Improving Practice Through Action Research

This paper advocates for the use of Action Research (AR) approaches in the designing of Information Systems (IS). Following a brief overview of the history of AR as a research methodology and it's use in IS research a framework for describing the AR process is developed. This framework is then used to describe the AR process involved in the design and development of a paper based and orally communicated child health IS. A common criticism of AR in IS design is the focus on the output of the design and the lack of rigour in the description of AR projects. This paper addresses this gap by focusing on the process of the design and development of the IS in the case study, but also contributes to AR by outlining a number of concerns which should be addressed by the IS researcher if AR is to viewed as rigourous. The concerns which need to be addressed are the need: to make explicit the epistemology of the researcher(s) or practitioner(s) in any AR project; to adopt a participatory AR and longitudinal approach to avoid the conflict of 'serving two masters'; to develop networks of action, and; to develop and disseminate generalisations and learnings from the research.

Teaching in today’s changing society requires teachers’ independent judgement and development. One way of fostering professional development is action research; described, however, as a challenging and time-consuming process. This qualitative study asks whether action research is worthwhile already in pre-service teacher education, or whether the challenges outweigh the gains. Furthermore, it asks how a teacher educator, here the author of the article, could guide student-teachers’ action research projects. The main data source is student-teachers’ research reports, which are analysed and reflected upon in light of professional development. The study revealed that action research under certain conditions offers a potential for professional development for student-teachers.

Purpose The purpose of this action research study was to design, implement and evaluate interventions that enhanced the induction program for new teachers in a P-12 school district. At the outset, we hoped the study would provide new teacher support resulting in improved teaching practices, increased job satisfaction and/or increased teacher retention among the target population. With this in mind, our research question was: What structures and supports from a school-university partnership facilitate capacity-building among university teacher education faculty, school and district leaders, mentor teachers, and new teachers in the context of an induction program?Design/methodology/approach This study used an intervention-centered mode of action research methodology that aims to make systems-level change. This type of action research intends to solve real organizational problems with a focus on conducting “research in action” rather than “research about action” (Coghlan and Brannick, 2014, pp. 5–6). This approach necessitates that data collection and analysis are iterative processes, occurring throughout the research process, instead of solely at the end stages of the research process. Our action research process used Coghlan and Brannick’s (2014) action research cycle model. The cyclical four-step process includes constructing (verifying the problem in the local context), planning action, taking action and evaluating action. Facilitated by the interim director of a Professional development schools (PDS) partnership in the Southeastern United States, a team of co-researchers which included three university teacher education faculty and four school district administrators used action research methodology to create systemic change that enhanced the district’s induction program. We collected data through multiple qualitative methods, including surveys, focus groups, observations and interviews during the course of three action research cycles. These data and our theoretical framework (complex adaptive systems theory and social network theory) informed two major interventions that supported new teachers during the challenging first year of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.Findings The interventions and the research process were mutually beneficial for both institutions and contributed to professional learning and growth at the individual, group and system levels. The three major findings described include: (1) engaging in collaborative action research is mutually beneficial for both schools and universities; (2) induction programs benefit from university resources; (3) learning communities build all educators’ professional capacity.Research limitations/implications Our research recommendations are: (1) more research is needed on the benefits of school-university partnerships to induction programs; (2) school-university partnerships should leverage action research to improve systems; (3) within school-university partnerships, the connection between collaborative leadership and sustainability requires further research. One limitation was that this study was conducted in a single school-university partnership context involving a large public university and a mid-sized public school district that had a well-established partnership. More induction-centered research is needed in different types of school-university partnership contexts that have varying levels of longevity and partnership structures.Practical implications Our recommendations for practice include (1) school-university partnerships should leverage collaborative learning communities to catalyze individual, group and systems-level learning and change, and (2) school-university partnerships must prioritize induction support to strengthen the teaching profession.Originality/value Since Hunt’s (2014) literature review on induction support in PDS partnerships, very few empirical studies have been conducted in this research area. This study, which examined induction support in a PDS partnership over a two-year period, makes a significant contribution to the scholarly literature on induction teacher support in school-university partnership contexts. Facilitated by the interim director of a PDS partnership, a team of co-researchers, which included three university teacher education faculty and four school district administrators, used action research methodology to create systems-level supports that enhanced the district’s induction program.

Action research has approached conflict mainly through the concept of conflict resolution, where action researchers play a role as third parties acting as organizers, conveners, and facilitators. This paper proposes a complementary role as stakeholders in the conflicts of territorial development and thus, as one more part in conflict. This is done in the context of one specific approach to action research, namely, action research for territorial development and one specific project, the Territorial Development Laboratory initiated in 2009 in Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Spain. The paper argues that the ideological and political positions of action researchers, legitimated by the other stakeholders through the action research process, give them a stake in territorial development conflicts. It also revisits the interpretation of participation in action research in order to conceptualize action researchers’ role as stakeholders in the conflicts of territorial development. These discussions are of interest for any action researcher wanting to explore her or his role as a part in conflict in action research processes and not exclusively as a third party facilitating the process.

