Teacher as Researcher

Abstract

Only 15 years ago, the label "teacher as researcher" was rarely used.In the nineties, it is all but a household word, at least among members of the National Reading Conference (NRC), the International Reading Association (IRA), and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).There are committees, grants, books, and many articles on the burgeoning area of teacher as researcher.In this article, we hope to uncover what the area of teacher as researcher now means, consider its value in the field of reading, and provide at least a glimpse of future directions.More than half a century ago, Buckingham (1926) noted the value of teacher research:The teacher has opportunities for research which, if seized, will not only powerfully and rapidly develop the technique of teaching but will also react to vitalize and dignify the work of the individual teacher (p.iv).Buckingham noted that teachers who are willing to stand aside and allow the university to define their profession "will only have themselves to thank if methods are imposed upon them from the results of the experiments they do not understand, which are not really applicable to their work, and in which they have no share" (1926, p. 370).Additionally, Buckingham reported a significant amount of activity in the field of teacher research as early as 1926:The extent to which teachers are already writing reports of a research character may be inferred from the fact that [approximately]