Between Stranger and Friend: Some Consequences of “Long Term” Fieldwork in Schools

This paper describes some major consequences of doing fieldwork in schools over an extended period of time. Using Powdermaker’s distinction of “stranger and friend,” the paper traces the balance between these two roles and perspectives in terms of role, reciprocity, and receptivity through a description of the author’s two year study of student life in a junior high school. The paper first describes the evolution from stranger to friend by examining role relationships between the fieldworker and his informants. It then focuses upon the problem of the fieldworker having to take on some of the characteristics of the groups he is studying. Finally the paper discusses both the beneficial and counter-productive tendencies of these positions for the fieldworker’s receptivity to insights about a “familiar” setting. Conclusions center around the dynamic interaction between stranger and friend in long term fieldwork in educational settings.