School‐based Research and Professional Learning: An innovative model to promote teacher professional development in China1

In‐service teacher education in China has traditionally been mainly lecture‐centred, theory‐orientated, and experience‐led. For various contemporary reasons such an approach may not be effective since it is unlikely to provide a context in which teachers are able to put educational theories into practice. “Action Education”, a school‐based research and professional learning approach that has been widely implemented in schools in China for a number of years, is an innovative model that aimed at promoting teacher professional development on the basis of action learning. It focuses on collaborative learning, learning from experience, and exploring the constructive connection between action and reflection. The model is an attempt to bridge the gap between theory and practice, to develop teachers’ practical wisdom and to promote teacher professional development in daily practice. This research, originating from the Qingpu Experiment 20 years ago, was completed by the “action education” research team in the process of undertaking research projects in the area of in‐service teacher education in Shanghai and nationwide in China.