Visual Ethnography in Education

This chapter looks at what could be considered visual ethnographic work in education and how photographs and videos, as opposed to other kinds of visual materials like maps and drawings, have been used in ethnographic work. It focuses particularly on participatory visual methods as an ethnographic method, particularly in education. Participatory photography enables the researcher to get a sense of what the participants want to show as important or interesting from their own worlds. Photo-elicitation interviews are the most common participatory method used in social sciences. The chapter also looks at participatory video research done in education and explores the ethnographic aspects of visual ethnographic studies. In some countries, institutional review boards (IRBs) make it difficult to do visual ethnographies by having very strict rules. The chapter discusses issues related to gaining access, gatekeepers, and ethical issues.