Participatory Pedagogy

Dear Colleagues,

Considerable literature suggests that to develop and improve teaching, educators need to reflect on what they do on a regular basis. Evidence also suggests that effective professional development of educators is dependent on reflective practice because it leads them to act deliberately and intentionally rather than randomly and reactively. Reflective practice is a cornerstone of action research, defined as systematic inquiry to solve a specific problem or answer a specific question. Action research in classroom and community settings is also referred to as practitioner research and participatory action research. Contributions of action research range from teacher and student inquiries in classroom settings to larger bodies of knowledge, community settings, or networks of connected organizations.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to bring together contemporary discourse in the use and challenges of engaging in action research with emphasis on the intersection between research and practice. The Special Issue provides an opportunity for practitioners at all levels to publish their inquiries as action research dedicated to improving or redesigning teaching/learning situations within classroom or community settings. Examples include submissions that inform models of changing assessment practices and pedagogical practices that foster growth while also promoting a culture of inquiry for participation, involvement, and collaboration. Community-based participatory researchers involved with various learning theories in which students actively create meaning through participation in service learning or community engagement projects are also welcome. Higher-education scholars are invited to submit action research projects, including original articles, case studies, qualitative or quantitative studies, narratives, systematic reviews, or meta-analyses.

Dr. Amy Roberts
Dr. Gregory S Ching
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.