The confluence of crises facing our global and local communities have challenged leadership educators to think and practice differently. This has meant shifts in how we teach, how we connect with students, and how we understand our role in making change in our institutions and communities. How can we navigate change personally and as a community?…

Teacher inquiry is the process of applying action research to educational problems of practice, carried out by educational practitioners. The value of teacher inquiry--and all applications of action research--is that the research is being conducted by insiders, those who work directly with the problem being studied. It is based upon critical…

Teachers in professional development (PD) programs need time to adopt, enact and reflect on what they are learning in the PD within their own situations. To encourage reflective implementation and adaptation of ideas and practices promoted in the PD studied in this article, participants were asked to engage in several small action research…

The purpose of this study was to examine professional learning practices of school districts that have included choice and differentiation in their approaches to professional learning, and to examine the impact educational leaders' knowledge of andragogy, or adult learning theory, may have had on program development. Andragogy is often ill-defined…

In this article, we look in general at the nature of a profession, how the teaching profession has become deprofessionalized, and various ways in which teachers perceive their profession. We continue by examining ways that teachers can regain a sense of professionalism--through the application of action research and other forms of teacher…

Action research empowers teachers to choose their own learning adventure based on their interests and needs. The process uses teachers' own questions about their work and about student learning--and transforms their classrooms into dynamic learning laboratories. As a group of teachers in one Title I elementary school demonstrate, this process can…

This study reports on an investigation into the experiences of faculty engaged in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). Common challenges that emerged across the interviews included competing priorities, and a lack of background knowledge and research skills relevant to their SoTL work. These challenges were often overcome by working…

During this action research study of Algebra I teachers at a high school in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, I have presented information related to the implementation of inquiry-based learning (IBL) and the findings from classroom observations and a focus group interview. The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of IBL instructional…

In this research, the teaching of mechanical waves was realized with inquiry-based learning; the aim was to determine the changes in students' conceptual understanding of spring, water, and sound waves. It was designed as action research. The study group comprised 58 upper-secondary school students enrolled in 10th grade at an Anatolian…

Action research shifts the paradigm of contemporary educational reform by emphasizing inquiry and placing teachers at the center of research-into-practice. By situating teachers as learners, action research offers a systematic and intentional approach to changing teaching. When working as part of a community of practice, action researchers engage…

Definitions of teaching quality differ across jurisdictions and have evolved over time. Drawing on a study of five high-achieving countries with strong supports for teachers' professional learning and practice, this article describes the perspectives on good teaching rooted in standards for entry, preparation, and practice. These nations…

This reflective article examines the relationship between teachers' engagement in action research and their ability to lead within their schools. As part of "The New Educator's" special issue, "Developing an Inquiry Stance toward Instructional Improvement: Teacher-Leader Action Research," this article demonstrates the…

Drawing from sociocultural theories of learning and literature on reflection in educational contexts, this article describes reflective practices as a meaning-making and action engine to support early childhood education practitioners' professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions. We argue that the process of reflection requires a differential…

Reflective practice and inquiry are aspects of teacher professional practice that characterise teachers as learners. Reflective practice in some form is considered in contemporary education as an essential activity for teachers and teacher educators. "Inquiry as professional development" and "inquiry as research", on the other…

Professional learning is intended to improve teaching, benefit student learning and in the longer term improve achievement of targets in schools. When teachers take responsibility not only for their own learning but also for their colleagues', it can lead to a shift in attitudes towards collaborative learning. This study presents an example of a…