‘You never know what research is like unless you’ve done it!’ Action research to promote collaborative student-teacher research

In contrast with its high level of popularity in both research and practice for in-service teacher development, teacher research has received much less attention in pre-service language teacher education as a reflective learning approach, particularly in China’s context. Action research, as a major form of teacher research, has rarely been employed by teacher educators. This action research study undertaken by a teacher educator aimed to address this dual gap by examining the effect of collaborative research experience undertaken by a cohort of English as a foreign language pre-service teachers in China. Triangulated research methods were employed to gather two sets of data respectively reflecting the student-teachers’ views of their collaborative research and the teacher educator’s perceptions of the action research. It was found that both groups highly endorsed their research experience. Meanwhile, issues also arose in terms of the sustainability of such research experiences for both groups. The study highlights the necessity of incorporating collaborative student-teacher research and teacher educators’ action research into pre-service teacher education programmes, which entails the need to transform the existing foundationalist teacher education paradigm into a post-foundationalist paradigm, and to recognize teacher educators’ action research on pertinent issues in teacher education.     

‘Who are you,and what are you doing here’: methodological considerations in ethnographic Health and Physical Education research

In the pursuit of understanding declining levels of participation from scholastic Health and Physical Education (HPE), ethnographic research has been increasingly utilised as a tool to explore the intersubjective and intrasubjective meaning-making processes that concurrently invite or dissuade participation. Despite the ostensible epistemological benefits of deploying ethnographic research as a vehicle for better understanding contextual HPE (dis)engagement processes and meanings, a critical methodological discussion of the actual implementation and positionality of these methods is largely absent in the extant literature. Reflecting on an ethnographic study conducted with adolescent boys at a Canadian elementary school, this paper provides HPE ethnographers with a series of methodological deliberations, and reflexive points of departure for consideration in the design and implementation of ethnographic research. Specifically, this paper elucidates the process of rapport building with teachers/students, the omnipresent tensions, ethical dilemmas and triumphs that can emerge during ethnography, and the various socio-contextual interview factors that can influence data generation.     

Understanding research process

This paper used Crotty＇s diagram of four elements to distinguish method, methodology, theoretical perspective and epistemology, and discussed different perspectives of methodology and methods in social sciences, the natures of various methodological approaches as well as their advantages and disadvantages.     

What should reading instructional research be the research of?

There have been recent arguments for expanding research on some basic beginning reading skills (i.e, phonemic awareness, word recognition) to the exclusion of other literacy competencies. Moreover, there have also been arguments that certain methodologies should be favored in reading research to the exclusion of others. The case is made in this article that these conceptualizations of reading research are too narrow. Rather, the case made here is that a number of issues in literacy development deserve support, issues that can be addressed well with diverse methodologies.     

Oh,won’t you stay? Predictors of faculty intent to leave a public research university

Understanding and predicting faculty intent to leave is important to the development of improved conceptual frameworks of faculty success as well as the implementation of effective retention strategies for academic leaders and institutions that invest considerable resources in recruitment, institutional support, and compensation. This study examined the relationship between various research-based factors and faculty intent to leave by integrating components identified in the extant literature for employee turnover more generally and faculty intent to leave more specifically. The results of binary logistic regression models identified workplace stress, being in a “soft-pure” discipline, fewer years of service at the university, and higher research productivity as key predictors of faculty having considered leaving for another institution. Key predictors for faculty having considered leaving academe altogether were being in a “hard-applied” discipline, not having a spouse or partner, a perceived lack of support, a perceived lack of fit, stress of raising a family, and dissatisfaction with certain aspects of the “faculty job”. The implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.     

Beyond you and me: stories for collective action and learning? Perspectives from an action research project

This paper explores the combination of storytelling and reflective action research as a means to effect change and learning within and across communities and organizations. Taking the complex challenge of ‘pro-environmental behaviour change’ as an example, the paper reflects on the experiences of a pilot project run for the UK government that took place over two years with five community groups in rural England. The research question centred on how the stories of ‘older’ (aged 50+) community advocates might be amplified and inspire wider change via a systemic action research approach. This paper describes the project and shares insights into how behaviour change might occur in this action-based learning context challenging more Newtonian conceptualizations of change. Some of the methodological and practice challenges and conundrums that arose are discussed including authenticity, ownership and ethical issues of voice and ownership. Parallels and distinctions between story-based action research and action learning are identified and the role of narrative in inducing action is considered. The paper concludes by reflecting on future directions and the overall potential there is for ‘narrative action learning’ to address those wicked systemic problems that transcend organizational boundaries and that are faced by real people in our communities and society as a whole.     

Characteristics of the research supervision of postgraduate teachers’ action research

Today, many institutions of higher education support students in conducting practice-oriented research. This research refers to a broad array of approaches geared toward practitioners’ practice. The supervision of such research is of crucial importance, but little is known about its nature and characteristics. This study examined what research supervisors and postgraduate, in-service teacher students perceive are key elements of successful action research supervision. Four action research supervisors and eight postgraduate students were interviewed. Data were analysed by using theory and empirical data. Findings reveal 24 key elements of action research supervision, which refer to supervisors’ (1) skills in supporting knowledge development through and about action research and creating a supportive environment for developing knowledge, (2) knowledge and expertise in supervising action research, (3) attitude in the supervision of action research and (4) the motives driving supervisors’ actions in the student-supervisor relationship.     

