A Challenge for the 21st Century [microform] : Teacher Educator as Researcher / Janet P. Sitter

Imbalances existing between theoretical and practical research and between experimental and naturalistic research can be corrected by teacher educators who conduct research on what they are already doing as part of their professional assignments. These educators are persons whose expertise typically includes several years in the classroom prior to their teacher education work in higher education; they are in a unique position relative to the issues of theory and practice. Reasons for looking to teacher educators to augment the level of research activity in classrooms are based on the opportunity to link research and practice, to study teaching as it naturally occurs, and to foster a healthy research attitude in the profession. A study in which a teacher educator researched the student teaching experience (while functioning as the subjects' university supervisor) demonstrates the feasibility of such research. Positive outcomes of this dual role included: (1) easier entry into the field setting and relationship building; (2) positive effects of the event and its participants; (3) negation of the "halo effect"; and (4) improved ability to carry out both the role of researcher and university supervisor. (JD)