This article reports on the fourth stage of an evolving study to develop a systems model for embedding education for sustainability (EfS) into preservice teacher education. The fourth stage trialled the extension of the model to a comprehensive state-wide systems approach involving representatives from all eight Queensland teacher education…

The theory of action research is discussed in terms of how second-order action research can help theorists to clarify and deepen their understanding of action research. After a brief introduction, the paper examines methodological criteria governing a piece of action research conducted at an action research training workshop sponsored by the…

The Collaborative Supervision Project involving the University of New Hampshire and several public schools is described. This paper addresses the university teacher education interest in enhancing supervisory effectiveness and the teacher education faculty during the initial planning stages and the development, demonstration, and dissemination…

Seven objectives were identified for the development of the Franklin County/Ohio State University Induction Project: (1) analyze existing research on beginning teachers and induction programs; (2) synthesize existing analyses of follow-up studies conducted in schools, colleges, and departments of education over the past decade; (3) synthesize…

An action research model of program planning and inservice teacher education is presented. The model systematically includes three groups of participants--teachers and paraprofessionals, parents and members of the community, and university and administrative personnel, and is called the "triangulation" model. Inherent in the design is…

Teacher researchers may be the essential link between the philosophy and training of higher education and the grass roots implementation at the public school level. The Teacher-Researcher (T-R) Institute has the potential of providing a catalyst for role change and a channel for research in action. This paper describes the merits and defaults of…

The Teaching Excellence Program, designed to promote faculty use of practice-centered inquiry, was conducted at a large research university (Ohio State). The program was based on a conceptualization of practice-centered inquiry that draws on action research, reflection-in-action, and action science ideas. Data collected throughout the program…

The Project for Enhancing Effective Learning (PEEL) is a well-established Australian example of teacher collaborative action research. The aim of the project, which began in a secondary school in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia) and later spread to other countries, is to improve the quality of students' classroom learning through practice in…

This report on action research projects conducted by student teachers as a part of their preservice teacher preparation program focuses on how action research improves the understanding of educational practices by the practitioner-researchers themselves. Two major topics are discussed. First, specific types of claims about the impact of action…

These five papers are from a symposium that was facilitated by Michael Leimbach at the 1995 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development (HRD). "Developing Systems Thinking Ability in Organizations" (Carol Ann Zulauf) reports a study that examined the relationship between cognitive complexity, locus of control, and selected…

This action research presents data about an online Master of Arts in Education (MAE) in Learning and Behavior Disorders (LBD), P-12 at Western Kentucky University. During extensive program revisions, the program developed a collaborative assessment model while preparing more than 300 special education personnel for work in rural schools.

The purpose of this action research study was threefold: (1) to assess the climate of an elementary school in which the principal, assistant principal, and 67 percent of the teaching staff were new; (2) to develop and implement a plan for improvement; and (3) to reevaluate the school climate to determine whether improvement had occurred. The…

The discussion paper consists principally of two checklists of preoperational research needs for development projects in developing nations. (Preoperational research is focused on the possibility or feasibility of introducing a given innovation, its implications, and necessary modification.) The checklists, the first on factors relevant for…

An approach to educational research that is receiving renewed attention is participatory action research (PAR), which emphasizes a bottom-up approach to research as well as useful outcomes. PAR is a philosophy, and not a methodology per se. It is a deliberate, goal-directed, structured, and applied means of obtaining information that looks to…

Part of a larger study on the experience of teaching in the steel mill learning environment was an inquiry focused on professional development. Teachers and coordinators were all members of the Teachers Action Research Group for Educational Technology (TARGET), a group of adult educators interested in improving learning and teaching in career…