We are entering a new phase in learning about childhood disabilities. While we have found out much of what we need to know about their causes and aetiology, solutions to many of the challenges we will face in the future will come from the evidence base held by practitioners. Practitioners are ideally placed to carry out "real world" research but…

Professors at the "Institucion Universitaria Colombo Americana" (UNICA) have aimed to deliver lessons for second language learners which integrate content and language, resulting in an "integrated lesson" design. The Center for Applied Linguistics (Washington, DC) recommends the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP)…

During the past decade, there has been an increasing gender achievement gap with male students lagging behind their female counterparts on a number of important indicators of school success. This article examines recommendations and strategies for school counselors working with middle school boys to enhance the learning environment, to promote…

This action research project sought to increase the waste management and recycling knowledge among 20 children age 4 and 5 years enrolled in a preschool program in Thessaloniki, Greece. A structured interview was developed to assess the children's pre-intervention knowledge of waste management and recycling. It indicated that most children knew…

A participatory action research project examined vocational rehabilitation (VR) services provided in New York State to American Indians with behavioral health diagnoses, including dual diagnoses involving substance abuse. In 1991, the New York public VR system had 81 American Indians apply for VR services (only 2.8 percent of American Indians with…

At the request of beginning English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students and their teachers, pronunciation problems of Spanish and Vietnamese speaking learners were identified and prioritized by ESL teaching staff. Under the direction of the project director, resources to help teachers aid their students in addressing these problems were identified…

This brief paper reflects one graduate instructor's efforts to bring about the use of qualitative action research in his classes through utilizing contract grading. Students select among various options such as demonstration teaching, peer coaching, shadowing, in school staff or PTA presentations, or other kinds of action research involving…

Fourteen papers from the 1992 meeting of the American Educational Research Association dealing with collaborative research were reviewed to see if they met the definition of action research. The relationship between the two forms of research is the subject of some controversy. It is argued that some collaborative research can be appropriately…

Thirty-five Nebraska educators from across the state came together for five Saturday seminars during the 1995-96 school year to collaborate as they conducted classroom investigations. They earned 3 hours of tuition-free graduate credit. Action research was the tool for their investigations, guided by R. Sagor's book "How To Conduct…

A longitudinal study examined the developmental spelling level of primary-age children. Eight subjects completed 10 separate cloze sentences in their kindergarten, first, and second grade. Subjects were read each of the sentences and then given time to write the word in the corresponding box. The test was introduced as a detective game to…

Schoolwide action research involves the actors in a school continuously and systematically studying their school, analyzing the information gathered, and using it to work toward improvement. Action research can involve collecting data over several years, such as the cumulative effects of schooling, or over shorter periods of time to evaluate…

Emerging criteria are reported for judging the trustworthiness of action research studies as compared to the criteria established for judging the trustworthiness of other forms of naturalistic inquiry set forth by Y. S. Lincoln and E. Guba (1985). Differing conceptions of the nature of action research are delineated, and their accompanying…

This document presents modified and updated papers from a symposium held to examine alcohol and drug abuse prevention efforts worldwide. It contains 32 papers from 11 countries; papers include: (1) "Community Action on Alcohol Problems: The Demonstration Project as an Unstable Mixture" (Robin Room); (2) "Perspectives on the…

Written from the perspective of a participant, that is, the classroom teacher as novice supervisor, this paper presents, in case study form, a description of two cycles of clinical supervision involving teaching peers in an elementary school. The purposes of the paper are twofold. First, the paper explores, through illustrations from the case…

This project demonstrates a collaborative process designed to address the continuing preparation of principals who have primary responsibility for supervising and evaluating teachers, and the preparation of cooperating teachers as more effective supervisors of student teachers. The project focuses on one major question: What is the role of…