This paper covers the use of participatory video in a methodological pilot which took as its subject the experience of primary teachers in two schools in rural Malawi. School teachers in much of Sub-Saharan Africa have a dichotomous status. At the local level they are often respectable people who are expected to provide a positive role model to their pupils and the wider local community. Within national civil service hierarchies, they are often frequently problematized as lacking in the capacity to deliver on ambitious education-led national development strategies. This tension presents interesting ethical and methodological challenges in surfacing and valorising their role as experts in a way that speaks to people from outside of their local communities.The project used PV to appreciate the implicit theories-in-practice of teachers; exploring the different kinds of data and analytical options that the PV process can generate to understand local practices and understandings. This included elements of participatory action research, participant-observation, semi-structured and photo-elicited interviews, and group reflection. The data provided different opportunities to experience and evidence the teachers’ roles as capable experts. For example, the cross-talk behind the camera was notably rich. Techniques such as cognitive mapping also showed promise in highlighting the consistency and sophistication of their understandings.The pilot thus suggests that PV can provide different ways surface implicit understandings. We conclude by discussion some of the implications for research practice, participatory ethics and the opportunities to use PV within mixed methods approaches that have direct impact on policy and practice.