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The author reflects on the concept of linguistic ethnography (LE). In this context, the author mentioned about a broad range of work, sharing family resemblances and reflecting features of the particular niche in which it has developed. The subsequent articles explore various issues and relationships relevant to LE.

This article examines the claims of Stephen Ball and Peter Woods in their ethnographic studies of option choice schemes. Woods' and Ball's central concern was with the amount of choice pupils had in selecting fourth- and fifth-year courses. They claim that there is an inconsistency between the amount of choice officially offered and the amount of choice pupils were actually given. This is an important issue in itself, but it has heightened significance for these authors because of the consequences that they believe pupil choice could have for the differentiation of pupils within schools. And such differentiation is considered to be important because of its assumed consequences for occupational placement and the reproduction of the social class structure. Alongside with the role of schools in the reproduction of social inequality, there is another theme in these two studies, the importance of giving attention to micro as well as macro special processes. The accounts of option choice that they provide are in each case part of ethnographic studies of particular schools. The authors emphasize the importance of investigating processes of social interaction within the school, rather than treating the schools as black boxes and only studying their inputs and outputs.

The article examines Peter Woods' argument for phase two ethnographic research. He argues the importance of phase two work which cultivates "leaps of imagination." It is important to shift from merely descriptive to sensitizing concepts, to develop and fill in existing theory and to formulate new theories. Moreover, Wood also sees phase two studies as involving hypothesis formation and testing and the process of analytic induction. Ethnography can contribute to certain theoretical areas as a corrective. Woods also stresses the importance of creative generation of theoretical ideas.

The article responds to comments made by author Peter Woods on the author's article about ethnography research. The four elements of theoretical development in the ethnography of schooling are the addition of new concepts and relations, the clarification of concepts and relations, the development and testing of measures and hypothesis testing. The phases of theoretical development are abduction, deduction and induction. The author disagrees with Woods about the prescription of long-term phases of description, formulation and testing. There are two elements of Woods' argument about the practicality of theory-setting. The first element is whether theory testing is possible in principle. The other element refers to the state of funding of the sociology of education.