This article elucidates what narrative inquiry is as a research method, what questions or puzzles it addresses, the research tools used, and ethical considerations in conducting this type of research. Published exemplars are provided to reveal how narrative inquiries are utilized in real-life education studies. As a storied format of personal…

School leaders increasingly view inquiry-based professional learning as a means to address diverse aspirations concerning teacher development, school improvement, and regulatory requirements. This qualitative, case study uses interview data to investigate the experiences of school leaders during a one-year cycle of "Practitioner Inquiry:…

There is an increasing movement in education towards closer collaboration between researchers and practitioners and research-practice partnerships (RPPs) are seen as one promising approach. However, some challenges still exist. To work in a new collaborative context such as RPPs, researchers and practitioners must adjust their roles in relation to…

In this paper, we present an argument for Practitioner Inquiry (PI). We briefly introduce PI, and we indicate how PI recasts the professional and political role of the Early Years Practitioner (practitioner). At the core of this article is the work of the early childhood pioneer, Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852). Froebel provided principles to…

In 2020, Miriam Ben-Peretz, the Israel Scholar of 2006 and a member of the U.S. National Academy (in addition to being a recipient of Israel's EMET Prize for Research in Education and an American Educational Research Association Fellow) passed away. Ben-Peretz, whose life patterned Israel's contested history (including its wars), was equally well…

Intervention research indicates that historical inquiry curricula call for different tasks, materials, and methods of teaching compared to those focused solely on content. Inquiry curricula require teachers to shift from the methods, materials, and assessments to which they are accustomed. As a result, despite intervention research efforts that…

Building on critical sociological models and action research traditions, our work theorizes a structurated model of action research to address the subjugation of knowledge within educational settings. We focus on the interplay between structure and agency and how these dimensions can co-evolve in teacher research. In this article, we examine how…

Teacher action research is an important element for democratizing educational research, yet teachers often view it as unmanageable atop their other priorities. Grounded in sociocultural theories of identity and situated practice, this paper employs qualitative methods to explore how 16 novice teacher-researchers navigated their distinct identities…

We present a year-long case study that documents the interactions between a teacher-research-mentor (TRM) and two 11th grade students working in their school laboratory on an extended inquiry project that is part of reformed mandatory requirements for advanced-level matriculation in physics. Both the students (females) and the TRM (male) are Arab…

In this commentary, the authors aim to connect the provocative topic of this special issue--"'The Village and the World': Research with, for, and by Teachers in an Age of Data" to several key ideas about practitioner inquiry that they have developed and explored over the years. They begin by highlighting three dimensions of their concept…

Drawing on public writing from a pedagogical inquiry research project collaboration between three early childhood educators, a pedagogist-researcher, and preschool-aged children, this article debates how pedagogical inquiry research becomes "hard work." Against the backdrop of mainstream early childhood education in the lands currently…

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to explore the theory and approaches employed by a novice narrative researcher to open, work in, and close the narrative space. The paper reflects on this personal journey and aims to provide insight for other novices to successfully navigate the narrative space. Design/methodology/approach: This paper draws on…

The research-practice gap in music education has been discussed for decades. Many attempts have been made to explain the gap and offer recommendations for bridging it. However, few systematic examinations of the gap have been undertaken. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how a model of brokerage structures can be applied to guide…

Calls to improve relationships between education research and practice abound, among them efforts to help researchers work in partnership with and communicate more effectively with policy and practice audiences. Recognizing this need, the U.S. National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine have emphasized the importance of integrating…

This paper describes my practitioner inquiry as a newly qualified teacher, initially used as a form of teacher learning, but ultimately became the reason I remained in the physical education (PE) teaching profession. In Scotland, early-career PE teachers are encouraged to embody the role of teacher-researcher and pursue Career-Long Professional…