Enculturation into Secrecy among Junior High School Girl - Article Example

Article Critique In the social context of the modern life, secrecy has been identified as one of the most significant and problematic elements which calls for a refined research and investigation relating to the individual rather than the society. Whereas there are various studies on the topic of secrecy and the functions that secrets play in society, how individuals learn to use secrets needs to be explored further. In the research article “Enculturation into Secrecy among Junior High School Girls” by Don E. Merten has been an attempt to take up the challenge of investigating on secret in relation to individuals. To be specific, the study concentrates on the girls’ accounts of their enculturation into secrecy. These accounts have pertinent value as they disclose how the girls treated secrets as social objects and often depersonalized secrets when using them as social currency. Merten also points out that “using secrets to shape friendship and enhance social position was part of the larger process whereby secrecy became a vehicle for developing subjective reason and an exchange perspective among these girls.” (Merten, 1999). The study, therefore, specifically concentrates on relating secrecy with enculturation and the findings have immense value in a deeper understanding of the concept of secrecy. Overview of the study The research is undertaken to develop competencies in evaluating qualitative research; develop analytical skills, the approach is investigative, and the result of the study is that the findings are not logical and satisfactory. The research has been conducted in a suburban community near Chicago at junior high school and interviews with 83 female students and 77 male students provided the data for the study. The purpose of the interviews was to find out the various aspects in the lives of the participant students and the importance of events and relationships in their lives. The observational field notes along with the findings of the interview were used to make the investigation in the study. The relevance of the interviews which were open-ended and informal in style was great in making the ultimate conclusion of the research. The accounts of the girls concerning their experience with secrets in their lives were not the result of a natural dialogue. The accounts by the girls, though were mainly influenced by the peers, could give a complete idea about the various aspects relating to secrecy. Throughout the analysis carried out in the research, the methodology had a pertinent role in the findings of the study. The strategy adopted in the study concentrated to make a similar data through the interview and the observation of the ethnographers. The tactics adopted in the study in dealing with the various obstructing factors also were superior and the conclusions of the study were greatly dependent on the strategy adopted for the investigation. Identification of the elements within the study The research questions are raised to identify the problem and so many samples are explained to strengthen the argument. The analysis is based on the concrete facts derived from the research process. The article mainly deals with enculturation in the process of investigating the cultural meanings which are relevant in the interpretation and employment of secrecy. According to Merten, production-reproduction dialectic has importance to the compound nature which contributes to enculturation. Making the conclusion of the study, the author makes it clear that “Not only were girls engaged in cresting and producing the shared meanings of secrecy, but in doing so, they appropriated and incorporated the principles of subjective reason and exchange-and thereby reproduced important aspects of mainstream culture. These were aspects of secrecy that previous research generally overlooked or took for granted.” (Merten, 1999). He also maintains that the enculturation through secrets rather than the enculturation into secrets is of greater importance. In short, the research carried out by Don E. Merten “Enculturation into Secrecy among Junior High School Girls” brings out some most significant findings concerning secrecy in relation to enculturation. Discussion of relationships between elements of the study. The research questions surely address a genuine gap in the literature. The method of research is appropriate to the topic. But the logical arrangement of result is a little bit confusing. In the article, the author has been successful in setting the exact background for the study through the contextual description and the method of the research also has been effective in arriving at a clear conclusion. The selection of the population for the study has been managed with utmost care and the strategies of extracting the data for the study worked out well. Through the interviews which were flexible and informal as well as the observations of the students by the ethnographers, the research collects the most untainted data for the investigation. The research also maintained that the significance of the study in relation to secrecy is high and the use of relevant literature has contributed to the validity of the research. In explaining the role of enculturation to the study of secrecy, the author defines enculturation as “the process by which humans acquire the culturally constructed meanings attached to various actions in a particular society or subculture is referred to by anthropologists as enculturation.” (Merten, 1999). In this investigation, the process of enculturation into secrecy is sufficiently explained by the use of pertinent literature. The study explained the accounts of secrecy by the girls that could be understood in relation to the peer group life. Accordingly, there was clearly a relation between the secrets and the aspects of peer life and it is the latter which offers immediate meanings to the former. The different levels of friendship described by the girls in the junior high school, describe the connection between the closeness