Susan Groundwater-Smith is one of the most influential voices in the
world of educational practitioner inquiry. The convener in Australia of
the Coalition of Knowledge Building Schools, she is a staunch advocate
of innovative methods of practitioner inquiry with a particular emphasis
upon student voice and the use of images in capturing young people's
perspectives on their learning experience. So it is more than fitting
that this unique text on practitioner inquiry and teacher professional
learning is dedicated to her.
Rethinking Education Practice Through Reflexive Inquiry is a compilation
of essays that explore contemporary issues in practitioner inquiry and
action research from the perspective of both university-based and
school-based authors. The essays discuss the practical, political and
theoretical dimensions of practitioner inquiry, advancing the argument
that the adoption of an inquiring approach to practice is both an
integral dimension of teachers' work in the modern school as well as
critical to effective and authentic professional learning. And the
essays draw on the work of Groundwater-Smith to demonstrate the benefits
brought to bear on schools, teachers and learners when the complex
nature of the relationship between inquiry and practice is understood
and acted upon in pursuit of democratic knowledge interests.