This collection provides a worldwide perspective on action research, a process which covers educational, professional, managerial and organizational development.

'Practical Action Research' is a compilation of critical commentaries that offer practical steps for understanding and implementing action research. The contributors demonstrate how educators can reflect, collect data, and create alternative ways to improve their practice in the classroom and schoolwide.

Presents an engaging introduction to the international conversation about enhancing social and educational practice using participatory action research.

This book explores rationales for research methodologies embedded in African contexts. Issues discussed include: contexts for adult education research in Africa; philosophical and theoretical foundations of inquiry; philosophical perspectives and their implications for research; doing a literature review; getting started with a research proposal; quantitative research designs and carrying out surveys; summarising and analysing survey data; the nature of qualitative research; carrying out qualitative studies; combining qualitative and quantitative methods; research ethics; action research; feminist research approaches; and writing up and disseminating research.

Action Research in Healthcare is a practical guide to using research for improving practice in healthcare contexts. As an increasingly popular method of inquiry, action research is widely used in healthcare to investigate professional practice and patients′ experience while simultaneously: - introducing innovations - planning, actioning and evaluating new ideas - seeking to improve patient care - working collaboratively. Taking you through the process step-by-step, Action Research in Healthcare explains how to tackle each stage of your project - from planning the study and undertaking a literature review, through to gathering and interpreting data and implementing findings. Examples of action research projects are included throughout to illustrate how the method works in practice. Action Research in Healthcare assumes no previous knowledge of the subject and is the ideal resource for anyone about to start or already involved in a project.

A community of practice of the professionals of the education around the values and the principles of the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe’s Pestalozzi Programme promotes the message of the Organisation and its values – human rights, democracy and the rule of law – in the practice of education (formal, non-formal and informal) and aims to support member states in including these ideals in their education systems. Basing its approach to professional development firmly on social constructivism and social constructionism, it invests in educators who create new practices. This book represents an example of a transformational enterprise in which several practitioners from different parts of Europe gather in the Pestalozzi Programme community of practice and set out to learn how to become action researchers. While many books focus on how to carry this out, this publication is action research in action. In addition, it features examples of how participants can use online social platforms and affordable web applications in their collaboration and learning practices.

This fascinating and controversial text makes sense of the complexities of research in the workplace and how 'working' knowledge is constructed. Featuring experts from Britain, Japan, North America and Australia, it is an outstanding contribution to the literature of Human Resource Management (HRM). It's interdisciplinary approach addresses key issues and debates such as: * the influences of new technology, language, power, culture and gender upon the 'construction' of knowledge * the impact of globalization * working knowledge into the 21st century * practice and performance implications. It's outlook, geared towards the 21st century, makes it essential reading for researchers, teachers and students within HRM, policy-makers and all those concerned with professional development.

The current orthodoxy is that 'knowledge' is the most powerful resource for organisational success. So how can managers develop the appropriate knowledge base to make their organisations grow? The answer lies in action research. Action research is increasingly perceived and used as a powerful methodology to promote professional awareness and development. However, there are very few texts that demonstrate how this can be utilised to promote management and organisational improvement or that emphasise the reflective nature of improving professionalism. Action Research in Organisations fills this gap. Aimed at both practising managers and university students alike, key features of this title include: * the location of management and organisational theory within a framework * examination of the principles and practice of action research * real-world examples and case studies of people attempting to improve their own situations through action research.

This book addresses the practice of learning and teaching within higher education. Higher education is currently a sector challenged worldwide by increased numbers and diversity of students, tougher demands for professional accountability, increasing calls for educational relevance, thinning resources and the exacting demands of a global education market. This book brings together key issues of theory and practice to develop an overall professional 'language' of teaching situated within communities of academic practice. This 'language' provides teachers with a conceptual 'vocabulary' and 'grammar' for understanding and improving practice, enables them to critically reflect upon their teaching in a range of key 'genres'

Exploring the implementation of participatory, multistakeholder, and transdisciplinary ecosystem health research, Integrated Assessment of Health and Sustainability of Agroecosystems combines the latest theories in complexity and management with practical tools and approaches for sustainable rural development research.Although the text foc