This book is designed to address the complex dilemmas and issues that arise from the contribution made to practitioner inquiry. Facilitating practitioner research is far more than providing advice upon methods which may be adopted, important as that contribution is; or even modelling research practices and drawing attention to appropriate resources and theories. It also requires the evolution of strong reciprocal partnerships that will contribute to professional knowledge formation in both the academy and the field.

The text will draw upon extensive case studies from The Netherlands, Sweden and Australia. These will be used not only to illustrate and illuminate, but also to highlight contradictions and tensions. The case studies will also serve to surface issues related to the quality of the partnerships between the academy and the field and the ways in which quality impacts upon practice. Also, these varying social geographies will allow a discussion of different intellectual traditions, belief systems, problem settings, questions, and discourses