Discusses an article by Tom Barone, "A Narrative of Enhanced Professionalism: Educational Researchers and Popular Storybooks about Schoolpeople," which challenges educational researchers to work toward changing the public's generally negative conception of schools and schooling by creating compelling narratives about schoolpeople. (SR)

Book review recommends "Teachers and Teaching," edited by Tom Russell and Hugh Munby, to educators who envision a symbiosis of professional practice and research to promote teacher researchers, suggesting that the book's strength lies in its diversity of forms of enquiry--from narrative dialogs between educators, to case studies, to more…

Bottom line regarding veracity of assertion of Michael L. Penn, Stanley O. Gaines, and Layli Phillips in their article "On the Desirability of Own-Group Preference" (1993)--that the preference toward one's same group (racial or otherwise) is neither a valid measure of ethnic identity nor a predictor of psychological health--is that it is…

Maintains that Gallas' book exemplifies her talent for and commitment to teacher research and that it richly documents students' social worlds. Asserts that two aspects of the investigation are problematic: the use of a male/female polarity that sometimes reifies stereotypes, and the consistent disavowal of racism in children. (Author/KB)

Reviews four influential books on action research that highlight the self-reflective process of examining contradictions in personal beliefs to improve practice, noting that personal beliefs and experiences underlie action research, and those conducting the research live it as they consider whether the ideals match with their actions. (SM)

A set of concerns related to home education that is infrequently studied, namely, the content and direction of research in education, is examined. Issues surrounding home education have not been given adequate attention. A sample of home education researchers was gathered by compiling a list of authors who had published in the "Home School…