Living the theoretical principles of critical ethnography' in educational research

Abstract

It would seem from the current rhetoric that United Kingdom Government agencies wish to promote teaching as a ‘research-based profession’. However, what that research might constitute in practice is far from clear. If the implication is that more teachers would themselves become engaged in the research process, become more researcher than researched, then there are significant issues to be considered by those embarking on such a venture. The difficulties of practitioner research are widely acknowledged (e.g. Ball, 1990; Atkinson, 1994). When the practitioner research is also small scale and the data gathered is qualitative in nature (which is often the case), the tensions can be numerous. This article discusses some of the issues that surround practitioner research and the validity of qualitative study before exploring my own practitioner researcher's route through a small-scale qualitative study. The author attempts to implement a ‘critically ethnographic’ approach and the dilemmas of trying to ‘live’ the theoretical principles of my chosen methodology are then used as a basis for suggesting a theoretical framework for practitioner research, which may help to establish both the validity of data and the implications of findings beyond the immediate context of a particular study.