The new lives of teachers: Research which influences

The paper focuses upon external and internal challenges for the research and teaching communities – the perils as well as excitements of border crossings in research conducted on and in the policy and practice contexts which are associated with the new lives of teachers. The paper is organised in four parts. Part 1 deals with the scholar-practitioner dilemmas faced by university teachers and researchers. Part 2 raises issues about knowledge production in which the researcher is also a change agent. Part 3 focuses, briefly, upon what research tells us about key areas of importance which affect the work and lives of teachers in schools and the nature of professionalism which those who conduct research with teachers need to understand if they seek to influence them, directly or indirectly. Part 4 ends the address by focusing upon research in education, why we do what we do in the ways that we do it.