The function of qualitative research in education is examined, taking into account the curriculum development of one institution, the Escuela Normal Veracruzana, Jalapa (Mexico), which is one of the oldest teacher training colleges (dating from 1886) still functioning in Mexico. Although this academic institution never traditionally promoted the sort of research activities associated with the detailed analysis of data collected in fieldwork, educational ethnography and qualitative research are now having a considerable impact in this and other academic establishments concerned with education and pedagogy. Curriculum development is traced over the years as it responded to educational trends and political change. From about 1981, the school began to be conceptualized as a producer of pedagogical knowledge, rather than just a consumer. This has called for a new emphasis on educational ethnography and qualitative research. Both are expected to be prime sources of future pedagogical thought. Thirteen Mexican Spanish-language references are listed. (SLD)