ABSTRACT
Qualitative methods and artistic or humanistic assumptions complement quantitative and scientific ones to the benefit of both. Knowing the outcome of the game, so to speak, tells one nothing about how it is played, whether the problem—if there is a problem—is with the pitching, the hitting, the fielding; the lack of an adequate goalie, swift wings, effective strikers, or a smart midfielder. The lack of information makes it virtually impossible for teachers to use test results to intelligently alter or sustain what they are doing. The advent and growing legitimation of qualitative methods is providing the intellectual permission for them to use aptitudes that play to their strengths rather than feel compelled to do work for which they have little aptitude or interest. In the process surely higher quality work in education will result. Qualitative forms of inquiry in education hold promise for providing a more complex and complete picture of educational practice and its consequences.
