Developing and retaining highly qualified teachers continues to be a critical need (Berry, 2004; Darling-Hammond & Sykes, 2003). As more teachers retire and school populations continue to grow, an increasing number of schools, universities, and states are implementing programs to ease induction, develop quality teachers, and inform educational practices. Many educators turn to action research to achieve these goals. Action research, also called classroom or teacher research, has been defined as "systematic, intentional inquiry by teachers" (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1993, p. 5). Action research encourages school personnel to systematically develop a question, gather data, and then analyze that data to improve their practice. Over the last fifteen years the complexities of using action research in schools have been well documented (Calhoun, 1993; Crawford & Cornett, 2000; Morton, 2005; Sagor, 1995); however, few studies have explored the effects of prolonged action research engagement on schools (Folkman, 2002; Wagner, 1999).
