Using participatory action research (PAR), this paper explores the ethical practice of students engaged in practitioner research in a higher education context. Using narrative enquiry, the paper explores the participants' experiences of practitioner research, including ethical dilemmas that resulted from a conflict of values between the…

This study focuses on Kenyan student-teachers' professional learning and development in health education in a participatory action research project conducted in one Kenyan teacher training college. The aim was to explore the potential of participatory action research to instigate change in student-teachers' health education practices in…

This article describes the discovery of action research by a "conscious incompetent" in higher education. The influences on the development of an action researcher's individual philosophy are discussed. These shape a specific investigation into the implementation of international staff exchange in a post-1992 UK university from the…

This project was developed from practitioner action research and considers the impact of integrating fund-raising activities into the formal curriculum with a target group of undergraduate students. The main aim of this project was to evaluate the impact of developing fund-raising activities as an integral aspect at both module and programme…

The benefits of students learning together in peer-assisted learning (PAL) programmes have been widely reported. Implementing and evaluating PAL programmes provide specific challenges for academic staff. This paper explains how action research was used to design, trial and refine a same-year PAL programme to enhance student engagement. The PAL…

In the social sciences, inquiry into the relationship between storytelling and politics is based on a notion of historical continuity. One problem is the possible trap of inevitability inherent in this notion--that something which happened "had to happen". Hannah Arendt's conception of political theory as storytelling overcomes this trap,…

Action research is geared to changes for the better and has the potential to assist teachers to extend their teaching skills and develop a deeper understanding of themselves, their classroom and their learners. However, in the area of applied linguistics, the viability of action research has been seriously questioned. In this article, we argue…

Schon contends that Boyer's vision for a new paradigm of scholarship, which includes research, teaching, application and integration, requires a new epistemology of practice that would take the form of action research. This article explores the validity of Schon's assertion through the use of a living theory approach to teaching "active…

This paper discusses how major breakthroughs in generating, analysing and disseminating action research about problem-based learning were made through the medium of poetry. I used poetry in three ways: as data, as an interpretive device and as a reflective medium. Poetry helped me to disseminate my research in provocative, memorable and…

Action research in classrooms can be challenging for novice teacher researchers. This paper reports on a study involving eight action research teacher teams. Analysis of the teams as they conducted action research resulted in the identification of three collaborative action research approaches promoting professional development. The findings…

Wenger describes an educational community of practice (CoP) as a group of professionals who share a passionate concern for practice-based issues and who voluntarily choose to deepen their knowledge, understanding and skills through collaborative and critical dialogue. Peer collaboration of this kind, which involves social interaction, reflection…

The action research project reported on here took as its central problem of practice the absence of students from forums for faculty development in higher education. Findings suggest that, when undergraduate students are positioned as pedagogical consultants to college faculty members, multiple layers of learning unfold. After a brief overview of…

This paper tells the story of how a group of teacher educators in a university education department used action research to examine their research situation, and what conclusions they reached. Some recent historical background puts the study in context, identifying tensions between university expectations and time-heavy teaching demands that…

A recurring issue for researchers, policy-makers and practitioners is how new knowledge can be disseminated, critiqued, assessed and incorporated into policy development and practice. Campbell and Fulford examined strategies in a Canadian Education Ministry which was striving to incorporate research findings into policy debate. They evolved a…

Student teachers' potential to change and reflect on their activities can be positively influenced by the opportunities created in teacher education programs. This paper explores an educative opportunity with the researcher and his practicum advisees by facilitating a continuum of reflective school-based activities through a dialogical…