This action research project examined students' and teachers' self-concepts in a literature course at a German university. Data (student diaries, video documentation of classes, and interviews) were collected and analyzed to help students reflect on their class participation and teachers on their control and dominance. Data were analyzed in…

Canberra Institute of Technology implemented a project to improve assessment using teacher-developed action research. Outcomes included a shift in teaching perspectives and pedagogical assumptions and the establishment of a culture of concern for high-quality assessment. (SK)

Discusses reasons for the lack of research on the community dimensions of service learning, noting that community-focused research is possible. Presents a four-dimensional model for doing research with community partners on the process and outcomes of community service learning, arguing that it should emphasize the community-university partnership…

Action research is an approach to knowledge generation that can strengthen communities and institutions and is ideally suited to the advancement of academically-based service learning. Presents the history and goals of this approach to service learning, defining current challenges, providing examples from three action research projects responding…

Action research was used for a follow-up study of the implementation of a philosophy of health in nursing curricula. Health was interpreted both as health education and health promotion. Issues arose in terms of the gap between rhetoric and reality in action research and the expectations and needs of key partners. (SK)

Describes a multidisciplinary action research project to develop a theoretical framework and four exemplary teaching modules for elementary and secondary school that promote a pluralistic view on nature. Presents the theoretical framework that was developed during the project. Describes the teaching modules and delineates one of the modules.…

Uses four student-led investigations conducted as part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded 'Explorations from an Aerial Perspective' program to demonstrate how participatory action research can provide a framework for realizing environmental education goals. (Author/MM)

Describes common principal-leadership characteristics of exemplary schools, schools that successfully implemented and sustained major school reforms. (PKP)

Discusses implementing and evaluating the effectiveness of literature circles with second grade students. Includes three student profiles. Finds that using literature circles can facilitate development of students' analytical skills. (NH)

This introductory article discusses the benefits of participatory action research (PAR), including the empowerment of participants in research and the research process, the difficulties PAR presents, and summarizes following articles in a special series on the facets of PAR. (CR)

This article presents a rationale for incorporating elements of participatory research approaches into intervention research intended to improve practice. After an overview of the research-to-practice problem, it illustrates how the incorporation of participatory research approaches applied to various decision points can enhance the construction…

An action research project based on the concepts of scaffolding, situated learning, and the zone of proximal development explored ways to embed basic skills development in everyday situations for people with learning difficulties. The underlying assumption was that people learn most effectively in situations meaningful to them. (SK)

Explores connections between learning and technology based on a participatory action research case study in which students in universities in the United States, England, and Australia created and analyzed cases from their teaching practice. Findings indicate that students' attitudes and perceptions of technology influenced their ability to…

Learning to teach is a highly complex and multidimensional process. This self-study, conducted collaboratively by a preservice teacher and a teacher educator, traces one preservice teacher's development and growth over a 2-year period. The study examines the complexities of learning to teach, as well as the complexities of assisting preservice…

This paper reports on findings from a recent collaborative participatory action research study that involved a group of teachers from two Kenyan schools in a review and development of interpretation resources and materials. It focuses on an engaging process between teachers and non-formal educators in which interpretive capital (the tools and…