Neighborhood Ethnographic Profiles:

A Tale of Three Cities

Introduction:
This fieldwork assignment has three steps. It is designed to provide an opportunity to conduct an
ethnographic profile on Hispanic culture, the most predominant in California, and engage teacher
candidates in a time of critical reflection on the nature of the different cultures and demographics of
Southern California (and Orange County specifically) and the bigger global picture of our world. It will
take you through some of Orange County’s most historic as well as most Hispanic areas. Finally, it is
designed to give students an opportunity to reflect and gain insight on the implications for these
dynamics for the public education system, in general, and teaching in the classroom, specifically. This
is critical because these issues enter into a larger conversation about the funding of public schools,
equity, how issues such as MTSS and how curriculum and technology are managed, etc.)

You will be observing several diverse communities. Be mindful of your thoughts and communication.
What prior assumptions do you find you have as you engage these communities? Are there any ways
you may have misjudged or misconceived their strengths and struggles? Are there assets that the
cultures represented in these communities have that you may not have anticipated?

Lesson Objectives:
 Students will demonstrate meaningful critical reflection regarding the general demographic and
social realities of three communities (Santa Ana, Irvine, Addis Ababa) and the implications for
the members of those communities
 Students will engage in an ethnographic profile for the sake more in-depth understanding and
analysis of the implications of social-cultural demographics in Orange County, including
employing the use of asset-based language and taking into consideration how the lives of
members of each communities might contribute to their funds of knowledge.
 Students will provide meaningful, empathetic, asset-based reflections and evaluations (as
opposed to sympathetic-based approaches) regarding the implications of the social and cultural
demographics for public schools and the classroom based on the evidence from their analysis of
community statistics and their Ethnographic Profile.

Step 1: Three Cities Demographics Critical Reflection

Please spend about 10 minutes looking over the table below that compares the demographics of three
cities: Santa Ana and Irvine, which share a border in Orange County, and Addis Ababa, the capital of
Ethiopia in Africa.

Once you have taken time to absorb the information, please list give facts or realities that you find
worthy of remark:
1. The population in Ethiopia is significantly higher along with the poverty rates.
2. Santa Ana is largely a Hispanic community.
3. Irvine has a larger population of Asians and Caucasians, while that is one of the lowest in Santa Ana.
4. The average salary in Santa Ana is significantly less than the average in Irvine.
5. The salary people make in Ethiopia is almost nonexistent when comparing it to salaries in California.
 Three Cities Demographics
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/santaanacitycalifornia
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/irvinecitycalifornia
https://www.ppic.org/publication/poverty-in-california/
https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/addis-ababa-population
https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR118/02Chapter02.pdf
https://lifewater.org/blog/8-ethiopia-facts-poverty-progress-and-what-you-should-know/

Local Understanding Global Understanding

Statistics Santa Ana, CA Irvine, CA Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Population 332,318 287,401 Addis: 4,793,699

Persons 27.1% 22.4% (Under 15 years): 44%

under 18
years
White
Ethnic 9.4% 40.7% 6 major different Ethiopian dialects are
Break- Black/
1.1% 1.9% spoken as primary languages and there are
down Asian many more tribes that citizens might feel
11.8% 42.3% deep ties to, but all of which are what we
Hispanic
76.8% 10.3% might call ethnically Black.
Owner- 46.2% 47.3% 72.7% own agricultural land, 75.1%
occupied own farm animals, 13.8% own a TV,
housing rate 55.5% own a mobile phone,5.3%
own a refrigerator
Median value $455,300 $797,100 n/a
housing unit
Median rent $1488.00 $2,259.00 n/a
Persons per 4.30 2.70 4.6
household
Households 90.8% 97.5% Overall Ethiopia, 74% of women and
with a 62% of men have no access to radio,
computer television, or newspapers on a
Households 81.3% 92.9% weekly basis (5% of women and
with internet 13% of men have used the
internet.)
High school 58.1% 96.4% In Addis, 16.3% females have no
graduation education, 37.4% have some
rate primary education, 6.5% complete
secondary. Males: 8.2% no
education, 31.1% some primary,
8.5% complete secondary.
BA degree 14% 68.5% 25% of males get more than
secondary, 17.7% of females go
beyond secondary.
% without 19% 4.9%
health
insurance
Median $61,774.00 $100,969.00 $333.00
annual
 household
income
Persons in 17.7% 13.3% 23.5% of Ethiopians live below the
poverty (Overall Orange County poverty rate is 19.7%. In CA, global poverty line of $1.90 a day.
22.9% of Latinos live in poverty. 79% of poor Californians
have at least 1 adult working, and 44.7% of families in
poverty had at least 1 family member works full time for
the whole year)
Poverty A family of five (with 3 children) is below the poverty line 48.2% of families have a dirt or sand
if they make less than $30,500.
description floor, 70.3% have one bedroom for
sleeping, 76% use wood for cooking
(not gas or electricity), 2.3% have a
bike, 1.3 have an animal drawn cart,
0.2% have a car.
Population 11,900 3,212 5,165
per square
mile

