Of all the varieties of educational disadvantage, issues involving students who are homeless, or who move frequently because of poverty, are perhaps some of the most difficult for public school educators in the US to address. Using a pragmatic mixed methods design, this study evaluates the efficacy of participatory action research (PAR): (1) as a…

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) increasingly is being used to study and address environmental justice. This article presents the results of a cross-site case study of four CBPR partnerships in the United States that researched environmental health problems and worked to educate legislators and promote relevant public policy. The…

This paper explores the emerging relationship between distance education and sustainable development. After ranging through the literature on sustainable community development, this essay concludes that above all it must be unified: it must combine the traditional economic criteria for success (profits and employment) with a fusing of community…

University and school-based members of the League of Professional Schools, a collaborative formed to support school renewal, engage in disciplined inquiry on the effects of this school/university collaborative on life in member schools. Essentially, the League conducts action research on action research. The League and its definition of schoolwide…

There is little reason why educational research in Australia should be progressive and highly developed, given that its history and direction are subject to the economic and political determinants of an increasingly globalized and uncertain world. Educational research cannot be a neutral endeavor; it demands that researchers identify a political…

Based on a research project that sought to train instructors to conduct action research in a real-life context, this handbook was created to help literacy instructors to use action research in workplace education programs. The handbook is organized in three parts. The first part describes action research as a type of practice-based research. It…

The integration of technology into adult literacy promises both exciting and problematic times, especially with regard to curriculum evaluation. Different evaluation approaches have various strengths and weaknesses. A particular strength of the adversarial approach is a well-rounded evaluation with both positives and negatives identified; its main…

An ongoing qualitative cross-cultural research project, using ethnographic methods of immersion and reference to the lived experience, is addressing the high rates of Indigenous youth suicide in remote Kimberley (Western Australia) communities. To ensure that cultural sensitivities are observed and work toward valid data collection and analysis,…

As part of its contract to develop a framework for continuous school improvement in its four-state region (Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia), Appalachia Educational Laboratory staff designed the Quest project. Based upon principles of inquiry, collaboration, and action research, Quest supports and investigates ongoing school…

Twelve older Aboriginal women in a Canadian city were trained to be co-researchers as part of a participatory health assessment and health promotion project involving 40 such women. Lessons were learned about project ownership, Native perceptions of research, use of traditions, participants' capacity to engage in research and analysis, conflict…

In this commentary on a previous article that revealed modest and inconsistent results of the Parents as Teachers program, issues are highlighted that those involved in real-world evaluation need to consider. Study attrition, defining meaningful primary outcomes, and need to use a participatory approach to develop outcome-based interventions are…

A study examining traditionalism as one aspect of acculturation and cultural identity interviewed 186 American Indian elementary students and parents in the Southwest. Factor analysis indicated that traditionalism is a multidimensional construct that can be measured reliably; similarities and differences were found between children and adults. Few…

Compares participatory research and alternative activist approaches, based on the literature on participatory research and interviews with nine sociologists who use alternative approaches. Concludes that all types of activist research are more effective in challenging inequality if they involve activist community organizations. (CFR)

A severe drought precipitated systematic documentation of farmers' field trials in the farmer-to-farmer extension service in Bolivia. Successful agricultural experiments and seminars on agronomic practices and on data recording and analysis increased farmer self-confidence; developed awareness of literacy and numeracy educational needs; and…

Examines the complexities of doing collaborative action research by presenting examples of research efforts on a continuum. Describes the progress from university domination of research to practitioner-directed action research conducted by teachers. Includes a figure illustrating a continuum of approaches to collaborative research. (CFR)