Ethnographic Approach in Education: What are you doing in this village?

Betül Yanık, Turkey, ID LLCE2016-258;                This study  describes the ethnographic approach used in educational research through the eyes of an ethnogropher. This work is the product of a research which investigates the transition of young children to pre-school within the cultural processes their everyday lives. The content of the article describes the village setting and the  processes that I took place in my role as an participant observer for seven months, as well as difficulties I encountered and the strategies I developed. This practical experience which I learned in the process of research provides me an important role in revealing the foundation of my ethnographic research methods. As a result, the products of this study emphasize that ethnographic method isn't related to fixed rules, instead it occurs in three basic steps.These stages are initial, activation and acceptance. The content of these three phases is determined by the socio cultural structure of the society in which I have become a participant.  In  this study, the decisive role of the community's cultural structure in the use of research methods and tecniques is discussed in the framework of three basic stages.

Key Words: Qualitative Research; Ethnographic Approach; Education