Ethnography for Education

Ethnography is a distinctive approach for educational research. The authors argue that the last decade has seen ethnography come of age, not only as a way of doing research, but also as a way of theorizing and making sense of the world. Their approach is concerned with ethnography as process and ethnography as product. This critical celebration of ethnography explores what it can achieve in educational research.

The book features:

• Thorough discussion of definitions of ethnography and its potential for use within educational research
• Critical introductions to the principal approaches to ethnography
• Discussions of data analysis and representation and of the challenges facing ethnography
• Use of educational examples from real research projects throughout.

The book offers a distinctive contribution to the literature of ethnography, taking readers beyond a simplistic “how to” approach towards an understanding of the wider contribution ethnography can make to our understanding of educational processes.

Ethnography for Education is of value to final-year undergraduates and postgraduates in education and social science disciplines as well as education professionals engaged in practice-based research.

Christopher Pole is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Sociology, University of Leicester. His research interests are in the areas of the sociology of education, sociology of childhood and the development of qualitative research methods. Recent publications include Practical Social Investigation: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Social Research and Hidden Hands: International Perspectives on Children’s Work and Labour.

Marlene Morrison is Reader in Education Leadership and Director of the Doctorate of Education programme at the University of Lincoln. Her academic background is in the sociology of education and includes research on race equality, health education, perspectives on educational policy and practice, and the ethnography of educational settings. She has researched widely in the education that has included school, further and higher education sectors, and other public services.