This paper describes how a cluster of nine secondary science teachers and lecturers from five schools and colleges in the United Kingdom designed and undertook small-scale action research projects as an approach to their own continuing professional development. The participating teachers identified a range of topics for investigation such as:…

This paper is a reflection on the reflections of pupils about being "reflective learners", one of the Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills of the secondary National Curriculum for England. A teacher and a lecturer worked together in a collaborative action research project generating co-constructed knowledge of practice across a two-year period,…

By 2010 all educators in the English lifelong learning sector were expected to embed "education for sustainable development" to support their learners in becoming sustainable citizens. The teacher training team at a college in southwest England used a "cooperative inquiry" approach to develop themselves and their curriculum, to support their…

The purpose of this paper is to report on the nature of collaboration in a multi-year, large-scale collaborative action research project in which a teachers' federation (in Ontario, Canada), university researchers and teachers partnered to investigate teacher-selected topics for inquiry. Over two years, 14 case studies were generated involving six…

In this paper I explore how I have come to theorise my work as a critical emancipatory practice as a lecturer in primary physical education (PE). I give an account of what I understand to be the epistemological foundations and practices of practitioner research and my potential educational influence in my own and other practitioner-researchers'…

This article outlines how I, as a primary teacher engaging with a self-study action research process, have come to a deeper understanding of my practice. It explains how I have also come to an understanding of why I work in the way I do; of how this understanding influences my work, and the significance of this new understanding. My work as a…

How can teachers be helped, at relatively little expense, to improve their professional practice? This problem was addressed in "Improving Formative Assessment in Vocational Education and Adult Literacy, Language and Numeracy Programmes"--the IFA project. Adopting a specific problem-based methodology as part of an action research approach, the IFA…

This article describes a research project that looks at the relationship between mentors, interns, and field advisors on a theological internship programme by way of the theory and practice relationship as it relates to the university and field context. The work of Hans Georg Gadamer is used as a framework for understanding the interviews using…

We describe and analyse the action research process carried out by us as teachers in a general didactics course in the University of Malaga (Spain). The course methodology combined lectures to the whole class and small-group work. We were in charge of guiding small-group work. In the small groups, students researched on an educational innovation…

Hillman's (2001) simple affirmation that "an idea of beauty is useful, functional, practical" is one this article attempts to pursue with teacher researchers in mind, based on the belief that to move from the "re"pression of beauty to its "ex"pression--or, at the very least, to its articulation--will enlighten rather than distract individuals. The…

A collaborative inquiry into how to improve the well-being of children was run over six months, as a partnership between Liverpool Hope University and a local authority Children's Services. The collaborative inquiry was based on a living theory approach to action research in which practitioners became increasingly aware and reflective of their…

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…

The purpose of this article is to show the process of engaging with the question "How do I improve what I am doing as a teacher, teacher educator and action-researcher through reflection?" The methodology used will explore the role of reflection and writing to promote changes and improve my learning process as a teacher and action-researcher. The…

Against the background of Swedish preschool's historical and traditional functions in Swedish society, this article focuses on some of the choice points and their implications for professional and organisational development in preschool. By combining feminist pragmatism and feminist action research, some analytical points are made regarding the…

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…