The present thesis explores psychological well-being (PWB), practice and context within a professional football academy. The thesis also focuses on the processes of action research as a catalyst for practice-change in the academy environment, towards a culture of well-being. During the initial stages, pre-reconnaissance discussions took place with key academy practitioners to explore practitioner perceptions of well-being and coaching practice within context. The thesis is divided into two distinct phases; the reconnaissance phase, and the action phase. The reconnaissance phase encouraged the researcher to 'live the experience' alongside the research participants. Therefore emersion into the field of an academy football environment was required on a daily basis. The action research from reconnaissance-to-practice provided a detailed account of day-to-day events and on-going lived experiences of players and practitioners within the academy football environment. Consequently, qualitative data collection took place regularly in order to monitor and capture the personal experiences of academy players and practitioners, to follow individual threads of inquiry. Also field notes, player focus groups, informal interviews and formal taped interviews provided sufficient data for triangulation to occur. This multi-method approach enabled the researcher to take advantage of the rich variety of sources upon which were available (Tomlinson, 1983). The data collection protocol investigated how practitioners engaged in culturally specific practice within the academy. The action phase introduced collaborative practitioner meetings as part of the action research process to address practice that could later be linked specifically to psychological well-being (PWB) dimensions. The overall aim of the collaborative practitioner meetings was to drive debate and change, based on the notion that well-being can be related to everyday practice. Although there was similarity in how the meetings were described, the primary analysis differed, in particular the first two collaborative practitioner meetings underwent thorough content analysis from both an inductive (cultural and situational) and deductive (concept-oriented) stance. The reality of the research reflected the unpredictable process and dilemmas that may occur within the processes of action research and practice-change. The research provided detailed insight into the culture of football and the perceptions and experiences of full-time academy players, practitioners and the researcher's own reflections on the research journey, with regards to psychological well-being (PWB). Within the processes of action research, the practical utility of theory and the personal- contextual dynamic of a practice-change process within a youth football setting were considered and discussed. The research encouraged notions of emancipation within a participatory and collaborative process. Key Words: Psychological well-being (PWB), subjective well-being (SWB), action research, context and practice.

Project SMILE with a HEART in Research desires to improve and develop a positive attitude in making and implementing research in SDO Camarines Sur. SMILE, which stands for Share, Mentor, Initiate, Learn, and Excel, were strategies done by the Division Research and Development CI team, with a positive outlook and insights that a researcher should possess HEART- Hardworking, Enthusiastic, Authentic, Resourceful, and Transformational. This study aims to determine the impact of the project in the Action Research (AR) competencies and initiatives of personnel. A descriptive-quantitative method was employed in discussing the responses. Quantitative data were derived from the researcher-made questionnaire. Total enumeration of 18 CI Teams of Class III served as respondents. Analyzed data revealed that before the implementation of the project, the competency level of researchers on the AR process is moderately competent, with strengths and challenges encountered in the AR process. The AR project is fairly difficult. The activities and strategies implemented, such as training, mentoring and coaching, visual management, mistake proofing, and simplified process, were extremely accepted and demonstrated that it was very effective, with 100% approval of researches submitted. Thus, the project implemented improves the research competencies of personnel, and it develops a positive attitude towards research undertakings. This was funded under the Basic Education Research Fund (BERF) through the Division/Region Research Committee and PPRD Region V.

This study constituted community-based, action research that sought to identify community needs and design indigenous community relevant STEAM projects in a local community of underserved students in Pakistan. This Community-Based Action Research is conducted in “The Tent School System”; a slum school in H-11 Islamabad, Pakistan. The five-phase cyclic action research process is implemented that involved: diagnosing and identifying community problems using Freirean process of generative themes, creating STEAM lesson plans for identified problems, designing useful products using lesson plans to solve problems, evaluation of this STEAM workshop and then specifying learning for next interaction of this STEAM action project. Drawing on needs assessment survey, post feedback survey and field notes, this mixed methods study explored the experiences of low-socioeconomic students participating in contextually authentic STEAM Projects. Based on the students’ feedback, it was revealed that the main sources of student engagement in this action research project were: the overall impact of these STEAM projects on their community and the skills they inculcated in them that made them capable of solving local community challenges on their own. The major strength of this study was its successful practical application of Freire’s theory of critical pedagogy for designing community relevant learning environment for the students. Key learnings of this study imply a useful example of how students can contribute their knowledge and skills to promote general community well-being. Furthermore, the fusion of critical pedagogy of place in STEAM model offers a unique pedagogical innovation to education practitioners all around the world.

This study aimed to describe the implementation of individual action research projects among some forty English language teachers distributed in thirty Palestinian schools in Ramallah and Qabatya districts-Palestine. It aimed to analyze the outcomes of the teachers’ action research as part of a broader participatory action research project that is intended to increase the capacity among teachers in Palestine as part of the LTD program. The data revealed that in spite of the difficulties that Palestinian teachers face, action research was a powerful, inquiry and exploratory tool that impacted teachers’ classroom practices and professional development. Furthermore, the implementation of reflection on a one year professional development program revealed a number of positive changes on the part of teachers’ collaboration and cooperation. Teachers have realised that cooperation and collaboration are the healthiest part where a nourishing context for learning could be created through a respectful, supportive and fruitful dialogue. It is recommended that the results of this research capture the attention of the administrators and policy makers in Palestine to adopt the strategy of action research and reflection in all educational sectors.