Step 2: Neighborhood Ethnographic Profile

This assignment will require you to travel to eight different locations (5 in Santa Ana, 3 in Irvine). You
will want to record at least one long paragraph (six sentences) or six bullet points for each stop. After
recording the data you collected from these locations, (Section A), you will then critically reflect on
what you have observed (Section B).

Section A: Data Collection

For Section A, you are going to focus on observation. Please travel in the order provided and follow
the instructions for each stop. You may want to take pictures or videos at each stop to consult later
when completing this assignment. What do your senses tell you? What can you see, hear, smell, what
details do you notice in terms of the people you see and what they are doing, who they are doing it
with, the building structures, the way they decorate, garden, use space, provide protection in terms of
fencing or lack thereof. What do you observe that makes a stop distinctive, what details might be
informative. Remember, at this point, you are not going to reflect, you are going to observe and
record.

Santa Ana
 The Blinds Shop 1124 E. 2nd St., Santa Ana, CA 92701
o Instructions: This corner shop in the middle of a neighborhood has a small sign in the
window. Please stop and observe that specific spot. Then drive to the next location and
pay attention to the neighborhood as you go.
 What do you notice?
 Take note of homes, neighborhood, people. Pay attention to the atmosphere,
decorations, building styles, color of paint, etc. of the homes.
 If it is appropriate and safe, strike up a conversation with someone. If you don’t
have a way to introduce yourself, just ask them if they know where the local
school is.
o Record your observations here:
 I noticed that there were multiple people sitting outside of the buildings chatting with
one another. The homes had multiple pops of color here and there. There were a few
people around the corner of the street who were working on their bikes and carrying
around full backpacks. These were older men. The street or alley that I drove through
was very dirty and not very well kept. There was a lot of cars parked along the sides of
the roads as well. The atmosphere was very interesting because I did not feel unsafe,
but I also would not feel safe walking on my own in the evening.

 Walker Elementary School 811 E. Bishop, Santa Ana, CA 92701

o Instructions: Walker Elementary is the school that serves the local neighborhood.
Please drive around the school and note what is going on. Seek to observe the details of
life that tell about the world of this community. Be ready to answer these questions:
 Is school in session? Are there other activities happening on the campus?
 Are there children present? What do you notice about how they play,
congregate, relate to adults?
 Do the employees, such as teachers or staff appear to be a part of the local
community?
 What do you notice about the school building and structure?
 Spend some time observing the neighborhood in an inconspicuous way. Attend
to the kind of housing there is and what the people around the neighborhood
are doing.
 What do you notice about the neighborhood?
 What are the people doing?
 Are there many people outside?
 What seems to be the “cultural climate”?
 What the neighborhood similar or different to your last stop? How so?
o Record your observations here:
During the time of day that I went, the school had just gotten out of session. I saw a lot of students
walking along a very busy road on their own or in pairs of children. There was also the occasional adult
walking with what I am assuming to be their children. As I was nearing the school, there were multiple
adults in neon yellow vests guiding traffic when a child had to cross the busy roads. The school
structure overall was well kept. The staff did seem to be part of the community. There were many
people outside of the buildings and heading home, a lot of car traffic as well. The neighborhood looked
different from the last stop that I took. The cultural climate seems to be them working well together
and a community that is in a routine. They are helping one another out by looking after the safety of
the children.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:
On your way to the next stop, please take this route (to give you a stronger experience of the
neighborhood): Take E. Bishop West (left if you are facing the front of the school) for a block and a half
until you hit Oak St. Turn right. Go one block and turn right on Camile St. Go another block and turn
left on Halladay St.. Then go three blocks. Turn right on Chestnut Ave.. Your next stop will be less than
a block on your right.

