Interview Questions from a Fayette County Middle School, 1999-2000

Research Topic: To what extent do students think/feel there are cultural barriers at our school? How does this affect students academically and socially?

1. Hand out index cards to each participant and ask the students to write the names of groups/cliques that exist at our school (one group on each card).
   1. How familiar do you think adults at our school are with these different groups/ cliques?
      
   2. How would you describe the relationship among these different groups?
      
   3. How would you describe the relationship between these different groups and adults at our school?
      
   4. Where do these groups interact with each other?
      
   5. Tell me some ways that they interact with each other.
      
   6. Do students typically belong to only one group or do they hang out with lots of different groups?
      
   7. Can you say anything about whether these groups have changed over time?
      
   8. When are the differences among these groups most obvious? When are they least obvious?

2. Tell us about your experience with tensions among these groups.
   1. Can you think of a time when you observed tension among different groups? What happened? Where did the tension take place? What did adults do when this happened?

3. When do you feel pressure to act in ways to please another group?
   1. Can you give an example of a time when students might feel pressured to act in ways to please a particular group?
      
   2. How might this pressure affect students' grades or school work?
      
   3. How might this pressure affect students' social life?

4. Describe what can be done to help you get along with different groups.
   1. What should the grown-ups responsible for our school's success do to make sure that all groups do well at school and learn a lot in their classes?
      
   2. What should grown-ups do to make sure that all students enjoy being part of the school's activities?
      
   3. If that's what the grown-ups should do, what should the students do?
      
   4. From your own viewpoint and experiences, what could be done to increase interactions among groups?