This study demonstrates how value-added research undertaken at the local education authority (LEA) is used directly by heads and teachers in their efforts to raise standards in schools. It draws on a decade of experience of supporting schools in the effective use of performance data for school self-improvement. The article highlights the various…

This book presents case-study findings of five school systems' efforts to become true learning communities through action research into the school-renewal process. The programs were located in the Southeast, Midwest, Far West, and an overseas region of the Department of Defense Dependents Schools. The programs shared three characteristics: a focus…

A study focused on designing and implementing a reading program based on modified Reading Recovery programs. The student selected to be worked with made excellent gains and was the second strongest reader of all students observed in the study. Without question, the student functioned at a level equal to the middle of the class and her learning…

This research, part of a larger study that explores how a guided case writing experience supports a teacher's professional growth, examines the tensions that occurred as one teacher's case became a less personal and more public document. The study sought to discover precisely what processes and experiences contributed to the profound impact that…

Describes Parent-Teacher Action Research in which parents and teachers get together periodically to discuss impact that home visitor program has on students' academic success. Notes that parents and teachers are documenting how program is being implemented, collecting data through interviews and surveys, reflecting on what they have learned,…

This article explores the identity struggles of a community of Tibetan refugee women in the Indian Himalayas whose educational program combines a traditional Buddhist philosophical curriculum in Tibetan alongside a modern, secular bilingual curriculum in English-Tibetan. Ethnographic and action research data illustrate how negotiations of meanings…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the ecology of collaboration between school and university partners using an appreciative inquiry theoretical perspective and to demonstrate how it enhances the social capital in school and university partnerships. Design/methodology/approach: A case study of a partnership of an inner-city high…

Remarks on current educational language precede discussions of: pupils' educational development; pupil voice; adolescence and action research. There follows a report of an innovation in religious education pedagogy, designed to address concerns that pupils should be helped to understand the emergence of their own beliefs and values over time. This…

This book examines the role of the professional practitioner-researcher and the relationship between practice, practical knowledge, and theory. It is divided into five parts. The three chapters of Part 1 review the emerging role of the practitioner-researcher, the education of professionals in light of the theory-practice relationship, and…

This volume contains 20 case study profiles of educational RDD&E projects and, as such, constitutes the data base for the Oregon Studies. This part (Part 1) of Volume IV contains profiles of five research and three evaluation projects along with information that describes the development of the profiles, explains how to read the profiles, and…

Based on a research project that sought to train instructors to conduct action research in a real-life context, this handbook was created to help literacy instructors to use action research in workplace education programs. The handbook is organized in three parts. The first part describes action research as a type of practice-based research. It…

This study examined how three elementary teachers who acted as lead teachers in public schools in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia perceived themselves as contributors to building a professional culture in schools. The participants, two women and one man, were experienced teachers in elementary schools and were Master's degree candidates in a…

This study explored case method instruction in a graduate elementary education literacy course. Audiotaped case discussions, students' written reflections, interviews, questionnaires, and field notes were collected. Case method instruction proved to be a successful addition to the course. (SM)

This qualitative study examined the job satisfaction of early childhood teachers in Hong Kong: one group of kindergarten teachers and their principal experiencing a top-down curriculum implementation, and a second group of student teachers implementing a bottom-up kindergarten art curriculum. Findings revealed the need for pedagogical skills and…

Discusses first grade students' writing experiences and processes. Demonstrates, using student writing samples, how simple expression can lead to greater complexity with appropriate teacher guidance. Asserts that teachers must observe and take cues from students to determine what learning context and hints to provide. (MM)