed that when searching for articles its best to use unique describing words to find a specific subject, my searches typically bring up 10,000 or more articles, and that’s with 5-6 keywords. When searching with less than that I got results that varied much farther out of my topic, and it was much harder to search through the list to find ones that pertain to my subject. My major at SU is Fashion design, and I have only written three essays that have needed scholarly sources. So, in general, I’m not that experienced in the art of critical research, I haven’t run into any roadblocks when researching, and recently have found some great articles for our canon.
- My research has landed me on the subject of the diversity and profiling of children in the education system. The recent article I used was written by four early childhood professors, and addressed this issue and collected data from studies involving student teachers learning to form connections with their students and learning how to form equity in the classroom. Their insights were very informative and introduced me more to what the current education majors in college need to focus on when they start their professional careers. I’d like to find an article that a current teacher who teaches ages 6-12 has written and addresses the disadvantages the children face because of a physical or social difference from their classmates. This issue usually is too complex for the children to give an appropriate response to, so I hope to find an article that addresses the teacher’s role in the classroom and with their fellow teachers and how they work towards a level playing field for all students. Issues, in public schools especially, can range from racial, gender, and sexuality bias, as well as a child’s social class and physical appearance. These issues may not all align in a single article, so I plan on widening my search to books and journals, as well as multiple articles that could focus more on one specific issue rather than all or most of them.
Writing and organizational cultures
Wow. I could see how children might be unkind to a child who might be perceived as different, but never considered how a teacher – an adult – might be guilty of the same.
Sadly, yes–adults can be capable of cruelty to children with disabilities. There was a case right here in CNY a few years ago in which a teacher, who was aggravated by the way a child with autism was acting out, physically dragged this kid to the principal’s office and then literally *threw* the child over the counter while announcing to the office staff that the kid was their problem now. (The jury did *not* convict this individual, by the way. No kidding.)
Hi Isaac, I also use Syracuse libraries and I feel their selection really helps target the voices of young individuals with stories to tell. I am also focusing on minority students and I feel that analyzing the stories of these individuals will help draw a picture and explain the situation more in depth to the audience. I think this will be an amazing piece and you have a lot of resources to look through.
Typical database searches are going to focus on peer-reviewed, scholarly publications, and most K-12 teachers aren’t going to be publishing there–it’s a different audience and a different purpose than they’re generally concerned with.
Given that you’re looking for sources written by teachers, professional/trade journals would be a good place to start (you can add this as a search parameter on SUMMON). There are also many professional publications available on the open web–places where teachers talk to other teachers about their experiences.