Running Head: ANALYSIS OF A TAKE A LEARNER TO LUNCH INTERVIEW

Analysis of a Take a Learner to Lunch Interview

Laura Sprunk
Alverno College

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Abstract
A brief interpretation of the educational theories of Urie Bronfenbrenner, Erik Erikson,
and Mary Belenky are presented. I applied these theories to formulate questions which were
asked to an 18 year old student regarding her schooling. I then analyze the interview responses
within the context of the theories. I concluded that her social connections are an important part of
her learning. I was left wondering if her small but constant support system will be enough when
she goes to college.

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I believe that social connections and relationships play a crucial role in education. It has
been said that parents are a childs first teacher. I think that in order for this to be true a
relationship has to have developed first. As a child continues into formal school, a teachers
relationship with his or her students can greatly influence a childs success positively or
negatively. As the student grows older, peer interactions and relationships also become important
to whom the child is becoming.
I chose to interview an 18 year old female who is at a precipice. She needs to decide
which college to attend and what she wants to do with her life. She has had a childhood much
different than the one I had. My parents are still married and live in the house I grew up in. I only
attended one elementary school, one middle school and one high school all within 3 miles of my
house. Miley, as my interviewee chose to be called, went to 3 different elementary schools and 2
middle schools in a total of three different communities due to her parents divorce when she was
in second grade. In the years I have known her, her interests have ranged from photography to
literature, but she doesnt particularly care for school. My purpose was to find out how her social
development has influenced her schooling and goals for the future through the lenses of
educational theorists Urie Bronfenbrenner, Erik Erikson, Albert Bandura, and Mary Belenky.
Urie Bronfenbrenner
Urie Bronfenbrenner proposes that nothing is isolated in his article, Toward an
Experimental Ecology of Human Development (1977). The premise is that individuals both affect
and are affected by the environment around them (Bronfenbrenner, 1977). Bronfenbrenner
suggests that the environment has five distinctive parts. The most intimate layer is the
microsystem, which consists of people and places that directly impact the individual. This can
include family, peers, people you rely on, and your home. The next layer is the mesosystem

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which connects two or more microsystems. This can include the home-school relationships,
church, and their neighborhood. This layer impacts the individual indirectly and expands
overtime as new settings are encountered. The education system, government, and religious
affiliation are part of the next layer, the exosystem. This layer indirectly impacts the individual
by influencing the mesosystems and microsystem of the persons life. The outer most layer is the
macrosystem which incorporates the norms and beliefs of the cultures and subcultures
surrounding the other layers. Finally, all four of these layers are affected by the chronosystem,
which is the change in each of the other systems over time.
The systems that surround a person are relevant to analyzing the experiences of Miley
because it is important to recognize and understand the different forces that impact an
individuals life. In particular, having a personal support system in place within the microsystem
sets a firm base from which a person can grow. Bronfenbrenners research provides an
understandable way in which people and places impact an individual.
Analysis of questions based on Bronfenbrenners research
The first questions I asked Miley were related to her microsystem and her mesosystem.
When asked to describe her personal support system, without hesitation, she said, My mom, she
is the only one who is always there. I asked if there was anyone else and she stated that she also
relies on her best friend. She noted that she doesnt share anything beyond the bare basics with
her father and that she doesnt value his opinion. While it may seem very small, her microsystem
is clearly in place and supporting her.
I then asked her about her family and their experiences with education. She reported that
her mother held a four year degree from UW Whitewater and her father may have attended two
years at the University of Minnesota but probably didnt take it seriously. The only other

