Description: There has been a recent move in the UK to evidence based practice at school level and now at HE level. There is a concern to connect research evidence and practice at all levels, but practitioner research, as of this moment is not always , or mainly conducted and reported in a credible way. This issue has been highlighted by the publication of the British Educational Research Association (BERA) guidelines on research writing and reporting, and BERA's recently revised Ethical Guidelines (2004) What is evident is the lack of good advice to practitioners rather than academics in conducting and reporting research. This is an important area if teachers and lectureres are to become more active in developing the research based knowledge that they are expected to apply. The general question is 'What do teachers need to know if they are to apply research and develop it in some way?'(e.g. research on brain differences between girls and boys) Here we deal with just the ethical dimension of practitioner research. 'What do teachers need to know about ethical principles in order to conduct research in their settings?' 'How should they think about it and report it?'Practitioner research as insider research creates problems that differ significantly from outsider research . Outsider researchers have to negotiate access and therefore have to be clear about the ethical issues. They have to obtain permission, uphold the rights of participants (including children and vulnerable adults). They have to gurantee anonymity in reporting and confidentiality in the holding of data etc. Many academic institutions now have ethical committees that vet the ethical probity of research projects proposed by academics. Schools do not have such an institutional resource, nor are we suggesting that they should, rather what is needed is more exploration of the problems and better guidelines for good practice. The authors have met the following problems in the course of their teaching on professional development courses for teachers and other education workers (such as the MA in Education, the Ed.D). We will ask the workshop participants to share their experiences of ethical problems around the following:Insider researchers need to collect data from those they teach or work withInsider research is a role not recognised as a part of a teacher's teaching roleInsider researchers are often 'invited' (volunteered) to participate in a research project by their HeadInsider researchers are often 'assisted' by academic researchers working on Government funded projectsInsider researchers are often doing research for a professional award-usually self funded. Insider researchers generally do not have the time (or possibly) expertise to write up research they have been involved in. There is a distinction to be made between those practitioners working for an award, since they will, presumably be guided by their university tutors in standard ethical practice and will be able to consult them should ethical dilemmas arise. The main problem seems to arise in the unchartered area of practioner initaited research (possibly in networks) and collaborative research between academics and practitioners. The philosophical questions we would like to explore in the work shop are:Do practitioners have the right to research their own practice? What are the objections?Teaching/lecturing involving reflective practice is unojectionable. When does reflective practice become research? What does 'research' mean in the context of researching ones own practice?If a practitioner researches her own practice or applies research evidence, what kind of relationship is she in with her students and colleagues? What rights do the researched have? Who owns the knowledge that is generated?What ethical consideration should apply to research conducted across schools ?Are there particular ethical issues about researching the practice of colleagues? Methodology: The work shop is exploratory using philosophical discussion Conclusions: An exploration of the issues and a sharing of experiences