Practitioner Research in Teacher Education : Theory and Best Practices

Over the past decade there has been increased interest in teachers' investigation of their own practice in their classrooms. Practitioner research is not a new concept in education and many teachers have attempted to enact and study their own practices with the view of improving teaching effectiveness. However, the findings of many of these studies are often not treated seriously by education scholars and policymakers, and not disseminated to others. In fact, the research process is perceived more as a professional development exercise for teachers to improve upon their own practices. Despite these criticisms, there is growing support for getting teachers to study their practices in the context of their own classrooms. This book has the potential of generating knowledge that not only informs and shapes teachers' practices and professional development, but also makes the stakeholders aware of critical education issues. Distinct from action research, practitioner research provides the platform for teachers to try out ideas in practice as a means of improvement and of increasing knowledge about curriculum, teaching, and learning, and the ways of transforming them.