Educational Ethnography Past,Present,and Future: Ideas to Think With

This paper addresses an issue that constantly plagues all social science research: How should we adjust our conceptual orientations and methodological priorities to take into account apparently changing human experiences and priorities? I take up this issue in the form of three “muddles,” or confusing situations, that confront me as an ethnographer trying to work in today’s contentious educational research atmosphere. In my case, the three muddles concern the meaning of “culture;” the enthusiasm (or not) for ethnography; and the researcher’s responsibility to those she writes about and hopes to help. First, I describe each muddle. Then I try to “tidy them up,” at least enough to give some direction to my future work. I find that some familiar ideas about culture, ethnography, and researcher responsibility are still very useful, but they should be thought about in new ways in light of present circumstances.

[There are images that evoke] connections in the world today that make [those images] useful to think with.

–Marilyn Strathern, Partial Connections