Preparing Social Justice Oriented Teachers: The Potential Role of Action Research in the PDS.

Deliberate investigation into practice is an essential of the National Association for Professional Development Schools' defining elements of a Professional Development School (PDS). This article reports on the pilot efforts of one PDS as it initiated deliberate investigation through action research with a small group of teacher candidates. The process of implementation across a semester is detailed as the authors attempted to integrate action research into an already existing internship structure. There is a particular focus on how action research can serve to prepare social justice oriented teachers and help them to develop the necessary inquiry stance for such an orientation. The candidates' own stories of their action research are told and the PDS supports that enabled their success are detailed--critical friends groups, clinical mentor faculty, and the very process inherent in action research. Two of the interns additionally share their experiences during their first year and a half of in-service teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]