ABSTRACT
In Chapter 2 we noted that focus group work seems inevitably to involve three primary functions: inquiry, pedagogy, and political effectivity. We also unpacked each of these functions in considerable detail. Although the meanings of each function of focus groups may seem self-explanatory, we would like to reiterate our working definitions of them here. The pedagogic function basically involves collective engagement designed to promote dialogue and achieve higher levels of understanding of issues critical to the development of a group’s interests and/or the transformation of conditions of its existence. It is a matter of “reading the word” to better read the world (Freire, 1993/1970). This means asking and answering questions such as the following: What social facts are portrayed in a message as if they were perfectly “natural” or “normal”? Whose positions, interests, and values are represented in the message, and whose are absent or silent? Are any positions, interests, or values ridiculed, vilified, or demonized? How is the message trying to position its readers/viewers? How does this message do its work through the use of specific textual features and specific arrangements of them?
