Ethnography: A Powerful Methodological Tool for Educational Research

Ethnography is a popularly used qualitative research technique. When it is beingused in conjunction with multiple data collection and analysis methods, ethnography canempower researchers with valuable insights and in-depth understandings about the socialphenomenon that is being examined. This chapter provides a discussion on the position ofethnography in the qualitative research paradigm. The sample research introduced in thischapter was designed to investigate the perception of ESL (English as a SecondLanguage) pre-service teachers in one Australian teacher education program. It used awide range of techniques to collect and analyse data. By looking into this particular studyas an example, this chapter elaborates ways in which ethnography can be utilised tobenefit educational research and exalnines challenges in conducting ethnographicresearch.