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family that has completed a degree was her cousin who went as far as obtaining a masters
degree. While she states that she wasnt sure if any of these people inspire her, I believe that all
of them have affected her via the mesosystem, some positively, some negatively.
I followed these questions with one directly about her parents divorce and how it
affected her schooling. She discloses that there was some tension over where she was going to
school when she was young and that she thinks that is why she and her mom moved back into
the same town where her father was residing. This reflects a desire for a common community and
educational system and encompasses both the meso- and exosystems.
Finally, when asked how the people around her shaped her view of education she replied
that her mom takes her schooling more seriously than her father and that her mom is trying to
instill the value of school in her. It is clear that her mom is the center of her microsystem and that
she is influenced by her ideas.
Erik Erikson
Erik Eriksons theory that personality is developed through eight stages over the course
of a lifetime is introduced in Eight Stages of Man, a chapter in the book, Childhood and Society
(1963). These stages list chronologically from infancy through maturity are as follows: trust vs.
mistrust, autonomy vs. shame, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role
confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, and ego integrity vs. despair
(Erikson, 1963). Erikson holds that failure in the beginning stages can lead to struggles in future
stages and that proper balance in each stage is essential (Erikson, 1963).
Eriksons theory provides a foundation for understanding human development. This
foundation gives rise to an understanding of where a student is developmentally and, perhaps, an

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insight into what may be lacking in a childs life. Understanding what was missing in a childs
life could provide an entry point for helping a student fill those social and behavioral gaps.
I focused my questioning on Eriksonss stage 5, identity vs. role confusion.
Within this stage the focus is on social relationships and teens need to develop a sense of self and
personal identity. Success here leads to an ability to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to
role confusion and a weak sense of self.
Analysis of questions based on Eriksons theory
Based on my prior questions, it is clear that Miley understands both trust and mistrust that
is evidence of stage one. She has also clearly mastered the personal control over physical skills
and the ability to assert control over her environment; evidence that she has passed stage 2,
autonomy vs. shame and doubt, and stage 3, initiative vs. guilt. The fact that she was able to cope
with new social and academic demands when she moved and changed schools is evidence that
she has developed a sense of competence. It is also clear that she experienced failure, and
therefore developed some feelings of inferiority, when she was kicked out of advanced math in
sixth grade. Both are evidence that she is beyond Eriksons stage four.
Miley is currently engaged in stage 5, identity vs. role confusion. She states that she has
developed several close relationships with students she met when she returned to the community
where her dad lived and that in high school she has had to become more independent and focus
on getting [my] stuff done and not worrying so much about everyone else. This is evidence that
she has grown secure within herself and who she chooses to develop relationships with.
However, when asked if she could have planned her education differently, she reflects that she
would have been involved with something, suggesting that she is still unsure of her role or place
within society.

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Mary Belenky
Mary Belenkys article, Womens Ways of Knowing; The Development of Self, Voice, and
Mind suggests that the traditional method of teaching where the teacher imparts his or her ideas
to the class and the class takes them in, banking, is an ineffectual way for female students to
learn (1986). This is because the students are unable to see the thinking process of the instructor,
only the product of their thinking (Belenky, 1986). Knowledge delivered in this manner is never
able to be owned by the student.
Belenky suggests that teachers not deliver the knowledge but use a reciprocal approach
that she calls the Mid-wife (1986). In this approach, a teacher would support a students idea
and help it grow through shaping, not changing (1986). This enables a connection between both
the teacher and student and the student and her idea that facilitates learning.
Analysis of questions based on Belenkys theory
Miley describes the classroom where she learned the most as her fifth grade classroom
where she had one primary teacher but switched to two other teachers for different subjects.
While she states that she liked her teachers, she had a stronger affinity for her primary teacher,
who was her first male teacher. He gave her the individual attention she needed to feel good and
succeed. A key component she identified was the fact that he made learning fun. He did this
through makings the connections to the material real for the students.
Miley goes on to say that she thinks all of her male teachers have been better. She feels
like the female teachers cram information down your throat. This is clearly the banking
approach where the learning is only the product of the teachers thinking that Belenky suggests
does not work for the female learner. Humor appears to be a key ingredient when making a
connection for her; and she has found this in her male teachers.

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Conclusion
While Miley has an important connection to her mother in her microsystem, I wonder if it
alone will be enough to sustain her when she goes to college. She is developing her sense of self
by making more conscious choices regarding who she hangs out with and how to prioritize her
life. It is clear that social connections are the key that will help her learn and succeed. I believe
she can succeed in college if she finds a place where she can develop a stable connection to other
people and where individual attention is provided. I would be interested in following up with her
in a few years to see if she has a more secure sense of self and if she developed any new intimate
relationships. Also interesting would be to see if her premise of making more meaningful
connections with male teachers holds true and if she develops a different perspective of how she
learns best.