The quality of education in any country rests on school communities as a whole. However, the real implementers of innovations and changes in curriculum are teachers. Teachers, as practitioners, are the ones most often held accountable for successes and failures in educating schoolchildren. The way to facilitate teachers in handling challenges and keeping up with curriculum renewals is through constant support in the form of continuing professional development (CPD) by means of action research. Action research as CPD has been viewed as a critical platform for advocating change, which is the outcome of teachers’ ability and autonomy to lead in making informed decisions about their own practices. Given its usefulness, action research is found well established, vastly practiced, and widely published in Western countries. This has raised the question of the widespread use of action research as CPD in the Southeast Asian (SEA) region. Preliminary analysis reveals that in some SEA countries, such as Timor Leste, there is limited literature on action research, while in countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, action research has been well documented. At the same time, there is an emerging trend in SEA countries to adopt different models of action research. In Malaysia, for instance, action research has been primarily classroom based, whereas in Indonesia, a critical and community based approach to action research seems to be prevalent. This suggests that the kinds of action research conducted in the different SEA countries may reflect variations in cultural, economic, and geographical landscapes. Given the importance of action research to teacher practitioners and school leaders, and in providing an identity to the action research approaches conducted in Southeast Asia, the historical trail of action research presents a window into the nature of CPD concerns of each country, as well as the successes and challenges of conducting action research as CPD for sustained impact.

Action research is defined as systematic classroom-based inquiry to solve teacher-perceived problems. It has been a component of education, particularly professional staff development, for the past century under several names although geography educators in the United States have rarely used it for this, or any other, purpose. This paper reviews the literature on action research in order to argue for its use in geography education. A preliminary exploration of action research-based professional staff development is described. The results of the project indicate that action research is potentially useful as a way to guide teachers to reflect on their practice. It is argued that geography educators should include it in their repertoire of reform techniques.

This paper describes how the process of action research is being used in undertaking a team-focused, practice-based project. The problems that the team has previously experienced in initiating change are outlined. An explanation is advanced as to why action research is an appropriate strategy for the team to adopt, and the early stages of the action research project are described. This is followed by a discussion of how the outcome of such research can be generalizable from one clinical setting to another.

Applying theory to practice: an action research resource pack for professionals

Action research (AR) enables teachers to investigate their own work to develop an area of practice, and ultimately, improve students’ experience. AR is a systematic, cyclical process of formulating a plan, acting, observing, and reflecting on the process . AR encourages collaboration and critical reflection, and provides a forum where teachers can openly discuss their practices. Such a discussion could, however, be both encouraging and threatening and, in the case of novice researchers beginning AR, can result in heightened anxiety. Few teacher training programmes address AR, and there can be constraints which deter teachers from conducting AR in the workplace. Also, teacher reflection, as an integral part of AR might not be formalised but focused on informal conversations. Teachers might guard their emotions during such discussions and prefer to be descriptive of the AR process rather than describe emotions for fear of their integrity being questioned. However, sharing experiences can lead to growing confidence. Therefore, institutional support in developing teachers’ confidence to investigate their own work is valued, while teachers who do not feel supported in the process of AR can lack confidence and feel isolated. Through an in-depth literature-based synthesis, this chapter explores language teacher emotional development during AR and the role that institutions play in the emotional development of teachers who embark on AR. In addition, it critically discusses the ontogenesis of language teacher emotions and processes of emotion management during AR, and makes recommendations for practice and further research.

<JATS1:p>This book facilitates the completion of action research studies by providing a series of tasks that guide action researchers from the beginning of a project and selecting a topic for study, to completion of the project and editing final reports. All too often, students and practicing professionals in professional development schools are overwhelmed by the thought of doing an action research project and resort to using quasi-experimental designs. A Toolkit for Action Research puts an end to both, with the result being a life-long learning and reflection tool for teachers. This workbook can be used alone, or in conjunction with traditional action research texts, such as Daniel Tomal's Action Research for Educators.</JATS1:p>

The theory and practice of communicative space is explored through three select action research studies from a past edition of Action Research, that focus on the practice of “opening communicative space” in action research. In an examination of these studies, a story is told of how the emancipatory interests of the marginalized (i.e. African-American students in public schools, the Aged in healthcare, and the Roma people of northeastern Hungary) can be realized through the opening and emergence of communicative spaces throughout the action research process. This story is told through successive themes that include the expectations and interests of action researchers, the challenges that they encountered once the action research process was underway, and finally, their reflective observations upon new communicative spaces that had emerged. While theoretical perspectives on communicative space are considered, such as the social theory of Jürgen Habermas, this article looks especially to the practical framework of William Isaacs on “Fields of Conversation” to understand how the opening of communicative spaces contributes to the emancipatory interests of action research.