Action Research as Empowering Professional Development: Examining a District-Based Teacher Research Course.

Using critical constructivism as the theoretical lens, the researcher used action research to systematically examine the experience of PreK-12 teachers in his district-based teacher research professional development course, while also examining his development as a teacher educator. The results of this study showed that the teachers made progress as teacher-researchers. The teachers expressed being empowered by the teacher research process and showed a critical awareness in their work. Finally, the teachers faced several important barriers in adopting an inquiry stance in their practice. This research generates both local and global knowledge about teacher research as a form of inservice teacher education.