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Resources
1. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development.
American Psychologist. July 513-531.
2. Belenky, M., Clinchy, B., Goldberger, N., Tarule, J. (1986). Connected teaching. In
Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, Tarule, Womens ways of knowing: the development of
self, voice and mind. New York: Basic Books, Inc.
3. Erikson, E. (1963). Eight Stages of Man in E. Erikson, Childhood and society. (pp. 219234). New York: Norton.

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Interview Transcript
1. Describe your personal support system. (Bronfenbrenner)
My mom, she is the only one who is always there. She helps with anything and everything. I
tell her everything. My best friend too; we talk about the same stuff as me and my mom, but
there is maybe more talk about boys. But I tell my mom that stuff too. I dont share my with
my dad; just the bare minimum, just cause of the weird situation. [Parents are divorced and
living arrangements and custody agreements are tense.] I dont value his opinion when it
comes to personal things.
2. Please tell me about your family and their experience with education. (Bronfenbrenner)
My mom went [to school] through college. She got a 4 year degree from UW Whitewater. I
dont know about my dad. I know he went to the University of Minnesota, maybe only for 2
years and he probably didnt take it seriously. Does anyone else in your family besides your
mom have a four year degree? My cousin graduated from college and went to grad school at
Columbia. He is an urban planner in Chicago. Do any of these people inspire you? I dont
know, I guess.
3. Do you think your parents divorce affected your schooling? (Bronfenbrenner)
Yes, but I mean not directly, but there was a lot of disagreeing about where I went to school
when I was little. I think that is why I eventually moved back to Muskego; so both my
parents could be in the same community.
4. How have the people around you shaped your view of education? (Bronfenbrenner)
My mom probably takes it more seriously and shows me that I should take it more seriously
too. She is more strict about skipping school. My dad is more lenient about being at school;
maybe because he has seen success without having to take school seriously. [He owns and
operates his own business.] He is confident in himself.
5. What are your earliest memories of school? (Erikson)
I went to three and four year old preschool and kindergarten at our church for half days. I
remember my friends more than going to school. It was just basically playing and show and
tell. I miss it. There were no tests. Lindsey was in my kindergarten class. She is the only one
I still have contact with and it is limited.
6. What do you remember about elementary school? (Erikson)
I switched schools a lot. I went to church for kindergarten, first grade in Muskego, then
second through 6th in Oak Creek. I moved back to Muskego for 7th grade. I was in a bunch of
schools, I guess.
7. Are those memories positive or negative? (Erikson)
Eh, they are neutral. There is nothing outstanding either way. I dont remember it as well as
middle school. In elementary school I was involved in stuff too, like cheerleading and sports.
8. How did being involved in those things contribute to school? (Erikson)

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In elementary school, I went to cheerleading went to camp with friends. In 6th grade I was in
a play at school. School related but not about learning I guess. I didnt feel those things were
really me.
9. How has school changed for you from your early years through today? (Erikson)
I think elementary school and middle school were more fun and easier. You didnt have to try
as hard in middle school. You didnt really get homework on weekends so you could hang
out with your friends more. I was in the school spelling bee and in 6th grade I was in
advanced math. Well, until they kicked me out [of advanced math]. I dont know if it was
easier, I understood it better, or I cared more, but I like it better. In high school, you have to
become a more independent person and focus on getting your stuff done and not worrying so
much about everyone else. In high school you have to prioritize homework and school
instead of going out.
10. Have you developed any strong affiliations? If so, to what? (Erikson)
What do you mean by affiliations? [ideas, causes, groups, sports, friends] Well, I have had
the same best friend since I was 2. That is probably my strongest affiliation. I mean, when I
moved back here in 7th grade I made some new friends but I tend to stick with the people I
have known the longest. I have 2 good friends that I met that year I moved back and they are
still the ones I hang out with the most. I didnt do any groups or sports while I was in high
school.
11. If you could have planned your education differently, what would you have done? (Erikson)
I think I would be involved in something because I didnt do any sports or clubs. Otherwise, I
mean, I feel like there is so much unnecessary drama that I dont hang out with a large group
of people because they come off as fake. I dont need the drama and the fakeness. I just hang
out with a small group of people. That is probably why I changed my view from the
beginning of high school. I didnt do well because I focused on the social things but now I
am doing better because I am not as caught up in the social part. I think I had to learn that
because, I was more social in middle school but there werent as many people. I dont feel
like it was as dramatic.
12. What are your plans after you graduate in June? (Erikson)
Ahh, that awkward moment when I havent applied anywhere [for college]. I need to finish
my application to Belmont University in Nashville. If I dont get accepted there, then I will
go to UW Waukesha for like 2 years and transfer to another UW school. What draws you to
Belmont? Uh, I just want to start over and I dont want to be stuck with the same people I am
in high school. A lot of time with Muskego kids, they are stuck in high school after they
graduate and they create the same drama. I need to start living on my own without all this
baggage. Pretty much everyone I know is going to a UW school. I dont see why people
dont want to get away from here and branch out. Can you tell me more? Belmont is private
school and they have an entertainment music program. I want to produce music or movies. I
am sure I will change my mind because I do all the time. It was just a school in that did that.
It happened to be in Nashville, which has a large music scene. I did think about going to New
York but it is way more expensive than going other places. The art schools that I would want
to go to, like PRATT, are very expensive. I didnt think of California because I feel like I am

