Describes common principal-leadership characteristics of exemplary schools, schools that successfully implemented and sustained major school reforms. (PKP)

Discusses implementing and evaluating the effectiveness of literature circles with second grade students. Includes three student profiles. Finds that using literature circles can facilitate development of students' analytical skills. (NH)

This introductory article discusses the benefits of participatory action research (PAR), including the empowerment of participants in research and the research process, the difficulties PAR presents, and summarizes following articles in a special series on the facets of PAR. (CR)

This article presents a rationale for incorporating elements of participatory research approaches into intervention research intended to improve practice. After an overview of the research-to-practice problem, it illustrates how the incorporation of participatory research approaches applied to various decision points can enhance the construction…

An action research project based on the concepts of scaffolding, situated learning, and the zone of proximal development explored ways to embed basic skills development in everyday situations for people with learning difficulties. The underlying assumption was that people learn most effectively in situations meaningful to them. (SK)

Explores connections between learning and technology based on a participatory action research case study in which students in universities in the United States, England, and Australia created and analyzed cases from their teaching practice. Findings indicate that students' attitudes and perceptions of technology influenced their ability to…

This paper reports on findings from a recent collaborative participatory action research study that involved a group of teachers from two Kenyan schools in a review and development of interpretation resources and materials. It focuses on an engaging process between teachers and non-formal educators in which interpretive capital (the tools and…

The results of an action research project that was designed to explore what lessons could be learned from using an innovative strategy to help high school students write more authentically are described. A number of factors that led to the students' success are cited and examples of the poems are included that resulted from this innovative…

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 conservative and uncertain world. Whether or not educational research is an entirely derivative field or a semi-distinctive social…

Poor white children, often with roots in Appalachia, can present puzzling and intractable challenges for the multicultural educator. These students are not considered in multicultural textbooks, yet they face language and dialect issues, low educational attainment, under-representation in curriculum, and negative cultural stereotypes. This article…

The field of research in environmental education has experienced several changes in orientation in its first 25 or so years. In the period of the 70s and 80s, the most visible approach to environmental education research was clearly applied science in nature. From the late 80s/early 90s there has been a period of intense debate about research in…

Action-oriented research is a methodological approach for doing collaborative research with practitioners and community partners that can inform practice, programs, community development, and policy while contributing to the scientific knowledge base. This article discusses how family scholars can use action-oriented research to work together with…

Two decades ago Wilf Carr and Stephen Kemmis published "Becoming Critical". Its impact upon burgeoning action research, particularly in the field of education, has been substantial and sustained. However, times have changed. The purpose of this article is to revisit this influential text and explore its currency today. The article is…

This volume of transformed research utilizes an activist approach to examine the notion that nothing is apolitical. Research projects themselves are critically examined for power orientations, even as they are used to address curricular problems and educational or societal issues. Philosophical perspectives that have facilitated an understanding…

This volume contains papers submitted to the 10th Annual Conference of the Bulgarian Comparative Education Society, held in Kyustendil, Bulgaria, 12-15 June 2012. The overall goal of the 10th BCES conference is to facilitate discussion of different perspectives on international education providing a forum for scientific debate and constructive…