Teachers at vocational schools face the challenge of meeting the demands of both educational practice and vocational practice of trainees. The authors demonstrate how qualitative research (interviews and observations) can be used to incorporate specific vocational practices into vocational education. This article focuses on occupational field analyses in the field of informal educators. Selected results from the field of nursery school (kindergarten) and residential care in a home/other supported accommodation (small group living arrangement) give rise to didactic considerations and impulses for curriculum research.