In Sweden the compulsory school curriculum prescribes that education should promote learning in different subjects while simultaneously assisting students to develop into citizens of good character. To achieve these goals students need to cultivate such character strengths as respect and responsibility, so that they can create positive…

California Community Colleges face unique challenges and opportunities in serving the state's largest new majority students who are also the state's most at-risk students. These students are the primary driver of the new economy, however they arrive at college with significant educational and economic disadvantages (Woodlief, Thomas, & Orozco,…

In the summer of 2009, a professional development partnership was established between the Peoria Public School District (PPSD), a local education agency (LEA), and Illinois State University (ISU) to improve geometric and trigonometric knowledge and skill for high school mathematics teachers as part of the Illinois Mathematics and Science…

This small scale action research study investigated the experiences of learners over two iterations as they completed a patchwork text assignment within the digital medium of a personal learning system (PLS). The aim was to investigate the extent to which using a PLS can facilitate formative and collaborative feedback to assist student learning. A…

The collection of essays in this book illustrate commonalties and differences among the theories, practices, and forms of organization of participatory action research in different countries. Participatory action research expresses the recognition that all research methodologies are implicitly political in nature, and this is reflected in the…

This study compares two intake procedures designed to prepare adolescents for subsequent group counseling: an individual interview and a group-administered questionnaire. The only significant difference was that the questionnaire group spoke with greater personal involvement in, and more responsibility for, their problem or concern. (SJL)

This paper examines a project involving teams of teachers, school administrators, and district-level people from Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) member schools. The CES is a high school reform movement devoted to strengthening the learning of students by reforming each school's priorities and simplifying its structure. The common principles…

For an evaluation design or "political strategy" to succeed in instituting a process of valuing and be appropriate for a particular setting, patterns of social relations and beliefs about the evaluation must be in agreement with those of the chosen evaluation design. This agreement must be in place either at the onset or occur during the…

The complex psycho-sociological factors involved in designing compensatory education programs require a concerted effort aimed at all levels of personality and the socio-cultural situation. Attention is drawn to the determination of objectives, a diagnosis in terms of the characteristics of the child, the milieu, and the school, and the selection…

Gives a critique of the taxonomy of action research presented by Wilf Carr. Locates this critique in a broader debate about dialectical and propositional logic and suggests a method of collaborative theory development that could enhance educational practices. (Author/AEM)

Argues that good action research carefully utilizes action and reflection because knowledge is acquired through a reciprocity between thought and action. (SRT)

New technologies such as the CT scanner are challenging traditional role relations among radiology workers and may be altering the organizational and occupational structure of radiological work. This paper expands recent sociological thought by showing how identical CT scanners occasion similar structuring processes and created divergent forms of…

This study examined the evolution of teachers' professional identity as they engaged in the process of becoming teacher researchers. Fifty-four inservice teachers in a master's degree program in educational technology took courses across two consecutive summers and completed an action research project. Data are drawn from e-mail conversations,…

This paper examines the purpose, function, and legitimacy of action research as a methodology that encompasses a complex, authentic view of scientific inquiry. A historical account of action research is presented with a focus in how it merged theory with practice. Cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) is used as a theoretical rationale for…