In educational research, methodologies designed to reinforce the role of teachers in schools have flourished since the 1970s in Great Britain. Today, they underpin a variety of pedagogical approaches in teacher education both in Great Britain and abroad. This paper analyses critically the main current trends in practice-focused methodologies, including action research. The author addresses the main shortcoming of the current methodological trends, highlighting that they can only inadequately be applied in teachers' action. The paper is divided into these steps: first, the examination of the model of naturalistic methodology; second, the descriptive methodology, and, third, the non-methodology solution. Forth, attention is paid to the logical structure of normative propositions in such trends. Finally, consideration is given to the question of the possibility of applying outcomes to teacher education. The first part of the paper analyses the three main methodologies. I will argue that the naturalistic methodology presents a positivistic point-of-view and an empiricist epistemology, and assumes that teacher's action is governed by a technical rationality (i.e., it considers only an analysis of means). In the descriptive methodology, the normative patterns of action result from observing professional behaviour; it assumes a “methodological jump” (from descriptive propositions obtained by empirical observations to normative propositions). The non-methodological solution defines educational action as an interpretative assessment of particular contexts. Thus, it excludes the rationality in defining the best line of action. The second part of the paper demonstrates that these methodological approaches are inadequate with regard to the logical normative structure, as long as the verification methodology does not overcome the declarative rationality, the descriptive methodology is reduced to descriptive propositions, and as long as the non-methodological solution does not include an evaluative rationality. Therefore, these practical methodological perspectives leave the radical dimension of action aside (i.e., the consideration of what should be). Hence, although these approaches are trying to reinforce the role of teachers in education, in fact, the dominant role falls on i) the effective results, ii) the context and iii) the moral educationalists. The last, and the most important part, argues that the underlying methodology and epistemology should be enlarged in order to incorporate evidence and aims. The author will outline a different approach to this issue.

1. Naturalistic methodology 2. Descriptive methodology 3. Non-methodological solution 4. Logical estructure of normative propositions 5. The perspective of application

The most important point of this paper is to raise the main shortcoming of those methodological trends, namely, that they lack an adequate solution of how findings can be applied in teacher's action. The paper argues that the underlying methodology and epistemology should be enlarged in order to incorporate evidence and aims. The main challenge here is to place evidence on a different base. The author outlines a different approach to this issue: • It is crucial to start from concrete problems that require solutions. On the basis of these problems we must build a theory. This theory must unite the design of both innovative knowledge and practical patterns-rules to solve the problem. *** continues in References