This is an adaptation of a paper presented at the opening of the conference on 'Supporting practitioner research: a challenge' held in Cambridge in July, 1996. The article explains the purpose of the conference, and a little of its history. It then concentrates on raising issues and questions related to the four key themes of the conference: the pedagogical practices which should, and could, be adopted in supporting practitioner research; validation practices being employed for practitioner research in award-bearing contexts; cultural, political and institutional issues which impede practitioner research; working in partnerships in practitioner research. The article was designed to arouse discussion and sharing of practice during the conference, rather than to find solutions or definitive arguments. It ranges, therefore, over a variety of issues without, at the same time, attempting to be exhaustive or conclusive. The author works in teacher education and would be particularly interested in responses from those in other professions on the significance of the issues presented here.
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