著者

白松 賢

出版者

日本教育社会学会

雑誌

教育社会学研究 (ISSN:03873145)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.84, pp.49-64, 2009-05-31

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This paper attempts to determine a method for making use of the "image of deviation," which we fieldworkers possess and typically regard as a bias contaminating our research, as a resource for interpretation, and by doing so open the door to the field of "deviation." Among qualitative studies of educational sociology, only a handful have focused on the self (involvement, attitude, etc.) expressed in the "image" held by researchers. One of the reasons for this situation seems to be the long-standing perception among quantitative studies in educational sociology that the "image" (involvement and attitude) introduced by the researcher is "a potential contaminant" that should be "separated out, neutralized, minimized, standardized, and controlled" (Fine et al. 2000, p. 108) In this paper, we begin by examining barriers to fieldwork in the area of "deviation" (the problem of fieldworkers being regarded as contamination) and, through research and study in the "narrative mode," offer direction in shifting to a closed field. Secondly, we develop a method of description that transforms the fieldworker's "image" into a resource for research and interpretation. In order to achieve this goal, the "practice of interpretation" must first be described in words, through a transformation of the fieldworker's "image" into a resource for interpretation; the method of description must also be properly set out and organized, in order to avoid becoming trapped in a "dead end of self-reflection." We opt to focus on the "writing mode" and "reading mode" (Emerson et al. 1995, p. 63) as methods of description, and adopt a technique by which we avoid the "dead end of self-reflection." In transforming the "image" into a resource for interpretation, we focus our attention on the distinction between "content" (experience lived and experience described: what is described) and "method" (way of description: how to describe) (Gubrium and Holstein 2000, p. 496). By carefully describing "first person narrative" and "third person narrative," we also explain in this description the process of interaction-based meaning construction. Thirdly, based on results of actual fieldwork (follow-up survey on persons who have experienced taking magic mushrooms), we discuss ways to move toward practical applications in problem solving. (1) The process described in this paper is the same as the "interpretation technique" (process of interpretation practice) of "those who have experienced magic mushrooms," re-emphasizing that this practice may be referred to as a reason why people take magic mushrooms, and offering hints, though limited, toward answering the larger question of "why people take magic mushrooms." (2) Our next step will be in the direction of initiating a dialogue with the findings of previous studies. The dialogue between "cause approach" and "process approach" is important in terms of practical aspects of this research. For example, we can propose that, based on the results of this paper, the concepts of "neutralization" and "drift" can be reconstructed as ideas corresponding to situation-dependent interpretation practice applied to the deviation category.