Ethnography, education and public policies. Opportunities and difficulties from the experience in Barcelona

Abstract

This paper presents an initial reflection about the specificity of ethnographic research in the field of education, drawing on the work developed by our group in the last years through a series of projects. It aims, as a general purpose, to deepen in the knowledge of the conditions of integration actually available to the children and adolescents born from immigrant families in Barcelona. The central discussion focuses on how real conditions for research can help understanding our public policies in education and their execution in schools.