ABSTRACT
Initial discovery of ethnography and its usefulness for research in, of, and for education often occurs during graduate studies at a university. This chapter offers a telling case of an alternate path of discovery and reports findings from an ongoing study tracing take-up of the ontological and epistemological perspectives and practices of ethnographers. The primary site of ethnographers’ conduct of research is ‘in the field,’ allowing the researcher to be a participant observer of a particular phenomenon in everyday contexts. After negotiating entry to the social group that constitutes the site of study, ethnographers engage with individuals within the group and make records of these interactions over extended periods of time. The telling case of Dr. C’s journey re-presented to the point has demonstrated the over-time nature of becoming an ethnographer in education through engagement with others in both professional collaborations and formal educational contexts.
