In both the fields of educational practice and educational research the professional development of teachers was, is and is promising to remain an urgent and relevant topic. Practitioner research performed by teachers in professional learning communities and communities of practice is promising to serve their professional development. In addition,…

While teacher identity has been conceptualized in different ways, research in teacher education has shown that the development of self-understanding about being a teacher is critical to learning how to teach and can be shaped in multiple ways. Etienne Wenger argues that the formation of communities of practice is influenced strongly by the…

This paper takes up an ongoing dialogue in the educational literature regarding the relationship between complexity theories and action research. Recognising the contributions of other writers in this field and building on arguments made previously by the authors, this paper argues that there "are" multiple synergies between complexity…

Enabling children and young people to act as researchers is increasingly viewed as useful in supporting their increased "participation" within settings where they live, work or receive services. This paper reports upon a project conducted by two educational psychologists (EPs) with two primary school class groups, in which the children…

The purpose of this qualitative participatory action research study was multi-fold: first, to identify the ecological factors which impede and promote health and well-being among orphaned and abandoned children in Sierra Leone; second, to facilitate Photovoice, a participatory action research method, among NGO workers to identify barriers to…

This study aims to explore the visual thinking skills of some sixth grade (12-13 year-old) primary pupils who created visual interpretations during history courses. Pupils drew pictures describing historical scenes or events based on visual sources. They constructed these illustrations by using visual and written primary and secondary sources in…

This article examines the importance of education for sustainability in New Zealand early years curriculum with particular reference to its inclusion in "Te Whariki," the national early childhood curriculum. Fieldwork was conducted across two New Zealand early childhood centres during a 12 month period. The major finding was that there…

This paper examines how transliteration can be used as a bridge to learning for children who are studying more than one script. The focus is on second and third generation British Bangladeshi children aged 7-11, attending London primary schools and learning to write in Bengali at community-run after-school classes. An action research project…

Assessment for Learning (AfL) is an established learning and teaching strategy. The authors identify issues with the effectiveness of its application in the classroom. Having noted a theoretical shift from teacher-generated to pupil-generated success criteria, the authors were keen to explore how this could be realised in practice. They developed…

Over the past few years, educators in South Africa have been subjected to many changes in the educational sphere. Not only was a new approach to education, namely outcomes-based education (OBE) implemented, but the curriculum was also changed and now consists of eight learning areas, some of which are groupings of traditional school subjects (e.g.…

I report an action research study that aimed at improving Thai pre-service teachers' understanding of the relationship between science and religion and at assisting them to respond to this issue in a science classroom. The participants were twelve post-grad students pursuing Master of Art in Teaching Science at Kasetsart University. They took a…

In this paper we propose that taking time before the work begins to develop agreements about how to work together in participatory action research enables researchers to directly address several ethical issues that can be problematic in this type of research: gaining fully informed consent; in-group confidentiality; cultural misconceptions; and…

The purpose of this participatory action research study was to develop a plan to improve a professional development program to change faculty members' andragogical instructional practices when teaching students enrolled in online courses at a community college. A quantitative and qualitative mixed method approach to data analysis was used in…

In many of the secondary classrooms across the country, including the research site for this study, students are passively engaged in the mathematics content, and academic performance can be described, at best, as mediocre. This action research study sought to bring about improvements in student engagement and performance in the secondary…

The school principal's role is demanding. Responsible for complex systems impacting student learning, the principal must possess knowledge in varied areas of the educational system. Rising from the roots of the teaching principal, the leadership paradigm of modern school principals has evolved over time. With the integration of digital…