This article provides a critical account of a selection of approaches that were used in the 26-month No Outsiders participatory action research project in education settings. The paper questions what challenges are presented to educators in critically exploring and challenging heteronormative sex-gender discourses. We revisit some of the tensions…

Few researchers have gone beyond case studies to examine characteristics of teachers who engage in research activities. Results from the authors' logistic regression models provide evidence that teaching in private schools, teaching in a midsize or large city, participating in professional development programs, and receiving support from the…

Building on work in the area of third space theory, this study documents one teacher's efforts to create third spaces in an elementary mathematics classroom. In an attempt to link the worlds of theory and practice, I examine how the work of other theorists and researchers--inside and outside the field of education--can create new lenses for…

A collaborative research project between Sheffield Hallam University and Nottingham Trent University in the UK investigated the use of blogs with trainee teachers as an alternative to reflective paper-based diaries. An action research case study, involving focus groups of post-graduate (secondary) trainee teachers (one group from each University)…

This paper reports on a one-year project in a Singapore "neighbourhood" school where the researcher was invited to assist the teachers of two secondary English classes to incorporate drama strategies to enliven their pedagogy. Few teachers involved had any prior experience of drama in schools and none had studied drama during pre-service…

The aim of the present study is to explore the views of migrant and non migrant students living in Greece on cultural diversity in the classroom. It focuses on students of both the dominant (i.e. Greek) and nondominant (i.e. migrant) groups and investigates their views in comparison to one another. Data were collected in the context of a pilot…

Quality performance of the increasingly important professional role of the teacher requires a continued learning and professional growth of every individual. Action research represents one of the important factors in teachers' professional development, in particular when it is designed as a collaborative process involving teachers and researchers.…

This paper provides an introduction to this symposium issue on participatory action research in geographic teaching, learning and research. It introduces the themes of the symposium and contributions from the participating authors, and also offers additional discussion of the attendant benefits and challenges of using participatory action research…

This article reports the result of an action research study that explored the need for visual literacy as an additional instructional input for students creating technology integration solutions. The introduction of visual literacy concepts is useful in two ways. First, it raises visual considerations to the conscious consideration of students.…

My purpose in writing this article is to examine the claim that "Teachers are responsible for what happens in their classrooms" in relation to action research. Although the claim appears to be a fairly straightforward, it has multiple meanings that depend on the ideologies of those making the claim. I argue that an often-overlooked way…

Work-based learning's preoccupation with developing award-bearing programmes has affected the scope and style of work-based research. While offering development opportunities for work-based research, the emphasis of work-based learning programmes on the individual learner has curtailed the use of collaborative research. This article explores how…

Having implemented and evaluated over 35 mlearning projects in a variety of contexts in higher education over the past 6 years the researcher is ready to share the untold secret: not all mlearning projects succeed! This article critiques three of the researcher's mlearning projects that can be classed as "failures" and compares them to successful…

This paper takes a case study approach to provide evidence of the benefits of podcasting as a tool used to support a vocational qualification in the subject area of Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy (Nail Technology). It reflects on the experiences of both the lecturer and the students and concludes that podcasting is a valuable tool, supporting a…

In the action research project report, the teacher researchers found that many kindergarten and first-grade students did not have the reading readiness skills to be reading at their benchmark target. The purpose of the project was to improve the students overall reading ability. The dates of the project began on September 8 through December 20,…

Geographical, economic, social and cultural barriers to accessing services in rural areas are widely reported. Less widely discussed are dilemmas posed by individual and community reluctance to address sensitive health issues. This article, focusing on the highly sensitive area of mental health, and employing a participatory action approach,…