of a relationship and the amount of trust in the relation. Thus, the author clearly states the relation between enculturation and secrecy. The most important advantage of the study is that every argument that the author puts forward is the result of the long meditated investigation and the conclusions of the study are clearly established using literature review as well as the outcomes of the research. Identification of strengths and weaknesses of the study, including referencing to justify arguments The strength and weakness of the study are: The various risk factors that affect the secrets in a relation are illustrated in the article and the way they are established also suggests the strength of the research. But the article fails to present the research findings, conclusions, and recommendations separately and intelligibly. The research carried out by Merten also finds the support of the interviews which are used as illustration for every point established throughout the study. Through the questions asked to the girls as well as the responses they gave, the author comes to the ultimate conclusions of the study which are set in the background of the friendship and secrecy. Thus, the investigation is set to study secrecy in relation to friendship and the author maintains that “secrecy and friendship were so inextricably intertwined among girls that when they contemplated what made someone a desirable friend, the ability to keep a secret was near the top of the list.” (Merten, 1999). In amplification to this statement, he also illustrates the example of Faith who expounded the relationship between friendship and secrets in great detail. Her reply to the interviewer is used as an illustration to the relationship between friendship and secrets. Throughout the investigation, the author has been able to elucidate his arguments with the use of such examples and this contributes to the strength of the study. In the similar manner, the author also makes pertinent conclusions regarding the most influencing aspects of a secret. The author is able to relate the various crucial aspects of secrets and the illustrations that the author uses throughout this exploration help the best statement of the arguments. Thus, the article maintains that the secrets, though they are frequently marked, sometimes went unmarked. The general factors regarding secrets are best illustrated by the author through the examples of the study. As the article clarifies, the type of relation one develops with a friend determines the type of secret that may be constructed. “In instances where sharing secrets emerged with increasing interpersonal closeness, there was symmetry between knowledge of the other and sensitivity to what a friend wanted protected. Thus, a fundamental consideration in learning to deal with secrets involved learning what counted as a secret, both in general and for particular girls.” (Merten, 1999). In the section “Learning to Acquire and Use Secrets” the article makes some of the most relevant aspects of secrets in relation to enculturation. Thus, the author very clearly maintains that the type of secrets that a girl would develop with a friend could determine the closeness of individuals in relationships. Through the exploration of the behavior of various girls in the study, the author establishes the relation between secret and friendship. Thus, the article very skillfully illustrates how the girls learn through a process of enculturation the art of acquirement and use of secrets. Exploring the relation between secret and betrayal, the article maintains that “the importance of finding someone who could be trusted frequently guided girls’ interactions… There were certain risk factors that girls learned to look for that indicated likelihood that a peer might not be totally trustworthy. Socially ambitious girls were not only inclined to leave current friends for more popular girls but also often used a previous friend’s secrets as ‘gifts’ to their new friends.” (Merten, 1999). The examples of several girls in the interview, as in other cases, have been used by the author to amplify the conclusions. The various risk factors that affect the secrets in a relation are illustrated in the article and the way they are established also suggests the strength of the research. The article also makes the conclusions regarding secrets and their social placement. Thus, the author clarifies that secrets have relevance in locating girls in the larger social system of junior high school, just as they are significant in representing friendships. Clarity and logic of critique The findings of the study as well as the research questions are not effectively established by the author. So, the clarity of the study is under consideration of critical evaluation of the research work. The various aspects that were introduced in the first part of the article with the illustration of example are further taken for discussion in a separate session. However, the logic in doing so is not justified by the result of the discussion. The discussion session lacks clarity as there is no clear arrangement of the items, though there are a number of examples in this session as well. The strengths of the article are various as there are ample items of observations which amplify the arguments. However, the arrangements of these as well as the development of the findings are not logical and satisfactory. The findings of the study as well as the research questions are not effectively established by the author. At times, the article leads the reader to a vacuum where there is no definite argument that flows out of the discussion. Also, the article fails to present the research findings, conclusions, and recommendations separately and intelligibly. All these weakness of the article affect the ultimate strengths of the article and it lacks some important qualities of a scientific, research article. References Merten, Don E. (1999). Enculturation into Secrecy among Junior High School Girl. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 28(2), 107-137. Read More