Recent work integrating Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) with Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) forms a basis for systematizing action research in higher education. This basis strengthens what are often otherwise its methodological weaknesses, namely, the disconnection between analysis and subsequent plans for action and the…

This paper makes a case that when teachers and school leaders (administrators) engage in site-based action research they become more efficacious leaders. This paper reviews eight years of research work of site-based research projects completed by school-based personnel as well as the experiences of teachers and school administrators who have…

This project describes a 12-week program developed to improve student spelling of high frequency words for transfer in written work across the curriculum. The targeted population consists of kindergarten, first, and third graders in two public elementary schools in a community located in central Illinois. Following an extensive literature review,…

Of all the summer institutes for educators, the Harvard University Project Zero Research Center's "Views on Understanding" institute stands out as one of the few offering extensive exchanges amongst researchers and practitioners from all over the world. "Arrival" captures the experience of one participant while capturing the essences of plenary…

This study describes a program designed to improve reading comprehension through the selection, application, and transfer of appropriate reading strategies with both fictional and informational texts. The targeted population consisted of seventh and eighth grade middle school students in a middle-class community in the western suburbs of Chicago,…

Teacher's function as a researcher has been the subject of heated debates during the last two decades.The advocates argue that education can not be conceived as a scientific domain within the positivistic paradigm. They put emphasis on the intricacies and uncertainties associated with teaching circumstances and invite teachers to participate in…

The purpose of this paper is to describe how two women professors began and sustained a multi-year, collaborative research project. There has been little investigation into collaborative research in the academy, particularly about women working together. This paper is grounded in research collaboration over time and supported by related literature…

A year-long collaborative action research project used networked technologies to connect researchers at a university-based online professional development program and a group of practitioner researchers based in a range of schools and educational agencies in several countries. They studied the process and effects of online professional development…

This paper first clarifies the role of "jugyou kenkyuu" for creating an effective environment in schools for teachers to learn from each other and for developing more learning-centered education that focuses on the real needs of students. Secondly, it examines various practical strategies used by both professors and teachers through…

A strong case has been made for the need for organizations and individuals to pursue economic, social, and environmental policies and practices that will reduce the risks associated with present practices, that will be sustainable in the long run, and that will enhance the well-being of future generations. Appropriate indicators need to be…

While the significance of validation of data collection instruments in speech act research has been recognized and has attracted considerable interest, most validation studies employed a between-subjects design. In so doing, it is possible that the differences were caused by the group effects rather than different data collection techniques. This…

This is part II of a case study involving a large federally funded technology grant program implemented across several central Texas school districts and was followed by the researcher-participant at the university level as well as one of the campus sites. Many ethical research questions were raised during this study such as the use of participant…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of divorce on student's academic achievement. Whitehead (1997) states, at the beginning of the twentieth century, there were only three divorces for every 1,000 marriages. Through the years, the divorce rate in America has rapidly increased which has affected adults and children. The…

This study sought to determine variables that influence HRED postsecondary faculty to spend more time in research than fellow HRED postsecondary faculty. Reviewing theory and literature led to the design and evaluation of a mediated model investigating the influence of environmental variables (control variables), perceived organizational…

The purpose of this study was to increase the comfort level of teachers toward inclusion of students with learning, behavioral, and physical disabilities in general-education classrooms for one high school. Participants included 3 focus groups of teachers with 2 groups consisting of 6 teachers and 1 group consisting of 7 teachers. One…