Putting reflexivity into practice: Experiences from ethnographic fieldwork

Abstract

In this paper, I discuss my use of reflexive writing during my PhD fieldwork, which was an eight month ethnographic study of one early learning and childcare setting. Going into my fieldwork, I was keen to explore how reflexivity could help me negotiate issues that arose because of my professional background as a preschool teacher. In the essay, I discuss my reasons for using reflexive writing during my fieldwork, and argue that reflexive writing exposed issues that might otherwise have remained hidden.