Suggests that the insights of educational action research, especially in connection with the reflexive nature of knowledge, must be taken seriously by educational philosophers and that it will not be, until they take seriously the fact that philosophy of education can become genuinely synoptic. (Author)

As National Vocational Qualifications are advocated for professional development, reflective practice takes on an increasingly narrow and technical focus. The focus and purposes of reflection must be made more explicit and the range and scope of reflection much wider if emancipatory discourse is to thrive. (SK)

Offers suggestions for improving the scholarship of teaching and learning. Highlights include a general concept of scholarship; merging the scholarship of teaching with the paradigm of learning; action research; epistemology of reflective practice; Glassick's evaluative framework to assess scholarship in general; and reflective critique.…

Action research involves responding to practice problems through problem posing and solving. Its core processes are planning, acting, reflecting, and observing. Data collection methods include anecdotes, field notes, document analysis, logs, journals, portfolios, questionnaires, interviews, audio/video recordings, and tests of learner performance.…

Home economics and action research are both concerned with human communities and actions. Home economics can be understood as a field of practice that can be enriched by engaging in approaches of action research. (JOW)

Examines applied linguistics as a research project analogous to other disciplines and presumes a need for cross-disciplinary perspectives in language studies. Argues that applied linguistics shares a position intersecting with neighboring sciences and with all other sciences, each of which demarcates its own space in contested and shared ground.…

A group of nurses at a rural, psychiatric hospital used participatory action research to explore issues of autonomy and found that they could successfully challenge institutional norms and ideas that limit nurses' autonomy. (Author/JOW)

Presents a descriptive study that examined the influence of using electronic mail to support novice teachers as they attempted to sustain action research projects in their classrooms. Suggests that online collaborations are an effective method of supporting novice teachers in their research efforts. (Author/LRW)

Discusses whether action research has more potential in solving school policy problems than formal research. Determined that both types can and should be used in the educational decision-making process. (JOW)

Staff development funding under the National Literacy Act of 1991 provides real opportunities for using action research on a broad level to advance professionalism, implement policy, and enhance internal validity. Action research can be a key to professionalism and policy in the field. (Author/JOW)

Scandinavian approaches to action research aim at democratizing work life as well as the research process. The model emerging today aims to make change and learning a self-generating and self-maintaining process. (SK)

Universities of the Third Age are developing the research facet of their mission. In this model, the senior citizen is both the object and the agent of research, being involved in action research that transforms their subjective impressions and intuitions into objective knowledge with which to transform their environment. (Author/SK)

Describes aspects of participatory action research and considers advantages of using participatory action research in research by disabilities and rehabilitation researchers. Notes that participatory action research can be built into any rehabilitation research design but that it rests upon the recognition of persons with disabilities as integral…

Describes two professional development activities for teachers: writing an autobiographical sketch (which helps construct personal meaning); and action research projects (which bring teachers together to solve problems). (SR)

Presents a framework for comparing and evaluating action research that transcends differences among existing models. The dimensions of the framework are theoretical orientation, purpose, and type of reflective process. The paper describes how the framework was developed and presents examples of how it can be used to analyze different approaches to…