This essay, based on field observation and interviews centered in California, examines the aims and activities of both school ethnographers and school administrators, concluding that the methods and resources of the former could greatly benefit the latter. (DM)

By not specifying what they will attend to, and by virtue of the relatively extended amount of time they devote to exploring their phenomena, qualitative inquirers have practically no limit to what they can uncover. This is illustrated through data on the role of ethnicity in an ethnically diverse high school. (Author/BJV)