Research problems resulting from researching both university teacher education students and school students include the professional ethical problems of, potentially, exploiting power relationships. The research may be regarded as self-indulgent or reliability. The author explores approaches to personal and professional challenges, and ways of building up appropriate levels of trust notwithstanding the pain and the risk of researchers being far from virtuous. The framing of the research was thought to be the most significant mitigation of the problems. Younger participants were invited to take part in research intended to help the school improve, and adult participants were invited to take part in research intended to help schooling in general improve, through increasing understanding of schools as communities. As came to understand more of the school improvement literature, and even more the learning communitie's literature, he realised that participation of all members of the school community was itself a quality helps determine the community nature of the school.