The authors integrate poetry and narrative into their self-study application of the research methodology known as Appreciative Inquiry (AI) focused on: (a) their personal and professional practice and development; (b) their teaching practice in universities and informal/popular education settings; and, (c) their educational research in the area of…

The moral framework of a carousel is used to advance possible connections between the institutional and regulatory life within prisons and teacher education programs. The moral paradigm case narrated is based on the researcher's field experience in a prison as a researcher-teacher. Connections are drawn to restrictions within a correctional…

This book focuses on what it feels like and what it means to spend substantial portions of one's everyday life in the chat rooms, support groups, and virtual communities of cyberspace. Interviewing heavy users online, and becoming one herself, the author creates and ethnographic site for inquiring into the meanings of life online, a place where…

This paper is a narrative drawn from a 6-year study of two female elementary school teachers as they are learning to teach literacy. The teachers were part of a larger longitudinal investigation on learning to teach which began with their preservice teacher programs at a research university on the west coast. This report summarizes data collected…

This 4-year study investigated the preservice lives of four elementary teacher education students to determine their inductive characteristics and their concerns and priorities. Journals kept during the junior year field experience and later student teaching were the primary source for determining the concerns and priorities. Six general…

A longitudinal study of the economic self-sufficiency and academic achievement of Indochinese refugees, commonly known as "Boat People," concludes that cultural background and family influence play key roles in achievement in American society. Statistical data were drawn from two surveys of 6,775 individuals in 1,384 Chinese, Laotian, and…

Replicating two previous studies of the transition process of students in field experience programs, this study examined the reactions or feelings that fifth-year graduate student teachers experience, and compared them with those of early field experience and undergraduate student teachers. During their first semester, the teachers kept journals…

This report presents suggestions for elementary school improvement from the 22 elementary school principals who comprise the charter membership of the National Association for Schools of Excellence (NASE). Each principal has received national recognition for educating low-income students, usually by emphasizing strong school-business cooperation.…

One in a series of interviews with Native American poets, this interview with William Oandasan of the Yuki tribe of Round Valley, California, is conducted by an Abenaki poet, storyteller, and editor. Questions focus on Oandasan's literary style, his cultural heritage, and his development as a writer. Opening questions relate to the role of place…

This paper analyzes interviews with preservice, novice, and inservice teachers on their recollections of elementary or secondary teachers from their student days who served as either positive or negative role models. The interviewees described events in which they were student participant observers, providing a perspective which captures ideas,…

During qualitative empirical research on the biographical learning processes of women due to transitions in their work situation, this theoretical, methodological theme arose that was intriguing to the researcher: the relationship between the learning processes of the women interviewed and of the researcher on one hand and the stories that were…

This study examined the role of multilingualism in the Kyrgyz educational system, noting how language learning and language attitudes are related. It analyzed language biographies (semi-narrative interviews in which informants discussed their lives as speakers of two or more languages) and observed language classes. Participants were bilingual…

This paper describes a validation case study of a new document, "Standards of Practice for the Teaching Profession," developed by the Ontario College of Teachers. As part of its mandate as a self-regulatory body, the College is to establish and enforce professional and ethical standards applicable to members of the College. Validation…

A study qualitatively analyzed the recollections of nine women concerning their early language and literacy development as it related to the family, cultural, school, and community experiences and contexts. Subjects were enrolled in a graduate education seminar in language development, ranged in age from 24 to 48 years, and had diverse…

Provides an overview of the principles and framework of Te Whaariki, the New Zealand early childhood curriculum, and of subsequent assessment and evaluation research. Presents the framework of "Learning and Teaching Stories," a user-friendly approach to assessment and self-evaluation, used in action research in three regions of New…