 Roosevelt-Walker Community Center, East Chestnut Avenue, Santa Ana, CA 92701

o Instructions: Please park in the parking lot or along the street. If the Community Center
 is open, go inside and talk with the employees or participants. Learn as much as you can
about how they serve their community. Collect pamphlets or flyers if they have them. If
you can’t, please look it up on Google to fortify your responses.
 What do you observe about the neighborhood? How is it different or the same
from your last stop?
 What did you learn from your interviews or Google search? Do the employees
appear to be part of the local community?
o Record your observations here:
The community center seemed to be recently built because it looked very nice. During the time
that I went, the building was closed so unfortunately, I did not get to directly interact with the
people who work there. I did go to Google and try to find additional information about the
Community Center, but there is no official website for the center either. I did observe similar
things as I had seen in my previous stop.

 Gosa Toys Pinatas & Candy 1002 E. Chestnut Ave., Santa Ana, CA 92701
o Instructions: Please park in the parking lot and observe the neighborhood. Then, if it is
open, please go into the shop and observe what you find there.
 What do you notice about the neighborhood? How is it the same or different
from the prior neighborhoods you have visited?
 What do you notice about the layout of the store and the decorations?
 What do you notice about the kinds of toys and candy that are sold in this story?
Give several examples of each.
 Do the employees appear to be a part of the local community?
o Record your observations here:
This neighborhood did look similar, since it was only down the street from my previous
stop, but I could tell that it was the entrance into another city that would look different.
The cultural atmosphere was clearly very Hispanic run and owned. The people working
there did look like they formed part of the surrounding community. The store was filled
with candy that that I know and love from my childhood.

 Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish 1322 East 3rd Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701
o Instructions and Background Information: Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish was founded
in 1938 and is one of the older Catholic churches in Santa Ana, specifically dedicated to
the Latino population, particularly catering to those from Mexico. The Virgin of
Guadalupe, in Catholic tradition, is the patroness of Mexico, and very revered as one of
the apparitions of Mary after her ascension into heaven.
 She is called the “Queen of Angels” as well as the “Mother of God (Christ)” and
holds a very dear place in the history of the Mexican nation. You are to visit the
Parish, noting: Internal architecture, decoration, “saints”, and anything else you
see or observe that is of interest.
 Pick up any literature you think may help you (one per group, please).
Catholic churches often have these by the entrances.
 Pay attention to what the people are doing inside the church.
 Be prepared to answer these questions:
o Is there a choir singing or a sermon? Are people all coming in and
leaving at the same time, or do they come and sit and then leave
whenever they want? What purpose does the church seem to
serve with the parishioners you saw there?
 o Note what the people are doing outside the church as well. Do
you see any indication of the church’s relationship with the
broader community?
o What is the tone of the church? Festive, celebratory, reverent,
repentant,
o Does this church differ from other Catholic churches you’ve seen?
How?
o Are there signs (evidence) of veneration to Guadalupe? What are
they?
o Record your observations here:
When I entered the church there was no people inside or outside. The parking lot was
empty and there was no foot traffic at all, this may be due to the time of day that I
visited this place. There was no choir singing when I arrived or when I left, but the door
was left open, and candles were lit despite no one being present. This allows me to think
that this is done on purpose for anyone to enter at any time that they please. It may also
be a sign to the community around that their doors are literally open for them to enter
at any time. The atmosphere felt very repentant when I entered, and there were many
saints all along the walls behind the seats. This church looked very similar to the other
Catholic churches that I have seen, the only difference that I may have noticed was the
many lit candles in one corner of the church by the entrance. The mother of Jesus, or
Guadalupe was also at the center of the church building figured as a large statue.

 Bonus stop: I will give an extra 20 points to anyone who visits a Mexican Restaurant in Santa
Ana (within 2 miles of the area you have been observing) and records their observations about
their meal.

