Only recently have professionals recognized the importance of self-determination for young children and their families. Project SELF used the philosophy of self-determination in an interdisciplinary model to prepare graduate students to serve young children with disabilities and their families. Through Participatory Action Research (PAR) projects,…

The participatory research model used by the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center at the University of Wisconsin-Stout is discussed, with a focus on the value added to the research process and relevance of research applications when research is rehabilitation-need based and the research-to-applications process model is used. Information is…

This paper examines collaborative action research in order to clarify the arguments and research base that either support or oppose the process. Proponents who advocate the institutionalization of collaborative action research point to its theoretical rationale, a growing research base that documents the value and outcomes of the process, and…

This review was a formative assessment project designed to introduce teacher education candidates to many of the concepts and methods related to evaluation and course assessment within the framework of an actual curriculum course. Students were afforded the opportunity to work in simulated curriculum committees. Through informed decision making…

This chapter examines benefits and pitfalls inherent in studying teaching and learning from the inside where the teacher is also the principal investigator of the research. The first section describes a first-person account of a trajectory using inquiry as a means of practice and using practice as a medium for research. Then, three cases of…

This first symposium of the Work Group on American Indian Research and Program Evaluation Methodology (AIRPEM) explored American Indian and Alaska Native cultural considerations in relation to "best practices" in research and program evaluation. These cultural considerations include the importance of tribal consultation on research…

Draws on a recent Canadian study of university student services and Aboriginal students to highlight the importance of a culturally sensitive research process when exploring Aboriginal issues. Discusses involvement of participants in the three phases of the study's flexible research process, which incorporated guiding values of respect,…

Participant observation and interviews were employed in a first grade class in which a moderately mentally retarded boy participated on a part-time basis. Findings indicated significant discrepancies between the students' definitions of what it means to be part of first grade and the teacher's efforts to include Peter and present him as a member…

Considers the phenomenological arguments for collaborative approaches to educational research. Urges that cooperation become a form of social and political critique. Illustrates the political context of research by drawing on a collaborative case study of British school governors. Contends that phenomenological and critical paradigms may be…

Describes a participatory research project designed to build the feminist education of female university students. Explores the silences of some of the 100 participants over the years, silences that reflect class differences in employment, in ethnicity, as well as in the lives of the students. (SLD)

Outlines Scottish national policy guidelines on "education for sustainable development" (environmental education for ages 5-14) and implications for primary schools. Describes a 2-year project in which a research team helped staff at an elementary school to articulate their own understanding of environmental education and develop…

This article describes the characteristics of Participatory Research and Development (PR&D), a means of integrating research and practice by linking the university research and teacher practice. It outlines related methods and activities, details a number of qualitative findings regarding the nature of instructional change, and discusses the…

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…

This article discusses a participatory action research (PAR) approach to conducting family research. It proposes a model of PAR implementation level including the options of family members as research leaders and researchers as ongoing advisors, researchers and family members as coresearchers, and researches as leaders, and family members as…

An anthropologist of Indigenous descent reflects on challenges confronting researchers in mainstream institutions as they pursue respectful research relationships with Indigenous peoples. Challenges include differing cultural attitudes toward knowledge and research, institutional policies on publication and intellectual property, political issues,…