This case study argues for the consideration of an adult-directed physical skills session as an approach to supporting boys learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage in England. It exemplifies a model of professional development that utilises the individual knowledge and expertise of practitioners to support and extend others' practice. It…

Many future teachers have had little guidance on how to develop and foster home-school connections, especially when working with culturally and linguistically diverse families. This qualitative action research study aimed to identify what two different groups of preservice teachers enrolled in methods for teaching English learners courses (104…

In this paper, we reflect on the development of community-based arts and cultural (CBAC) practices to promote psychosocial, group/organisational and community changes from the perspective of empowerment. We draw on findings from an initial exploratory phase of an ongoing action-research project in Spain about creative tools that empower artists…

This study investigated the role of the school administrator in helping teachers to use instructional practices that led to improved student learning outcomes. The data indicated that teachers were comfortable learning from other teacher-leaders in the school. Teachers responded favorably to opportunities to participate in collegial observation…

Digital storytelling projects provide a variety of opportunities for learning in the language classroom, but along with these opportunities come a number of challenges for both pedagogy and technology. This presentation describes an ongoing multi-method study into factors involved in task-based learning using digital storytelling. Using intact…

Science, technology, society, and the environment (STSE) education is a part of the science curriculum in Ontario schools and also a theoretical positioning for a science teacher. This qualitative study uses individual interviews, group meetings, and action research to explore, how science teachers, develop and implement inclusive science…

In this paper, we build on Wood's (2010, 2012) recent call to consider higher education as a work place that conjures emotion among constituents, particularly positional leaders, like department chairs. Using a participatory action research and photo-enhanced methodological approach, we illustrate the emotional labor that was poured into the…

The ideals that are central to action research are not often explicitly addressed in writing about action research and participation. This article argues for a more explicit dialogue about the ideals of participation and how those ideals relate to participatory practices. The lack of such a dialogue can obscure both the process of participation…

Three methods from different schools illustrate how the cyclic process of action research can be used to develop teaching skills. The importance of learning from successful and unsuccessful lessons or parts of lessons is emphasised as the basis for development and improvement. This process can be carried out on an individual basis but development…

Action research continues to grow as a research tradition, yet misconceptions about what it is and is not remains, even among scholars. For example, some mistakenly believe action research is only about professional development and is not a scholarly research approach. Some assume action research must be accomplished through a collaborative…

Coming from a critical youth studies perspective, this article sketches a participatory action research project designed by youth and adults in New York City to evaluate the impact of neo-liberal public policies on young people. Through telling the counter-story of the Polling for Justice (PFJ) project, we propose that re-considering…

I undertook this inquiry into action research while teaching research methods within a graduate degree teacher education program. This inquiry represents my initial encounter with action research and describes the tools, challenges, and uncertainties that I encountered while teaching and doing action research for the first-time. The main purpose…

Youth civic engagement has been an important topic for educators, policy makers, community leaders, and parents with many voicing concerns over a growing decrease in youth civic engagement. Youth civic engagement is often defined by engagement with politics and or the local community through volunteering or service-learning. Youth from…

The number of English language learners (ELLs) mainstreamed into regular classrooms continues to increase. Curricular writing standards required by the Common Core State Standards require students to write essays analytically in response to text(s). Many English Language Arts (ELA) teachers may worry about effectively delivering essay writing…

Students' ESL writing skills in general are not at a desirable level. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of utilizing the STAD [Student Team Achievement Division] method to enhance descriptive writing skills among students in an international school in Selangor, Malaysia. This study employed an action research design.…