| Summary: | The push for educational reform in the province of Quebec, Canada has brought to the foreground many ideas about what needs to be done to improve the learning experience of students. While there has been some movement in the primary grade levels, change in the secondary level is still in its infancy. There are some teachers, however, in high schools who have been on the cutting edge of educational reform. The purpose of this study is to look at participation within a secondary classroom where the philosophy of the reform is being acted upon. The study, qualitative in design, is a type of ethnographic investigation of a teacher and students in a Grade VII language arts classroom. The classroom is a part of an exclusive program, namely the Alternative Learning Program, nested in a public high school in the Montreal area. === Using various means of data collection such as field notes and interviews, the researcher examines the various dimensions of participation as it unfolds in this particular classroom. The researcher identifies these dimensions as assigned and shared participation. The data suggests that dynamics beyond assigned and shared participation are also evident. The dynamics, identified as participative tone, contribute to student views of the uniqueness of this particular learning environment. To present a trustworthy description of what is observed, however, the investigator shows situations in which participation is not apparent. These situations are identified as participative resistance. The researcher deduces that participation and participative resistance need to be viewed as context-bound and are, in many respects, points on a continuum. === Attempts have been made in the research to allow the study participants to express their views. Through interviews, students share in their own words what participation means to them. Their words add depth to understanding of what student participation is. The study suggests that notions of the child-centered or student-centered classroom, while commendable, are not necessarily an aspiration to strive for. === The study affirms that the teacher plays a key position in the classroom environment. The study begins by showing the various roles that the teacher assumes in her daily practice. Views of the teacher are presented along with perceptions of the students and the researcher to determine the various roles played out in this site. The study concludes that the teacher conducts her practice by exceeding the boundaries of her roles so identified. === The study shows that the classroom does not stand in isolation, but is subject to various influences from the school, as well as the community at large. The researcher identifies these influences as context and conditions using another site as a point of reference. The secondary sight brings clarity to what the researcher observes. The researcher concludes that in addition to communal influences, learning in the primary site takes place under the banner of what is defined as an arts-oriented curriculum. The arts-oriented curriculum contributes to the sense of community in the classroom. But data also suggest that the classroom does not always function as a community. In spite of the teacher's good intentions, tensions sometimes foster a competitive rather than collaborative spirit among the students.
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