Studying Your Own School: An Educator's Guide to Practitioner Action Research

"While there are many books out there on action research, few immerse the reader so effectively in the nitty-gritty realities of the method, while also pushing school practitioners to use inquiry to challenge an unacceptable status quo. This text should be read by all teachers and school leaders who care about empowering students and communities through action research."
―Ruth Johnson, Professor of Educational Administration, California State University, Los Angeles
Author, Using Data to Close the Achievement Gap

"A highly accessible and informative book for K–12 educators and university graduate students. Provides very useful examples of what action research looks like when carried out in schools. This book has always been at the top of my recommended resources list."
―Ken Zeichner, Hoefs-Bascom Professor of Teacher Education, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Discover the most empowering pathway to improved practice in education!

Since the publication of the first edition of Studying Your Own School, practitioner action research has become an established professional development practice in schools and teacher education programs. While the fundamentals of practitioner action research have not changed, the challenges of large scale reform have dramatically altered the context of teaching.

This extensive revision of the best-selling book includes the latest investigative methods and reflects the current educational environment. New features of the second edition include

• A "Getting Started" chapter on initial issues and considerations
• More advice on crafting the research question and research design
• Up-to-date information on political and ethical considerations
• New examples of practitioner action research studies
• A focus on promoting equity and social justice

Packed with updated examples to help orient the reader, this book is unique in providing the theoretical and historical underpinnings of practitioner action research and all the "how-to" information necessary for successful classroom application.

Gary L. Anderson is a professor in the Department of Administration, Leadership, and Technology in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University. He is a former teacher and high school principal. He has written numerous articles on action research with co-author Kathryn Herr as well as articles and books on educational policy and leadership. He is the author of Advocacy Leadership: Toward a Post-reform Agenda (Routledge).

Kathryn G. Herr is a faculty member in the College of Education and Human Services at Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey.  She is co-author of the book Studying Your Own School: An Educator’s Guide to Qualitative Practitioner Research (Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 1994). She is also Editor of the interdisciplinary journal Youth and Society. Her professional background is in Social Work and Education.