First Published in 1990. Central to the vision of teachers researching their own practice was the belief that the improvement of teaching and learning in schools could best be achieved through the development of the critical and creative powers of individual teachers. The research studies in this book, which reflect and extend that vision, serve as accounts of the learning experiences of a group of practitioner researchers. The book has two closely interrelated purposes. The first is to provide information and ideas on the areas of the formal and hidden curriculum into which the practitioners enquired. The second purpose is to provide methodological ideas and assistance for those already engaged in practitioner research and to motivate others to seek an opportunity to undertake some form of research-based enquiry. The two purposes are closely interrelated because of the value the contributors ascribe to taking a research stance to teaching.