Thank you

五岁那年为了音乐偷了生平第一台录音机,六岁时进入Guildhall School of Music(伦敦盖德霍尔音乐学校)学习音乐,十岁已经精通钢琴和小提琴的演奏——这就是Dido,英国一位创作型才女。Dido,1971年出生于英国伦敦,从小就和出色的舞曲制作人、哥哥Rollo一起参与录制音乐唱片。"Thank you"是Dido第一张专辑"No Angel"的成名作。专辑中,除了她哥哥Rollo等人的部分制作外,歌曲创作几乎由Di-do一人独自完成。一年后,说唱天王Eminem采用"Thank You",创作了2001年格莱美奖的压轴曲"Stan"。     

漫谈you

人称代词you除指第二人称,表示“你”、“你们”意义外,它还具有以下一些特殊意义及用法。一、you在大多数情况下可与one通用,表示“任何人”的意义,常译为“一个人”、“人们”、“任何人”等。例如:     

Only you

西天归来,唐僧就想改行。可心愿千年之后才得实现。他先后当过律师、外科医生、教师、词作家,涉足演艺界、政券、房地产。西天之行留在血液的冒险精神,使他忍不住又要四海为家。长生不老,不选择一种火山口上的生活方式如何捱得过去?最终,他当了一名足球教练。     

Do you know who you are?

<正>在现代社会,我们一天24小时在线,时刻感觉自己被工作需要,被家人需要,被朋友需要,好像只要手机一关机就与全世界失去了联系。我们害怕孤独,害怕失去。但你是否真的反思过这样匆忙地生活确实是自己想要的吗？你真的了解自己吗？你上次独处是什么时候？你有多久没有关掉手机和电脑,与自己的心灵开启一场真正的对话了？     

Understanding student engagement with research: a study of pre-service teachers’ research perceptions,research experience,and motivation

This study reports on findings from a research project that investigated the extent to which pre-service teachers at a major metropolitan Australian university engage with research, and the factors that influence their level of engagement or disengagement. Results from survey responses (n = 235) and focus group interviews suggest that attitudes towards research are more positive among pre-service teachers who possess research experience and those who are intrinsically motivated with respect to their university studies. The article discusses the implications of these results for the effective organisation and promotion of research activities for pre-service teachers.     

‘Doing research was inspiring’: building a research community with teachers

This paper reports on a mixed-methods study related to K–12 teachers’ understandings of what research is, and what enables or inhibits teacher use of research in the classroom towards informing their instructional practices. In a collaboration exemplifying school board and university partnerships, we examined the nature of associations between teachers and education research(ers). Our findings indicated that teachers felt both connected and disconnected to research practices in education. Participants suggested ways to establish and sustain better links and collaborations among the communities of teaching and research. This paper emphasizes the importance of universities, schools and teachers working together to conduct meaningful research and apply current knowledge in the field of education.     

Environmental education policy research – challenges and ways research might cope with them

This essay examines the relationship between research and policy and, more specifically, how researchers might relate to policy work. Given the current international policy focus on climate change, green growth and sustainability in general, it argues for strengthening and widening policy research in the areas of Environmental Education (EE), Education for Sustainable Development and Climate Change Education. It especially makes a case for two kinds of research on EE policy: (1) a multi-sited approach to empirical documentation and theory development which explores the relationships between international policy agreements and local practice, and (2) an interactive policy-engaged approach to research.     

‘We are like dictionaries,Miss, you can look things up in us’: evaluating child-centred research methods

Research concerning children is often presented with only a brief comment on the research methods adopted. This paper takes a ‘behind the scenes’ view and I discuss my adoption of a non-hierarchical ‘least adult role’ adapted from Mandell's work in 1991 to undertake qualitative research in the sensitive area of children's multicultural awareness in two high-proportion minority ethnic schools and two schools with a predominantly white intake. I discuss my approach as a ‘traveller’ rather than a ‘miner’ and the use of jelly beans and Bean Sheet to gauge the children's perceptions of their multicultural awareness. The value placed on the role of the child in the research design and implementation is examined, and I evaluate the advantages and limitations of adopting such child-centred approaches for the teacher researcher.     

Do you know

A dragonfly(蜻蜓)has a life span(跨度)of 24 hours.蜻蜓的生命跨度是24小时。A duck's quack doesn't echo(回声),and no one knows why.鸭子的嘎嘎声没有回声,没人知道是为什么。A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.金鱼的记忆跨度是3秒钟。A shark(鲨鱼)is the only fish that can blink(眨眼)with both eyes.鲨鱼是可以用两只眼睛同时眨眼的唯一的一种鱼。Do you know…