| Popis: |
This research addresses a gap in the research of youth culture by examining the ways middle school students use informal economics, the exchange of goods or services not controlled or endorsed by an institution, and how it affects their social hierarchy. Specifically looking at food exchange in the lunchroom of the middle school, this study is an ethnographic look into this highly complex piece of youth culture, while attempting to create a framework to understand this understudied area. This framework hypothesizes four categories of factors of food exchange in middle school that will potentially impact the social hierarchy of the students: food, exchange, student identity, and technical. This framework is then tested using ethnographic at an area middle school, using a combination of observation during the lunch period and interviews with staff and students. Applying the data to this framework reveals a number of hypothesizes that are not relevant to the case study, that may be inaccurate, as well as a number of correctly estimated factors. Using this case study, the framework is critiqued and suggestions are given to future researchers and schools hoping to use this framework to better understand this aspect of youth culture, and to better promote positive learning environments for students in their middle-grade years. |
