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This book contains different perspectives on the quality of practitioner research or action research, and focuses specifically on questions of the relation between the researcher and (the field of) the researched. The collaborative characteristic of research by practitioners is seen by many as crucial for the better understanding and transformation of practices. Those who are included in these practices are expected to be part of the research. The distance between researcher and researched should, therefore, be small; in fact, this distance is absent when practitioners do research within their own field, without the interference of researchers from outside the school. This raises fundamental questions about the relationship between the researcher and the researched or the field of the researched. The authors of this book share a concern about the popularity of uncritical and rather technical approaches to practitioner research or action research. The book offers inspiring and thought-provoking ideas to all involved in research by practitioners, especially in education: researchers and facilitators in the field of practitioner research, action research, and qualitative research; teachers and other practitioners, philosophers of education, and postgraduate students. Most chapters in the book are proceedings from the joint International Practitioner Research Conference and the Collaborative Action Research Network Conference 2005 in Utrecht, the Netherlands, organized by Fontys University (dept. of Inclusive & Special Education) and Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching (ICLON).
