The recession of 2008-2009 and the continuing decline in local, state, and federal funds available to support higher education have resulted in serious budget cuts and belt-tightening. Given that faculty constitute an institution's most costly resource, it was not surprising, though it is nonetheless disheartening, to learn of the University of…

Since the corporatization of national universities, the environment surrounding Japanese universities has dramatically changed in various respects. A series of government-led attempts have intended to support the domestic colleges and universities in gaining a competitive edge by improving the quality of teaching and research as well as…

This article is based on a project that explored the practices of art and design beginning teachers (BTs) working with learners in a post-age-16 context. The aim of the project was to: explore contemporary art and design practices; explore the concept of artist teacher learner researcher; enable beginning teachers to collaborate with post-age-16…

In this long-awaited sequel to "Inside/Outside: Teacher Research and Knowledge", two leaders in the field of practitioner research offer a radically different view of the relationship of knowledge and practice and of the role of practitioners in educational change. In their new book, the authors put forward the notion of inquiry as stance as a…

In this paper I report the insights of my personal research journal as part of a collaborative action research project I facilitated in a secondary school where I teach English as a foreign language. I kept a journal so as to offer the natural history of my research towards my doctoral degree. In this project I worked together with four…

Using the story of a fight between an African American male student and a white male student in a high school classroom, I trace not only the raced and classed actors involved, but also the story of my sense making as a practicing teacher and researcher. Drawing on the concept of intersectionality, I show how a story that seems as simple as a…

In this powerful collection of personal accounts, successful and respected teachers from across the country reveal how recent education policies have played out in their schools and classrooms in negative and counterproductive ways, and offer teacher-led alternatives for providing equitable, engaging, and empowering education. Framed by critical…

Teachers hold the key to school reform. Professional learning communities--as well as other related strategies, including collaborative and distributive models of leadership--offer much that is promising. Yet, weaknesses documented in research require attention. We conducted a study of teachers in two elementary schools identified as exemplary…

The purpose of this article is to present the design and findings of a collaborative action research study that involved five secondary science teachers as action researchers and me, as facilitator, collectively articulating the teachers' changing teaching roles when the teachers taught with computer technology. Data included interviews,…

The landscape of research is continually evolving, enabling researchers to study increasingly complex phenomena. Educational researchers have propelled much of this forward progress and have developed novel methodologies to provide increasingly sound and complete evidence. Mixed methods research has emerged alongside quantitative and qualitative…

The claim that faculty conduct research is one of the main justifications for the modern university. Supposedly, academe carries out important, cutting-edge inquiries in which society has an interest. In fact, states this author, research at American universities is becoming narrow and artificial, out of touch with social realities, and of…

Background: This paper critically reviews the concept of "professional responsibility" in physical education. The paper is rooted in the belief that the physical education profession has, by virtue of its expertise in young people and physical activity, the potential to deliver a broad range of desirable educational and health-related…

Between 2001 and 2007 I conducted a self-study action research enquiry into my practice as a primary school teacher. The research had a collaborative aspect to it, in so far as my pupils and colleagues were invited to participate in the research, although I was the focus of the enquiry. I was unhappy about my teaching: I felt I dominated the…

This paper offers an explanation of the use of tenure-track contracts in academia. It argues that, because the results of academic research cannot be sold, a professor's profitability depends on the market value of the instruction he or she provides. But because that value depends directly on the extent of his or her observable research…

This paper analyses and discusses the roles and participation of those involved in a collaborative action research project to highlight the factors that influenced their content, quality and intensity. Emphasis is given to the reflections of the facilitator (author) on the processes employed to achieve equal participation and roles in the action…