Ann Nihlen’s research while affiliated with University of New Mexico and other places

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 book includes the latest investigative methods and reflects the current educational environment. New features of the second edition include: (1) A "Getting Started" chapter on initial issues and considerations; (2) More advice on crafting the research question and research design; (3) Up-to-date information on political and ethical considerations; (4) New examples of practitioner action research studies; and (5) 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. After the Foreword by Susan E. Noffke, Acknowledgments, Preface and About the Authors, this book contains six chapters: (1) What Is Action Research? (2) Merging Educational Practice and Research: A New Paradigm; (3) What Does Practitioner Action Research Look Like? (4) Empowerment and Practitioner Action Research: An Example; (5) The Research Question, Ethical Considerations, and Research Design; and (6) Qualitative Research Approaches for Practitioner Action Research. This book concludes with References and an Index.

The authors present results of a qualitative exploration and analysis of the impact of ethnicity, social class, and gender in the lives of 14 counselor educators of color teaching in colleges and universities across the United States. Data analysis yielded eight themes; a ninth theme, “Multicultural Selfhood” served as a unifier which wove throughout participants’ stories, and consequently through each of the 8 themes. This article focuses on five themes related to participants’ interactions and relationships with colleagues and students, including the individual and systemic dynamics at work in these interactions. The results have implications for retention of minority faculty.