“This is a wonderful book with deep insight into the relationship between teachers' action and result of student learning. It discusses from different angles impact of action research on student learning in the classroom. Writing samples provided at the back are wonderful examples.”—Kejing Liu, Shawnee State University

Teacher Action Research: Building Knowledge Democracies focuses on helping schools build knowledge democracies through a process of action research in which teachers, students, and parents collaborate in conducting participatory and caring inquiry in the classroom, school, and community. Author Gerald J. Pine examines historical origins, the rationale for practice-based research, related theoretical and philosophical perspectives, and action research as a paradigm rather than a method.

Key Features:

Discusses how to build a school research culture through collaborative teacher research; Delineates the role of the professional development school as a venue for constructing a knowledge democracy; Focuses on how teacher action research can empower the active and ongoing inclusion of nontraditional voices (those of students and parents) in the research process; Includes chapters addressing the concrete practices of observation, reflection, dialogue, writing, and the conduct of action research, as well as examples of teacher action research studies

A Paradigm of Teacher Action Research

A paradigm of teacher action research

Chapter 3 makes the argument that action research is more than a method—it is a paradigm. Four major research paradigms are described: the empirical-positivistic-quantitative paradigm; the constructivist-interpretive-qualitative paradigm; the critical theory-postmodern-praxis paradigm; and the eclectic-mixed methods-pragmatic paradigm. Evolving from these paradigms, the action research paradigm is distinguished by 12 defining features: reflexive critique and intersubjectivity, axiology, context, ongoing tentativeness, recursion, dialectical critique, collaboration, risk, plurality, connotation, moral/political ethos and purpose, and embrace of emotion. The integration of these characteristics in the teacher action research paradigm and the implications of these features for practice are discussed.

What is a Paradigm?

The term paradigm became popular as a result of the work of Thomas Kuhn (1962), represented in ...

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