Fieldwork begins
A week of observation turned "school culture" from a chapter title into a hallway I actually walk now.
Five days, one clipboard, and a standing agreement that I would not help. Not helping turned out to be the hardest research method I have ever practiced.
By Thursday I stopped recording events and started recording who was allowed to interrupt whom. That single shift produced more usable data than the first three days combined.
Related journal entries
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After a whole week of observation I realized the office is the busiest room in the building, and the only one with no doors to open. Leadership here is mostly listening.
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