Part 1 National contexts in action research: reflecting where the action is - the design of the Ford Teaching Project, John Elliott and Clem Adelman; repositioning the teacher in US schools and society - feminist readings of action research, Sandra Hollingsworth; doing action research in South Africa, Melanie Walker; changing the culture of teaching and learning - implications for action research, Peter Posch. Part 2 Action research and the development of contexts: action research and quality development, Christine O'Hanlon; seeing off-cuts - researching a professional and parents' campaign to save inclusive education in a London borough, Alice Paige-Smith; redefining, reconstructing and reflecting on the group process, Jane Richards; the never-ending story - reflection and development, Sonia Burnard and Heather Nesbitt. Part 3 Action research and individual learning: can action research give coherence to school- based learning of experiences of students, Anne Edwards; discussion of a pilot project to focus the thinking of BEd students, Sue Cox; children's perspectives on underachievement, David Wilcockson; emotional experiences in learning and teaching in a distance learning education course, Rosemary Crowe.