1987/01/01 by Evelyn Jacob · 39 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Anthropology #Cognition #Education and Critical Thinking Development #Educational research #Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy #Epistemology #Ethnography #Interactionism #Psychology #Qualitative research #Social science #Sociology #Symbolic interactionism #Teacher Education and Leadership Studies
paper · doi:10.2307/1170355
published in Review of Educational Research 57(1), 1 (SAGE Publishing)
openalex publication_date 1987/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15
This article illustrates how various qualitative traditions could be used in educational research by describing and comparing the traditions of ecological psychology, holistic ethnography, cognitive anthropology, ethnography of communication, and symbolic interactionism. The analysis shows that qualitative traditions present diverse approaches to research and that each tradition forms a coherent whole, comprising internally consistent assumptions about human nature and society, foci of study, and methodology. Implications of the analysis suggest that qualitative traditions may offer a richer and fuller understanding of education. Educational researchers could conduct either basic or applied research within these traditions, or they could adapt the traditions to address new problems. Moreover, it is suggested that educators who wish to perform qualitative research should seek to employ the totality of a tradition, not just generic assumptions or methods.