This manual, prepared by the Distance Education Council (India) presents guidelines for action research in distance education, balancing practical research activities with a sound theoretical research base. Chapter 1, "Scope, Purpose and Design of the Manual," suggests several definitions of research; draws distinctions between academic…

Provides a rationale and framework for promoting critical reflection in teacher preparation, focusing on what critical reflection is, whether and how reflective practice can be taught, constructivist methods, dialogue as a form of teaching, action research to nurture reflective practice, and writing as a tool to encourage connections between…

Service-learning is a pedagogy that promotes an action research philosophy in early childhood teacher education. Components of meaningful service-learning programs include: (1) clear interrelation with academic goals of the course; (2) student participation in the assessment process; (3) students and faculty becoming part of the community to be…

Teachers in the Connecting the Curriculum (CTC) Project utilized action research to study curriculum connections. This guide provides basic information on connected curriculum and action research and explains the processes that underlie them. Chapter 1 introduces connected curriculum, including definitions, frameworks, and multidisciplinary and…

Teacher research has emerged in the last decade as a potential source for improving education. Teachers, who work with students daily, have a unique perspective on educational problems. Practitioner, or action, research is defined as trying out ideas in practice to increase knowledge about curriculum, teaching, and learning. Unlike traditional…

Many school districts lack in-place processes for planning and evaluating their programs. In addition, most practicing educators do not have much time to design and carry out program evaluations. This handbook provides a practical guide to program evaluation drawn from action-research principles. The book uses effective, low-cost practices that…

This paper discusses the importance of school-family partnerships at the pre-college and postsecondary level and suggests specific steps TRIO and other educational opportunity programs can take to build more effective partnerships with their students' families. The first section summarizes what is known about the effects of parent involvement on a…

Action science is a communication technique that staff developers can use to increase interpersonal competence and problem-solving skills in schools engaged in the process of school transformation. An example of the action science intervention at a Maryland elementary school is presented. (SM)

Explains how teachers can use treatment-only designs and self-recording (either alone or together) to implement frequent measurement of ongoing student performance and to evaluate and interpret ongoing instruction. Implementation recommendations include emphasizing improvements rather than predetermined goals, and cooperative, rather than…

Suggests that action research is appropriate for foreign language teachers because of its emphasis on research perspectives that are particularly illuminating in foreign language classrooms, tracing the conceptual contours of action research to set the stage for two case studies by graduate teaching assistants in German who engaged in action…

This book addresses the subject of environmental education in the context of educational and social change. It focuses on the synthesis of action research and community problem solving in the context of education. The result, Action Research and Community Problem Solving (ARCPS), can be defined as a process that enables students and teachers to…

This paper presents and discusses a method for helping teachers create nonsexist classrooms. The method, a process approach, was developed in a research study which measured the effects of a nonsexist classroom environment on the sex role attitudes of first graders. The method is characterized by two phases: a preactive phase, in which the…

Seven articles discuss research by and for practitioners. The topics include demystification of research for practitioners, experiences with helping teacher researchers, an application of a collaborative action research model, one health practitioner's experience, creating a dance research database, basic data analysis for nonresearchers, and why…

This book offers guidelines for school administrators who want to apply the principles of Total Quality Management to the organizational challenges faced by schools. Based on W. Edwards Deming's nine attributes of successful leadership, the book shows how to make the transformation to instructional leadership based on Total Quality Education…

This book, in its second edition, is intended as a practical guide to conducting action research in schools--it outlines the process of designing and reporting an action research project. Contending that action research can be used as a powerful tool that can contribute to school renewal and instructional improvement, the book defines and presents…