Irvine

 Plaza Vista Elementary School 670 Paseo Westpark, Irvine, CA 92606

o Instructions: As you drive to Plaza Vista Elementary, please observe the communities to
travel through and note similarities and differences as you go. Parker is the school that
serves the local neighborhood. Please drive around the school and note what is going
on. Seek to observe the details of life that tell about the world of this community. Be
ready to answer these questions:
 As you drove from Santa Ana to Irvine, what were the changes you observed in
the streets? What is different and similar about environmental factors such as
the wideness or quality of the roads, the existence of power lines, or public
parks? Do you notice people out and about? What are they doing? How do
they appear to spend time together or as individuals?
 Once you arrive at Plaza Vista Elementary, consider:
 Is in session? Are there other activities happening on the campus?
 Are there children present? What do you notice about how they play,
congregate, relate to adults?
 Do the employees, such as teachers or staff appear to be a part of the
local community?
 What do you notice about the school building and structure?
  Spend some time observing the neighborhood in an inconspicuous way.
Attend to the kind of housing there is and what the people around the
neighborhood are doing.
 What do you notice about the neighborhood?
 What are the people doing?
 Are there many people outside?
 What seems to be the “cultural climate”?
 What the neighborhood similar or different to your last stop? How so?
o Record your observations here:
There were no people outside of this school, but this is most likely due to the time of
day that I arrived at this place. School was out of session already and the cultural
climate seemed to be very safe and secure. The reason why I conclude this is because
there were a lot of speed bumps going down one small road. This was something small
that I did notice. There was also a new building being built in the back of the school, and
it was overall very well maintained. The grass was very green and healthy. Driving down
the road there was no trash along the street.

 North Lake Beach Club 10 Stone Creek S, Irvine, CA 92604

o Instructions: For this stop, please park and go for a short walk along the sidewalk to the
lake. What do you notice?
 Take note of homes, neighborhood, people. Pay attention to the atmosphere,
decorations, building styles, color of paint, etc. of the homes.
 Are there people out and about? What do they appear to be doing?
 How do people seem to relate to one another? Do they tend to be alone, with
friends, or family?
 How is this community appear to be the same or different from the communities
you observed in Santa Ana?
o Record your observations here:
The homes were so beautiful and a lot larger than the homes that I saw in the city of Santa Ana. The
colors of the homes were very neutral and cream tones. Many people were walking down the street
near the Beach Club. I saw many young people and two older Asian women who were leaving the park
together. There were also many young women either walking their dog, riding their bike, or walking
with one another. The atmosphere was very different form the prior cities that I had visited. It seemed
a lot more independent and not so closely knitted with one another as I saw families and active
community in Santa Ana.
 Woodbridge Village Center Shopping AMC Movie Theater 4626 Barranca Prkwy, Irvine, CA
92604
o Instructions: For this stop, please park in the shopping parking lot and go through a walk
through the shops.
 Observe the nature of the stores and restaurants.
 What is the layout of the buildings?
 Do the employees appear to hail from the local community?
 Observe the people who have come to the shopping center. Do they seem to be
there as individuals, as couples or families, friends? What seems to be the main
activity or draw?
 What is the general atmosphere?
o Record your observations here:
 This shopping plaza was very nice and modern. The colors were white and grey with a very
futuristic feel to it as well. When I got off my car, it seemed like there was nothing special to
the place until I got closer. In the center of the shopping there was a very colorful
playground and small piece of grass. Families were there in the center, and it allowed me to
see that the atmosphere was family centered. It was a lot of families and couples around
who were spending time with one another.

Step 3: Critical Reflection

Please read through your observations and the Tale of Three Cities table. Reflect on the implications
that your observations might have for:
 The members of the communities of Santa Ana and therefore, their school children. This can
include the array of their life experiences, opportunities and challenges, their relationship with
the broader culture and the school system. What might be some of the advantages and
disadvantages of these communities and their children? What are some of the significant
assets that each community brings to the table? Reach for an understanding of both.

The members of Santa Ana reflect their school children in a way that I saw a strong and united
community who care for one another. There may be more challenged for the children who live
in this area, such as parents may have to be working so they cannot pick up their children. The
children have to walk home on their own, this can expose them to more dangers such as
walking next to a very busy street like I saw multiple children doing. Children in Santa Ana can
have the assets of knowing what it feels like to be independent, but also part of a strong
community that can call to one another. With things such as the community center there to
help and serve as resources. For children in Irvine, their assets can be having the financial
support of their parents and community around them. This means that the students have the
appropriate tools to succeed in the classroom.

 What are the implications for the public school system for each community in general and the
individual classroom and teachers.
The implications for the public school system in Santa Ana is that the community gets involved
in the education and safety of the students. As for the public school system in Irvine, I would
say that the implications are that the school is focused on a lot of the safety of the children, but
I cannot assess or draw in depth conclusions since I was not able to see the interactions in
person.