Despite high staff turnover and a predominance of part-time positions in the field of adult education some adult education teachers create careers for themselves that span many years--even decades. According to the U.S. Department of Education (2007), teachers are the most important factor in improving student achievement. Knapp (2003) points out…

Educators are busier than ever before. What practitioner has time to add "researcher" to his or her job description? Yet the very complexity of education today mandates that educators become researchers. Educators cannot do their jobs properly unless they become researchers who have the goal of fostering a culture of inquiry throughout the entire…

This guide explains how to establish a research program within a school and how to get students involved in independent research projects and national research competitions. Chapter 1, "Selling the Program," examines benefits to the community, school, teachers, and students. Chapter 2, "Assessing Your Situation," discusses how independent research…

This guide introduces the skills and dispositions necessary to participate in educational action research. It targets teachers, administrators, college faculty, graduate students, state professional organizations, and state administrators. Chapter 1, "Understanding Action Research as a Tool for Professional Growth and Organizational Development,"…

The article discusses the use of action research as a means of professional development. After describing action research and its benefits, the article explains the cyclical, collaborative process of action research, notes its possible applications, and presents implications for school reform. (SM)

Maintains that before teachers or administrators become involved in classroom research they should carefully assess the conceptual soundness, feasibility, and ethics of any proposed study. Also considered should be ways to facilitate research and the potential rewards of research involvement. (BB)

The serial publication is intended for teachers, principals, program directors, coordinators, and policymakers who work with language-minority students and their educational programs. It provides a forum for presenting innovations, concerns, and recommendations related to the schooling of this population. It has a "narratives of…

Presents a study of ways in which teachers believe that their research promotes professional development and educational change. Identifies factors that promote and constrain change. Suggests that, for teacher research to effect change throughout a school, the school must value critical reflection on practice and the sharing of ideas. (SG)

The purpose of this monograph is to heighten awareness about action research for both teachers and administrators involved in California middle level reform efforts. This approach to educational research is a means of developing knowledge through collaboration in a process that improves both student learning and professional autonomy. The…

This book presents information on action research for teachers and administrators. Chapter 1, Reflective Professional Practice, discusses reflective professionals, urges active use of solitary dialogue and personal journals to enhance reflectiveness, delineates concerns of maturing educators, and summarizes meditative steps of reflective practice…

From 1988 through 1995 a group of researchers at the Harvard Graduate School of Education collaborated with teachers from nearby schools on research to address questions about teaching for understanding and linking research with practice. They describe the theoretical foundations underlying the Teaching for Understanding framework, the process and…

This booklet offers a brief history of teacher lore, examines its theoretical bases, and summarizes its professional value, discussing how preservice teachers, inservice teachers, and others can use teacher lore for professional development. Teacher lore, or teacher narrative, includes fiction and nonfiction, oral storytelling, print, film,…

This book provides an overview of the challenges involved in improving teacher education for faculty members, department chairs, administrators, and policymakers. The book includes the concrete experiences of 12 English and foreign language faculty members at different universities who studied their teacher preparation programs. It also offers an…

This bulletin is the second of a cooperative series sponsored by the National Committee on Research in Secondary Education. With the profession of education demanding research as a basis for adaptation of school procedures, research is being undertaken by an increasing number of agencies and is rapidly involving school principals and classroom…

The purpose of this document is to encourage collaboration in research and development in postsecondary education through providing increased understanding of the diversity of contributions from professional educational researchers, teachers, librarians, and other school personnel. Emphasis is placed on the role of the educational practitioner, as…