1. 1. Action Research A summary from Anderson et al. (2007) Merging Educational practice and Research in Studying your own School: An Educators Guide to Practioner Action Research, California, Corwin Press.
2. 2. Contents 1) Key Aspects of Action Research over time 2) Quality in Action Research 3) Politics of Action Research 4) Implications of this for our PBI module
3. 3. 1) key Aspects of Action Research Action Research has a long and varied tradition - it is nothing new! Teachers were initially viewed as data gatherers for university researchers, until Dewey pointed out that teachers contributions were a comparatively neglected field [] an unworked mine. (In McKernan, 1988) Importance of CONTEXT: Lewins stress on problem solving in real - life situations, Argyris and Schn (1991) refer to the boundaries of the local context therefore teachers are well placed to carry out such research.
4. 4. Corey (1950s) suggested that teachers would find the results of their own research more useful than the work of outsiders, and would be more likely to question current practice. Later backed up Fullan (1982) who reported that school based problem solving approaches to change were more likely to be implemented successfully than large, federally funded initiatives.
5. 5. Participatory Research (1970 Freire) research viewed as social action. Challenged academic model at every point! Unpopularity of questioning the status quo teachers not trained to do research = questions of legitimacy and validity. Challenging status quo is unpopular but necessary to reform practice (Argyris, Putnam and Smith 1985)
6. 6. What does Action Research look like? All 4 could occur in 1 lesson or over weeks / months. All practitioners reflect informally but Action Research makes reflection more intentional and systematic.
7. 7. Who does Action Research? Best done collaboratively (Solomon 1987 said that Schn didn't make enough of the social / collaborative aspect in his work) But can also be done individually and lead to individual professional growth. (Webb 1996 criticised the tendency to privilege the group over the individual). Older traditions of Action Research are generally associated with (generally) male academics, but increasingly AR became and continues to become a more broad based, grassroots movement.
8. 8. 2) Quality in Action Research [Validity and Trustworthiness] p.36 A studys trustworthiness involves the demonstration that the researchers interpretations of the data are credible or ring true to those who provided the data, and that multiple data sources have been compared or triangulated.
9. 9. Formal vs. Practical knowledge Dualism Several critics have dismissed Action Research as a separate, lower class of research e.g. Richardson (1994). Others reject this dualism e.g. Cochran- Smith and Lytle (1998) and Clandinin and Connelly (1995) who highlight the lack of contextual awareness held by outsiders doing research.
10. 10. Action researchers need not justify themselves by the same inquiry criteria as for academic research, but rather they should make a case for a different conception of validity.
11. 11. Criteria for validity or trustworthiness in Practitioner Action Research Outcome The extent to which actions occur that successfully resolve the problem / make steps to resolve it / reframe the question or pose new one! Democratic The extent to which research is done with all parties who have a stake in the problem under investigation. Catalytic The extent to which the research process focusses / energises participants to deepen their understanding and be moved to act to change their practice. Dialogic Peer reviews via AR groups, having critical friends, which gives different responses tow irk and helps the researcher to reflect on practice and validate research claims. Process To what extent are problems framed and solved in a way that permits ongoing learning? Are findings the result of a series of reflective cyclic processes?
12. 12. Are Action Research findings generalisable? / Questioning its external validity If there is to be transferability, the burden of proof lies less with the original investigator than with the person seeking to make an application elsewhere. Lincoln and Guba (1985)
13. 13. 3) Politics of Action research p.48 AR, perhaps more than other innovations, must challenge the sociopolitical status quo of the setting. Action Research, like all good qualitative research, has a natural tendency to spill over into areas one had not expected to study. Area studied at classroom level Area to be studied at school level Area studied at district / national level Area studied at society-as-a-whole level will lead to Qs about will lead to Qs about will lead to Qs about
14. 14. Political issues faced by Action Researchers AR can come to rub up against what Schn (1971) called the dynamic conservatism of social institutions. Practitioners undertaking AR will encounter a culture that values CONFORMITY, as Hutchinson and Whitehouse (1986) noted; While AR fosters collegiality, informality, openness and collaboration, Action Researchers have to contend with educational institutions that are structured hierarchically with formal asymmetrical relations of power and responsibility.
15. 15. Redefining professionalism p.51 AR has been suggested as a way to re-professionalise educational practice, particularly teaching. The quest for professionalism saw a move away from practice towards scientific research and created a hierarchy between universities and schools. p.54 Many see AR as a social movement in which practitioners affirm and assert their own ways of knowledge creation as opposed to external forces creating that knowledge and disseminating (top- down) into schools.
16. 16. 4) Implications for me as a teacher on the PBI module Feel empowered! Teachers are no longer data gatherers for university researchers - we have the advantage of contextual awareness and can produce useful and valid AR! Be prepared to challenge the status quo / conformity of education system (which will be unpopular, but is necessary.) Be prepared that what you study will spill out into other areas. Question yourself and your own reflection - how intentional and systematic is it? Does it follow the cycle of Plan > Act > Observe > Reflect? When conducting AR dont PANIC about validity (in the sense that it is associated with scientific / academic research) - remember that AR has a different conception of validity.