Action research in the Cobb County (Georgia) school district is described. This research is being conducted in the district under three main approaches: (1) co-researcher projects addressing central level issues; (2) district-wide projects; and (3) school-focused action research, including minigrants to teachers. The first three…

The symposium from which these papers were taken dealt with the processes and problems involved in developing a fully collaborative relationship among the federal government (specifically, the National Institute of Education), the Research and Development Center for Teacher Education at the University of Texas at Austin, and the Austin, Texas,…

Vocational education research seeks to answer one form or another of a fundamental question: How can we best prepare youth and adults for today's workplace? Comprehensive national and international research programs typically attempt to ask and answer larger forms of that question. Recurring themes in the United States reflect change--what skills…

This booklet contains 10 papers addressed to teachers wishing to make the case for service learning through action research on their own service learning programs. "Introduction" (Jay Smink) examines the need for teacher-based action research and evaluation. "Connect Service with Evaluation for Good Learning" (Robert D. Shumer) explains the…

This serial issue contains eight articles all on the theme of "Becoming Teacher Researchers.""Becoming a Network of Teacher Researchers" (Scott Christian) discusses how portfolios of classroom work provide documentation and encourage more systematic teacher research involving established research techniques. "Identifying…

Ideally, every teacher should engage in teacher research. The paper describes how one university placed preservice teachers with teacher researchers who shared common curricular interests. The partnership provided teacher researchers with extra resources for conducting their inquiry and preservice teachers with mentors who engaged in…

A mentor teacher, student teacher, and university educator collaboratively examined factors that guided student teacher actions, analyzing data from conferences, interviews, and dialog journals. Results indicated benefits of supporting sustained mentor/student teacher conversations, engaging in action research for mentors and student teachers, and…

A researcher and four elementary teachers conducted collaborative action research to explore, implement, and document practitioner initiated change. The article highlights the political nature of action research linked with reform, noting that peers and principals can silence teachers' voices. Collaborative action research groups may provide…

Highlights issues and controversies concerning current race-related educational research. Contends that some critics believe research sacrifices empirical objectivity for political goals. Partisan research supporters respond that all research begins with untested assumptions and an acknowledgment of purpose does not signify a skewed methodology.…

A high school biology teacher studied the use of both competitive and noncompetitive games in classroom learning. Students were surveyed to find out how they felt about the games and what they learned from them. Results indicated that games helped students improve self-esteem, peer relationships, and learning. Competition provided motivation but…

This paper considers the value of the self-study perspective and discusses quality factors in self-study research by educators. The context of the paper is the experience of the Self Study of Teacher Education Practices (SSTEP) special interest group. Reasons for increasing interest in self-study among teachers and teacher educators include its…

This paper describes the reactions of graduate secondary school student teachers to an experiment which required them to evaluate specified techniques and theories of teaching and learning as part of their classroom practice. The aim of the experiment was to: (1) improve the quality of their judgments about pupils; (2) acquire variety in teaching…

This study was conducted to explore the process of teacher and principal change initiated by elementary school teachers who wished to replace the school's culture of isolation and seclusion with a culture of collegiality and caring. Their vision of change and the change process itself was intertwined with the development of a sense of teacher…

Action research, a term first used in the 1940's by Kurt Lewin, implies the application of tools and methods of social science to immediate, practical problems, with the goals of contributing to theory and knowledge in the field of education and improving practice in the schools. Collaborative action research suggests that each group represented…

Because of her interest in determining how to persuade other teachers to incorporate process-centered writing in their classrooms, the author applied for and received a teacher-as-researcher grant. Her research was conducted in New York City and nearby suburban schools. Although city schools tended to be shabbier and some teachers were not…