In the past decade or so, there has been an increasing interest in employing a combination of archival and life history methods to understand the complexities of schooling. This book explores the history of the Beal Technical School in order to discuss the methods and problems involved in researching the story of an institution. It offers the scholar and practitioner a series of practical guidelines and examples for doing such research. At the same time, it includes elements of the history of a case study, leading to an extended discussion of complex issues of representation that will be of interest to both the new and the more experienced educational researcher. This book is a critical tool for a variety of education historians and researchers.