This how-to guide to classroom inquiry takes educators through the process step-by-step, from beginning to end, answering critical questions on developing the research plan, collecting and analyzing the data, and writing and publishing the results. Seven chapters include: (1) "Teacher Inquiry Defined" (e.g., what teacher inquiry is and how it…

This paper examines France's attempts, difficulties, and issues related to developing a new collaborative relationship between university-based researchers and school-based practitioners and a new evaluative policy that includes social partners. The first section of the paper introduces the theoretical background and methodology of the study. The…

A teacher-researcher model that takes into account the constraints in the teaching environment is described. Four characteristics of teaching/learning are: (1) need for continual examination; (2) learning activities as compromises in face of influences and constraints; (3) learning as interactional activity; and (4) public accountability of…

Wong has argued that the role of the teacher/researcher is full of conflict in that the pull of either students or research may affect commitment to the other. It is argued that research is not inherently conflictual, but that one teacher/researcher's tension is another's intention. (SLD)

Because educational research is the province of professors, knowledge available to people working within the schools is undervalued. Collaborative teacher-initiated inquiry capitalizes on teachers' insider knowledge and helps change the professional activities of researchers. For teacher-initiated research to prosper, it is best developed outside…

Research emerging from practice has a natural life in schools, because the questions are more appropriate, the investigations more straightforward, and the findings more valid for school practice than research conceived, conducted, and interpreted in higher education settings. At the University of South Carolina, interns are being prepared as…

Presents a rationale for change in adult education research. Suggests that graduate adult education programs teach relevant research methods based on practitioner problems and encourage action and participatory methods in theses and dissertations. (SK)

Describes project results from middle school teachers' action research. Recounts the teachers' connections as a research team, directions of research process in the first year, reflections on what was learned about students and teachers, actions carried out in light of the research, and suggestions for readers interested in conducting action…

Discusses the split between theory and practice in education and the extent to which teachers engaging in research into their own practice can bridge the gap and help improve schools and research. The paper presents two case studies of successful collaborative, school-based action research and offers a critical reflection of learning from the case…

Describes the Portfolio Research Project, a three-year research project ultimately involving 20 teachers of grades 6-12 from a variety of schools, in which teachers acted as primary researchers, developing their own research projects to explore the use of portfolios to assess literature learning. Describes what participants researched, how…

Describes the use of case-study groups as a structure for active observation of children at the West Side Montessori School in New York City, including daily observation note-taking, bi-weekly meeting of a five-member team, and progress reports on individual children. Discusses the positive impact of the case-study groups on their observation…

Discusses the limitations of experimental studies of learning and the emergence of alternative paradigms such as constructivism. Examines the growth of teacher research and its historical influences, including Montessori, Dewey's Progressive Movement, and Lucy Sprague Mitchell. Discusses current trends in teacher research, asserting that it is…

Throughout its history, adult literacy education has been defined, researched, and controlled by external entities. Action research is now enabling literacy practitioners and learners to gain a voice through production of their own knowledge. The applicability, benefits, and inherent risks of practitioner action research are discussed. Contains 53…

Surveys parents to discover their perceptions of spelling and spelling instruction. Notes parents see spelling as critically important, want time in school devoted to spelling instruction, want to see a grade in spelling on students' report cards, and see reading and writing as the primary ways in which children learn to spell. Describes effects…

Three faculty used action research to address concerns with student learning but in the process also learned of its value for their own professional development. Through semi-structured interviews, multiple case vignettes, and peer collaboration, they addressed student cognitive and affective learning concerns, made adjustments in their…