Notes the increasing influence of conservative politics on education at the local school board level. Offers a fairy tale written by a group of educators that raises questions about autonomy, control, and the need for participation in the context of the current conservative climate. (SR)

Presents perspectives and experiences of prospective science teachers who developed science lessons and small educational projects in collaboration with practicing elementary and middle school teachers. Concludes that prospective teachers perceived themselves to be more confident and more competent to teach science after the collaboration. (SOE)

The progress of action research (as an innovation) can be viewed productively from a socio-politico-cultural perspective. Utilizing this perspective, the institutional impact of action research is discussed. (IAH)

Describes how a teacher-as-researcher project led the author to create more opportunities for remedial high school students to "talk out" their writing as a prewriting exercise. (MM)

Reports a two-phase ethnographic investigation documenting peer conference activity among fourth graders in a writing workshop. Investigates, in phase one, what happens in peer conferences and how that relates to instructional context. Investigates, in phase two, comments about revision, participant expectations, and use of peer comments during…

Presents observations concerning teachers as researchers organized around such issues as the roots of teacher research, the new interest in the topic, how teacher researchers are viewed by researchers, how they conduct research, what conditions support such research, and the value of such research. (RS)

Rejects the notion that writing and teaching must be created in colleges and then flow down to high schools. Uses the South Basin Writing Project as a model for change, showing how knowledge about writing and teaching can be generated by practitioners. Notes how the forces of tradition and expediency often prevent this knowledge from resulting in…

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…

Discusses three theoretical structures (those of Michael Polanyi, Maxine Greene, and Ann Berthoff) which consider the role of personal interpretation central to ultimate meaning-making. The article proposes them as useful frameworks for teachers who are beginning deliberate classroom research. (IAH)

Describes literature discussion groups and the role of talk in them. Examines the stories of three teachers who ran into roadblocks in literature discussion groups and turned their roadblocks into questions and inquiries. Discusses the important insights they discovered about talk, literacy, students, and themselves as they inquired. (SR)

Consists of three sections bound together by a common theme and reference list. The first section, by Gail Burnaford, addresses teacher action research as essential for motivating students and giving teachers a voice in curriculum. Section 2, by James Beane, explores common assumptions behind action research and integrative curriculum. Section 3,…

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…

Details the experiences of one teacher researcher who observed an 11th-grade English class over the course of a year. Describes the changes initiated by the teacher, along with their mixed results. Analyzes the student response to such innovations as writing workshops and shared interpretations of texts. (HB)

Research and practice are not necessarily separate. Teacher educators should define research as disciplined, reflective inquiry into practice. Drawing upon current conceptions and practices in teacher education, the article defines an approach to research on practice and presents a rationale for reflective inquiry into teacher education. (SM)