The Man in the Principal's Office - by Harry F Wolcott (Paperback)

About the Book

Harry Wolcott's ground-breaking anthropological study into the life of an elementary school principal is now reprinted in a new edition. One of the first studies of its kind, Wolcott uses a microenthnographic approach to analyze a single occupation within urban American society. Originally written in 1973, the text skillfully applies anthropological concepts and methodology to the realm of education.

Book Synopsis

Harry Wolcott's ground-breaking anthropological study into the life of an elementary school principal is now reprinted in a new edition. One of the first studies of its kind, Wolcott uses an mircoenthnographic approach to analyze a single occupation within urban American society. Originally written in 1973, the text skillfully applies anthropological concepts and methodology to the realm of education. This new edition features an updated preface written by the author.

Review Quotes

The Man in the Principal's Office is such an intriquing story! I loved it. The book provides useful educational examples for an instructor in sociology of education to exemplify concepts such as manifest and latent funtions, unintended consequences, sponsored and contest mobility, and especially socialization and the bureacracy in a way meaningful to educators and teachers. Then, of course, for our many doctoral students, this study is a fine example of an ethnography.--Edith King, University of Denver

The Man in the Principal's Office: An Ethnography is urban micro-ethnography at its best...Wolcott's research demonstrates the value which exhaustive analysis of any occupation can have in highlighting the assumptions of a society as a whole and as such stands as a model for the heretofore under-used technique of approaching the study of urban society through careful analysis of the fusion of individual goals and identity with the behavioral expectations appropriate to their occupations.--Richard Basham & David DeGroot "American Anthropologist"

Wolcott demonstrates the rare insights that can be derived from applying anthropological concepts and methodology to the domain of education.--Arnold J. Keller "National Elementary Principal"

Wolcott's (1973) study of an elementary school principal . . . has been described by anthropologists as a classic ethnography.--George Spindler & Louise Spindler "Anthropology & Education Quarterly"

About the Author

Harry F. Wolcott (1929-2012) was professor emeritus in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Oregon and a leading author in anthropology and research methods. Wolcott's major works include anthropological studies of American education: Teachers Versus Technocrats and The Man in the Principal's Office: An Ethnography. He also wrote extensively on fieldwork and writing: Transforming Qualitative Data; The Art of Fieldwork; Ethnography: A Way of Seeing; and Writing Up Qualitative Data and is the author of the more recent Sneaky Kid and Its Aftermath: Ethics and Intimacy in Fieldwork (all published by AltaMira Press).