Archived: The Educational System in the United States: Case Study Findings

Field Research and the Topic of
Investigation
We had conversations with teachers, administrators, students, and parents in three
cities in the United States and conducted related classroom observations of the
16 schools that we visited in these 3 cities. Our discussions focused on the views
of respondents about the sources of individual differences in ability, the practices
related to these differences, and their efficacy and fairness. Most of the respond-
ents voiced strong opinions about these topics and were generally frank and forth-
coming in offering their opinions about the problems they see in this area.
At the primary site, Metro City, the author conducted most of the interviews and
observations pertaining to individual differences. In addition, a number of inter-
views dealing with this topic were conducted in Spanish by Carmen Maldonado
de Johnson. Also, Mavis Sanders conducted a portion of the interviews with Afri-
can-American respondents. Carmen Maldonado de Johnson and William Foraker
conducted the interviews and observations on this topic in West City, while Ger-
ald LeTendre and Sally Lubeck collected the interview and observation data in East
City. Foraker, Maldonado de Johnson, LeTendre, Lubeck, and Sanders shared their
data with the author, and these data are reflected in this chapter.
In pursuit of information on individual differences, the author and his research
colleagues conducted 33 interviews at high schools, 8 at vocational high schools,
27 at middle schools, and 27 at elementary schools. Of all the interviews pertain-

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ing to this topic, approximately 17 were held in West City and 10 in East City.
In addition, approximately 34 classroom and general observations were included
in the data analysis. Printed information obtained from schools, school boards, and
other secondary sources was also integrated into research findings.
This chapter presents findings in four areas related to the topic of individual dif-
ferences. One area concerns the perception people have about the important
sources of individual differences in student learning. To what extent are effort and
differences in ability seen as important to students’ academic achievement? A sec-
ond area deals with the ways schools and school districts respond to individual
differences by creating tracks and programs and how teachers manage individual
differences in the classroom. A third area is concerned with the attitudes people
have about these practices. We wanted to know if people thought that these pro-
grams or practices were effective and fair. The fourth area of investigation was
the attitude of people toward the education of students with either severe handi-
caps or special talents.