Appendix B: Deciding for yourself about the research
reader, and (3) by the assumptions the author makes about the reader’s prior experiences.
Where is Ms Ragland’s action research situated on each of these dimensions of difference?
➢ Consider the ethical issues about action research discussed at the end of this chapter—
insuring privacy of students, gaining informed consent, and insuring freedom to
participate. Given the nature and focus of Ms Ragland’s particular action research, how
might she honor these ethical considerations? Does the fact that her students were
(literally) captives make any difference?
➢ Suppose that instead of an inside staff member like Ms Ragland studying youthful offenders,
an outsider unfamiliar with youth correctional facilities wanted to do so. How would outsider
status affect what could be learned about life in a juvenile correctional facility?References
Lortie, D. (1975). Schoolteacher. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Zeichner, K. (2007). Accumulating knowledge across self-studies in teacher education. Journal of Teacher
Education, 58(1), 36-46.
Hayes, D. (2006). Telling stories: Sustaining improvement in schools operating under adverse conditions.
Improving Schools, 9(3), 203-213.
Samaras, A. & Freese, A. (Eds.). (2006). Self-study of teaching practices. New York: Peter Lang.
Tidwell, D. & Fitzgerald, L. (Eds.). (2006). Self-study and diversity. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense
Publishers.
Ragland, B. (2007). Positioning the practitioner-researcher: Five ways of looking at practice. Action Research,
4 (2), 165-182.