Study On Teachers' Educational Research

Since the institutionalized division of labor between educational theorists and teachers appeared in modern times, educational research has always been the privilege of educational theorists. The obligation of teachers was to conduct educational practice directed by educational theory, so teachers and educational research were irrelative. However, now the development of society requests breaking the man-made separation of teachers from educational research, and teachers should conduct educational research. Then which research is teachers suited to conduct? Why? What? And how? These problems are discussed in this study.This dissertation adopts collaborative educational action research with teachers in a Shanghai junior high school to explore teachers' educational research. Based on analyzing and criticizing the reality of teachers' research now in our country, this dissertation proposes the direction, aims, objects and ways of teachers' educational research. Then the improved measures are proposed according to the realistic problems.This dissertation considers now the research, which teachers in our country conduct, is the dual system of teaching research, moral education research and scientific research of education. Teachers' research and practice are divided, which is embodied as the division between catering for theory and improving practice in its aims, educational themes and teachers' muddle in its objects and imitating theorists' research and imitating technicians' making in its ways. This stems from scientific and technical reason governing education. The scientific and technical reason regards educational practice as a technical activity of producing goods and sees education in the view of the matter, which ignores and erases the man's characteristic.In fact, educational practice is a practical activity, suited to be directed by practical reason. Under the direction of practical reason, educational practice is teachers' conducting educational action in concrete educational situation, which is embodied by educational knowledge. It is consisted of teachers' educational action, educational knowledge and educational situation and interrelates dialectically theory and practice, individual and society. Teachers are educational practioner and are suited to conduct educational research. Teachers's educational research and educational practice is integrally coherent. Teachers' conducting educational research is also coducting educational research themselvs. Teachers' educational research is the dialectical unity of education and research.The teachers' educational research should also be directed by practical reason. Under this direction, its aims should be improve educational practice or to develop prcatical rationality, including transforming educational action, forming educational knowledge and improving educational situation. Its objects should be teachers' educational problems, which occur during teachers' educational practice. These problems are attended by teachers and stem from inconsistency among teachers' educational action, educational knowledge and educational situation brought by teachers' wrongs. Its ways should be action, reflection and dialog, which means that the teacher should openly dialog with others based on his rational thought and take active measures to find and solve his problems to improve practice.Now in our country, if teachers' educational research is conducted, it should change from pursuing scientific and technical reason to pursuing practical reason in value direction, from catering for theory to improving practice in aims, from educational themes to teachers' educational problems in objects, and from imitating theorists' research to acting, reflecting and dialog in ways. The strategy is to give rise to educational puzzle from the custom educational practice, to find and solve educational problems by way of open ordinary teaching.Finally, this dissertation discusses the relationship between the aims, the objects and ways of teachers' educational research, its essential condition and the limitations of this dissertation.