Although planning theory is regarded as an analysis of the relationship of knowledge to action by many theories, a view from the poor and minority strata of this society suggests a different alternative--that planning theory is an analysis of the relationship of "knowledge" to inaction, particularly with regard to the continuation of deteriorating…

This paper discusses six roles which an adult education agency can fill in an Educational Priority Area and illustrates each one with examples from the Liverpool E.P.A. Project. These roles are: (1) adult education cum community development; (2) adult education as a resource in community development work; (3) adult education as an aid to parents…

Abundant, high-quality Web sites on essential topics for teacher education make it possible to teach foreign language education (FLED) courses with increased flexibility. The Faculty Development Division at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLI) has created three models for using the Web for teacher education: FLED I…

This digest briefly reviews the events that led to the development of the American Indian and Alaska Native Education Research Agenda, the basic assumptions and premises underlying it, and its six priority research areas. In response to pressure from Native organizations and tribes and a subsequent Executive Order, a working group organized by the…

This monograph presents second-year progress reports on the University-School Teacher Education Partnerships underway at 15 locations across North Carolina. Each report presents 1998-99 highlights, an overview of the partnership, second-year goals, key components, implementation strategies, outcomes, lessons learned, and future directions.…

This study described a program designed to increase student reading comprehension in order to improve academic achievement. The targeted population consisted of third and eighth grade students in two schools located in Northern Illinois. Evidence for the existence of the problem included scores from the Stanford Test, low academic performance on…

This action research study examined how peer tutoring of students with disabilities causes changes in the attitudes of high school peer tutors. Data were gathered through surveys, interviews, and open-ended questions completed by 18 high school peer tutors. Results showed that the peer tutors involved held positive attitudes and beliefs toward…

This paper describes a tool called the Professional Development Project (PDP) that helps preservice teachers become reflective teachers. Action research in a course for preservice teachers, "Reading and Literature in the Schools," from 1993 through 1996 led to the development of the PDP. Action research helps students become reflective…

This paper presents guidelines and tools for action research in the school library which will help the librarian justify expenditures and personnel and evaluate and plan services. It shows how statistics can be turned into meaningful knowledge about what is currently being done in the library, how well it is being done, whether it should be done,…

There is a growing need in the field of teacher education to bridge the gap between theory and practice while creating dialogue for exploration, change, and growth. Proactive teacher educators should seek change in traditional inservice training and create more authentic and empowering professional development opportunities that are proactive as…

This paper focuses on the role that action research can serve in preparing future school administrators to involve families in their children's education. For purposes of the paper, action research is defined as structured field-based investigations conducted in field environments that engage teachers preparing to become school administrators in…

In an effort to improve a summer professional development program for inservice secondary mathematics and science teachers in Taiwan, a three-year action research project has recently been completed. The program attempted to provide participating teachers with a better theoretical and practical understanding of teaching and learning based on the…

An action research project involving a 7th grade mathematics teacher and a school principal examined the teacher's methods of instruction and beliefs about instruction to see if they matched. The principal used several forms of data collection to examine espoused curriculum theory beliefs, including conversations; mentoring dialogue; formal and…

This study examined the efficacy of a student teaching internship component of a teacher education program in fostering the development of reflective practitioners by investigating the experiences of preservice teachers in the program. The study noted the extent to which the various requirements of the student teachers' internships (e.g., journal…

This report describes a program designed to improve students' expressive writing in a midwestern elementary school classroom. The targeted third and fourth grade students demonstrated inconsistencies in the quality of their writing which interfered with their success in the classroom. Evidence for the existence of the problem included district…