"... behaviors which require accounts are generally those behaviors
which are considered "deviant." Presumably one does not have to account
for "normal" behavior."
I'm afraid I don't know what readings people are referring to, but
would like to comment on the above remark.
First, decisions need to be made about how the words 'deviant' and
'normal' are to be defined. (I'm stating the obvious, I know, but please
bear with me.) For example, Hargreaves et al. (1975) draw attention to
whether deviance is defined as rule breaking (e.g. doing something wrong,
which may be a view held and enforced by a minority), or in quantitave
terms (i.e. a case which is different from the majority of cases). 'Normal'
will have to be defined in relation to what kind of definition one decides
on for 'deviance'.
Second (and for me this is the more interesting point) in my own
study, I find myself and my participants trying to account for 'normal'
behaviour - 'normal' meaning both 'usual' and 'what is considered
appropriate'. I am researching the experiences of British secondary school
supply (substitute) teachers. Some experiences and behaviours are unique to
supply teaching. However, what is intriguing is the degree to which supply
teachers behave like the 'normal' teachers they compare themselves with.
Many of the contextual factors in supply teaching differ from those in the
regular, timetabled teaching; it is interesting to see how these supply
teachers describe and accept as normal what are extraordinary circumstances
(as far as the regular staff are concerned).
Getting accounts of what is normal, what is meant by normal, and
why certain things are regarded as normal is every bit as interesting as
investigating the deviant.
Hargreaves, D., Hester, S., and Mellor, F. (1975) Deviance in classrooms,
RKP, London
Alexander
******************************************************************************
Alexander Massey, <alexander.massey@edstud.ox.ac.uk>
DPhil student, Department of Educational Studies, Oxford University, 15
Norham Gardens, Oxford OX2 6PY, England
"What appears to be a sloppy or meaningless use of words may well be a
completely correct use of words to express sloppy or meaningless ideas."