Action research in education

The current qualitative study focused on understanding the process of learning to
teach. Using interviews of teacher educators, the study explored the importance of a set
of teaching activities developed as part of the Teacher Self Efficacy Survey (Tschannen-
Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) as well as the inclusion of instructional and assessment
strategies for the teaching activities and the quality of beginning teacher performance of
the activities.
Data were collected from interviews of 15 teacher educators. A process of open,
axial, and substantive coding was applied to the data to inductively identify and
categorize data relevant to the purpose of the study and to allow comparisons among and
between categories.
Findings suggested that teaching activities are critically important to and a
comprehensive description of effective teaching, and that beginning teachers struggle with differentiation and applying their learning to their practice. Further, findings
suggested that the source of beginning teacher struggles was found within the teacher
education program, within school contexts, and between the two institutions. In addition,
findings suggested that beginning teachers perform the student engagement activities and
those related to instructional strategies more proficiently than classroom management
activities, and that all three teaching activity categories were included in the curriculum,
but to different degrees and not all as part of curriculum design. A variety of pedagogies
were used to prepare preservice teachers; however, there was no reported knowledge of
assessment instruments used to measure preservice teachers’ readiness for teaching and
to obtain data on the performance of their graduates. Lastly, this study revealed that
teacher education program leaders were reluctant to participate in a study that sought to
draw direct connections between the skills taught in the program and how well beginning
teachers perform them.
Based on the findings, the researcher recommends further studies to determine the
viability of the teaching activities as a comprehensive and accurate definition of effective
teaching. Further the researcher recommends that teacher education programs and school
districts adopt the teaching activities as a consistent framework for providing preservice
education, for setting school district expectations, and for conducting teacher evaluations.

This study problematizes teacher education, and its accreditation guidelines as set
forth by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation. The analysis herein
conceptualizes teacher education as contextually contingent on sociocultural
metanarratives, as functioning paradigmatically through consensus and gatekeeping
mechanisms, and as a structure existing within a matrix of discipline and surveillance that
is designed to perpetuate status quo power dynamics. This conceptualization grounds
dominant teacher education modalities within a specific meta-theory orientation.
Through this analysis, the author also explores an alternative conceptualization of
teacher education that appeals to the educative power of contextual awareness,
ontological sensitivity, and democratically recursive pedagogical and relational
processes. Such a conceptualization reflects an alternative meta-theory orientation. For the purposes of this analysis, the author employed textual analysis of sampled
website literature from Teacher Education Programs in six geographic regions within the
United States. This textual analysis was grounded in the aforementioned
conceptualizations and was intended to reveal meta-theory orientations as expressed in a
program’s official text.

In the nursing education practice setting, preceptors are a valuable link to assist
students in making the connection between nursing theory and its application to patient
care. Usually used in the final semester of study, nurse preceptors could be utilized
throughout all nursing practice experiences. Nurse preceptors provide a reality based
experience for the student caring for patients. Yet, little is known about what is important
to the preceptor in this role.
The purpose of this study was to generate a new model of nursing practice
education reflecting the voice of the participants in the research. Using participatory
action research methods, the emergent model focused on preceptors as the critical link to
student practice education in their first year of a baccalaureate nursing program and
answered the question, "What is the process of developing a preceptor led clinical practice experience for undergraduate nursing students through participatory action
research?"
The study was conducted at a hospital in south Florida where students received
the majority of their practice experiences. Semi-structured interviews with 15
participants, program notes, and various data sources were analyzed consistent with
grounded theory analysis. Grounded in this data is the emergent Theory of Empowering
Preceptors, which accounts for the process through which preceptors formulated the
practice model. The contributors to the development of this model of nursing practice
education identified three key categories that empowered them to assume their role. The
context in which nurse preceptors were educated helped them relate to students and to
understand student concerns. Creating a 'comfortable' learning experience for the student
occurred next, as the preceptor sought to create environments where learning was viewed
as a process. Finally, the opportunity to shape student practice experience was where
preceptors used their specialized knowledge in a variety of methods without faculty
constraints. The support and contributions from this education/practice partnership were
identified as integral to the support of these three categories, accounting for the
partnership model. Here, nurse preceptors expressed the value of coming to know the
student, became involved in the student evaluation, and offered ways to communicate
what the students learned.

The Chief Research Administrator (CRA), also known as the Vice President, Vice Provost, or Vice Chancellor for Research, plays a key role in the research university. It is a position of power and not only affects the mission of the institution, but also controls a very large and vital percentage of external funding. The lack of information on how to prepare for the position makes it difficult to plan a career path for those who aspire to the position. This study was designed to obtain information to define the persona and career path(s) of the CRA at research universities in the United States. Survey data related to career pathways resulted in the emergence of four main pathways; Faculty/Academic, Administrative, Private Industry, and a Combination of the first three pathways. The results indicated that the most highly cited pathway to the position of the CRA was the Faculty/Academic (83%). The least traveled pathway to the position of CRA was found to be Administrative, that is, beginning at the lowest levels of a research office or administrative position and progressing through the ranks of the research office.

This study examined the issue of school size and the potential impact that school size has on the leadership behaviors of principals. Contextual factors were also considered as potential moderators of the relationship between transformational/ transactional/laissez-faire leadership behavior and school size. Data were collected and analyzed using quantitative methods. A survey was conducted based on a chosen model to gather the data. Multi-factor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) surveys were distributed electronically to school staff in elementary and middle schools in Sunshine County, Florida for input regarding their principal's behavior. Using one-way and two-way analysis of variance tests for the main and moderating factors, the survey results indicated that while the main effect of size has no direct impact on principal leadership behavior, contextual factors (socio-economics, principal gender, and principal experience) do moderate the relationship between specific transformational principal leadership behaviors and school size.