This report focuses on work force education and lifelong learning as a newly emerging strategy for meeting many challenges of education and work in the 21st century. Chapter 1 introduces the concept, reviews the sociopolitical background to the strategy, and presents the rationale for a new type of professional, Workforce Education and Lifelong…

This paper describes a teacher education effort that developed conditions for teachers to be more effective learners about teaching and encouraged teachers' development of a personal understanding of educational issues. A group of teachers in one school established the Project To Enhance Effective Learning (PEEL) as an approach to encourage more…

University and school-based members of the League of Professional Schools, a collaborative formed to support school renewal, engage in disciplined inquiry on the effects of this school/university collaborative on life in member schools. Essentially, the League conducts action research on action research. The League and its definition of schoolwide…

This study examines teacher collaboration as an evolving service option for special needs students, and investigated the effects of teacher collaboration through the use of action research. The study compared student performance indicators in collaborative and noncollaborative structures and evaluated the validity of variables selected for…

Use of ethnographic methods to assess learning and staff development needs for workplace adult education programs is discussed, focusing on the teacher's role as ethnographic researcher. Four stages of ethnographic research are identified: (1) open-ended, inductive study; (2) structured observation; (3) analysis; and (4) speculation and sharing of…

This book examines the role of the professional practitioner-researcher and the relationship between practice, practical knowledge, and theory. It is divided into five parts. The three chapters of Part 1 review the emerging role of the practitioner-researcher, the education of professionals in light of the theory-practice relationship, and…

This book is designed to provide knowledge about educational research and to help graduate students in education organize and conduct their own research. No prior familiarity with the principles, procedures, or terminology of educational research is required. Chapters are: (1) "Educational Research: Its Nature and Rules of Operation"; (2) "Types…

Several methods by which teachers are able to make a useful assessment of their own instruction and prescribe improvements for their own teaching are described. The literature on these evaluation methods is also reviewed. These methods include: reflective evaluation, an important part of the new approach to teacher self-evaluation; action research…

As a student teacher who had just finished her teaching assignment at Old Dominion Middle School in central Virginia, the author was struck by differences in students' classroom and hallway behavior. Whereas students were calm and respectful inside classrooms, they pushed, cursed, and ran in hallways while teachers looked on. Wondering why…

This 2-year qualitative action research project focused on improving the experiences within several sections of an advanced methods course in an undergraduate elementary teacher preparation program. The course stressed preservice teachers' developing conceptions of curriculum and of their roles in defining the nature of the curricula they will…

An action research project stresses the need to incorporate various methods of teaching to develop a firm reading foundation. Self-esteem also plays a crucial role in developing enthusiasm to learn. The targeted population consisted of first and second grade students in clustered classrooms in a growing, middle class community located in central…

This article summarizes the breadth, diversity, and significance of the international movement to recognize, prepare, and learn from teachers as researchers from three interrelated standpoints: curriculum improvement, professional critique, and societal reform. A derivative of action research, teacher research from a curriculum improvement stance…

This paper presents an overview of the findings and implications of an ongoing 5-year collaborative action research project conducted by university faculty and classroom teachers in a large urban school district in the southeastern United States. Based on the premise that participation in research empowers teachers to take action to improve…

Process evaluation is a critical element in understanding the results of any research. Because action research is conducted by practitioners, there is a tendency to think that there is little need for process evaluation. Yet, the complexity of factors underlying most educational treatments tends to defeat all but the best memories when attempting…

Research may be divided into two types, "empowering" research and "academic" research. Empowering research seeks to determine how a particular individual or organization can produce a desired result, while academic research is concerned with why a particular condition exists. While academic research might ask "Why do students drop out of school?"…