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more of an east coast person, not west coast and those school there were very expensive too.
I was going to apply to NC Wilmington but some of the requirements they required I didnt
have. Why is it that your back up school plans reflect exactly what you dont want to do?
Because I have left myself no other options, I have procrastinated too long and have no other
options.
13. Describe the teachers classroom from which you learned the most. (Belenky)
I probably learned the most in my fifth grade class. I mean my teacher in 5th grade we
switched between the 3 teachers for English, science, and history. We still switch now I
guess, but now there isnt enough attention put individually. Having the same people with me
in that class was less of a distraction so it was easier for me to learn and pay attention. As
opposed to now, I focus more on talking to my friends that I dont see at any other time of the
day and catching up instead of listening to the teacher.
14. What was the culture like in that class? (Belenky)
I really liked my main teacher. I really liked him. It was fun for me to go to school there. He
was really nice and he was a good teacher. He was a generally nice person and he made it
fun. He would connect things that didnt seem to go together like a math problem and lunch.
And, if we had a good week we would go play kickball or baseball outside on Fridays. Was
he your first male teacher? Yes, I think so. I feel like male teachers are funnier. They arent
so, like, straightforward on teaching as like, making it fun. They dont just cram information
down your throat. All of my male teachers have been like that. Even through my teachers
now.
15. Besides your teachers, are there other people who help you learn at school or at home?
(Belenky, Erikson)
Uh, my mom helps me with my homework if I need it but that is about it. She knows I need
help to actually do the work, like my papers, since I procrastinate. Otherwise I sit and stare at
the computer and dont really work.
16. How do you prefer to learn in school? (listening, doing, reading example) (Gardner, Kolb)
I dont know really, I guess, I learn a lot better when I go in for help and I have a teacher one
on one. I get distracted otherwise. Taking notes solely doesnt help me, it is just writing stuff
down. I need to do it with help in order to understand it myself.
17. When you study for a test, how do you prepare? (Gardner, Kolb)
{LAUGHS} Umm, the only I dont have many tests. The only real tests are in art history.
So we basically just have note cards it has a lot of information on the back and a picture on
the sculpture or painting on the front. The other classes are just paper and writing prompts.
There are also a lot of projects. Like right now, I am working on a project on a book where I
have to make a slide show about it. I am also doing a group project for my Behavior in
America class. Each group was assigned a specific culture and told to furnish a house. We
have to get certain tile, a traditional and a non-traditional piece of art, we have to base our
designs on that culture. We have to do the living room, a bedroom, and an entertainment area.
What culture was your group assigned? Native American and it is difficult because it isnt
supposed to be obvious, like with pictures of Native Americans hanging up. How do the

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cultures assigned reflect the culture in the class? Well they dont. So everyone is kind of
in the same boat. Is anyone is having a difficult time. We dont really know. My group
doesnt even talk to each other.