The Clinton County (Pennsylvania) Development Center for Adults studied to what extent the planning and evaluation process for adult learners in the adult basic education/General Educational Development program was improved by the use of an individualized education plan (IEP) form. The project involved collaboration with other instructors in the…

The Greater Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Literacy Council (GPLC) is a volunteer-based literacy council that provides adult basic and literacy education services to the area's citizens. The GPLC conducted an action research project to determine whether adding monthly meetings for professional teaching staff and providing opportunities for interaction…

This study investigated the characteristics of instructional leaders that positively influenced classroom teaching, noting the personal and professional effects of leader-teacher interactions and whether staff development emerged as a primary theme of effective instructional leadership. A group of 809 teachers nationwide provided detailed…

This action research project evaluated the effectiveness of a program to enhance students' social skills with peers. The targeted population was comprised of elementary and junior high school students in an economically diverse, predominantly blue collar community in central Illinois. The problem of inability to problem solve, listen actively,…

This report describes a program for improving pre-reading and reading skills. Some students of the targeted kindergarten, first, and fourth grade classes typically exhibited poor reading development due to personal, social, and educational problems. The documents that supported this evidence were observational checklists, parent surveys, pretests,…

In 1997, Balwyn High School (Australia) instituted a class of 28 Year 7 students to use laptop computers across the curriculum. This report details findings from an action research project that monitored important aspects of what happened when this program was introduced. A range of measures was developed to assess the influence of the use of…

This study examined the advantages of using written language portfolios for authentic assessment in a third-grade special education classroom. Portfolios included data from students, teachers, parents, and the teacher's journal. Portfolios provided insights about how students thought about their writing, offered new understandings of parents'…

Too many researchers have built careers on the quantitative/qualitative research debate. Social scientists have largely abandoned their responsibility for popular education, focusing primarily on schooling's limitations, rather than its potential for furthering social progress. Standard-setting is highly politicized; research is becoming too…

This article describes a school-university partnership that fosters teacher research within classrooms. The effects of teacher research in the implementation of inclusive practices are illustrated, with descriptions of four teacher research projects which examined: (1) inclusion of a child with emotional disturbances; (2) inclusion for literacy;…

Two teacher educators utilized professional standards to inform their teaching. They used reflective dialog, action research, and critical inquiry in a standards-based language arts curriculum to support revisions and improvements in classroom practices and curriculum development. This led to new ideas about collaborative structures and stimulated…

Four teachers from diverse early childhood environments formed a teacher research group to learn more about children's language and literacy development. This article discusses the formation of the group, the value of teacher research for understanding children's language, and the lessons learned by the participating teachers that enhanced their…

Proposes the following recommendations: (1) research should be a collaborative endeavor; (2) teachers should be action-researchers; (3) research must be close to the classroom; (4) an investigative society should be created; and (5) research should inform policy. (PR)

Reviews research literature on efforts in the United Kingdom to address racism and the needs of a multicultural society through INSET (Inservice Education of Teachers). Notes recent developments in school-focused work emphasizing action research and teacher participation. Comments on Racism Awareness Training (RAT), problems in all-White areas,…

Advocates a reconceptualization of Canadian teacher preparation that will involve partnerships in and outside the university. Shows how a reconceptualized concurrent preparation program would bring together discipline-based and practical knowledge, engaging preservice teachers in action research into the dilemmas of teaching, and integrating…

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the quality profession's fascination with various models to depict complex interactive systems. Building on these and the outcome of a four-year action research programme, it provides a model which has potential for use by other professions. It has been tailored here to suit training and learning systems.…