Transcript ACTION RESEARCH

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 Doing
one’s damnedest to find answers to
perplexing questions.
 A systematic approach to finding answers to
questions.
 We may find answers to questions that don’t
exist yet.
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Experience
• Personal
• Authoritative
Reasoning
• Deductive
• Inductive
• Inductive-Deductive
Research
• Systematic, controlled, empirical and critical
investigation of hypothetical propositions about
the presumed relations among natural
phenomena.
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IS:
Persuasive

Relevant

Practical

Participative

Empowering

Interpretive

Tentative

Critical

Andra Salandy
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This is to study a real school situation
with a view to improving the quality of
actions and results within it.
It offers a means for changing from
current practice toward better
practice.
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This is planned inquiry- a deliberate
search for truth, information, or
knowledge. It consist of both selfreflective inquiry, which is internal and
subjective, and inquiry oriented practice
which is external and data based.
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This is formal investigation into
oneself and into one’s own social
system.
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This is any systematic inquiry conducted
by teacher researchers, principals,
school counsellors, or other stake
holders in the teaching-learning
environment, to gather information
about the ways that their particular
schools operate, how they teach and how
well their students learn.
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It is the process of systematically
evaluating the consequences of
educational decisions and adjusting
practice to maximize effectiveness (Mc
Clean 1995)
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This is a systematic investigation planned
and carried out by teachers, for
themselves. It is not imposed on them
by someone else.
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`It is examining one’s own practice
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`The best source of improved knowledge
about teaching is the teacher’
(John Dewey)
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It requires teachers/administrators to:
conceptualise problems
 design studies
 closely observe outcomes
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Engages teachers/adm. in a four – step process
namely to:
Identify an area of focus
Develop an Action Plan
Collect Data
Analyze and Interpret Data
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Identifying Your Area Of Focus
Is your area of focus an issue that:
Involves teaching and learning?
 Is within your locus of control?
 You feel passionate about?
 You would like to change or improve?

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Reconnaissance
Is:
Taking time to understand the nature
of the problem. It involves :
 Self Reflection
 Description
 Explanation
Continue by reviewing the related literature.
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Reconnaissance
Self – Reflection:
Reflect on your area of focus in light of your values and
beliefs.
Description:
 Describe the situation you wish to change or improve
 Describe the evidence you have that the area of focus
is a problem
 Identify the critical factors that affect your area of
focus
Explanation:
 Explain the situation you intend to investigate by
hypothesizing how and why the critical factors you’ve
identified affect the situation
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Developing an Action Plan:
 Write an area - of - focus statement.
 Define
the variables.
 Develop
research questions.
 Describe
the intervention or
innovation.
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 Describe
the membership of the action
research group.
 Describe the negotiations that need to
be undertaken
 Develop a time line
 Develop a statement of resources
 Develop data collection ideas.
Andra Salandy
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Two Models which differ in when
the data are collected and analysed.
 In
proactive action research, action
precedes data collection and analysis.
 In
responsive action research, data are
collected and analysed before action
is taken.
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 Step
1:
 Step 2:
 Step 3:
 Step 4:
 Step 5:
Try a new practice.
Incorporate hopes and concerns.
Collect data.
Check what the data mean.
Reflect on alternative ways to
behave.
 Step 6: Try another new practice.
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 Step
1: Collect data.
 Step 2: Analyse data.
 Step 3: Distribute the data and announce
changes.
 Step 4: Try a new practice.
 Step 5: Check others’ reactions.
 Step 6: Collect data.
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Advantages
 Respondents can
complete them easily.
 Open-ended responses
offer rich quotations
that are useful for data
feedback.
 Questions with rating
scales can be rated
quickly and results
presented in tables and
figures.
 Different questions can
be asked to get the
same response.
Disadvantages
 Open-ended responses
can be ambiguous.
 Analysis of open-ended
responses takes time.
 The data collector
cannot ask respondents
to clarify their answers.
 Some questionnaires
are poorly constructed.
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Advantages
 Can gather data
about behaviours,
not just perceptions
and feelings.
 Can see things that
some respondents
will not be able to
report.
 Data can be
gathered via video.
Disadvantages
 The data collector’s
presence can alter
the respondent’s
behaviour.
 Long wait time to
see what they seek
to observe.
 Same events –
different data
collectors –
different reports.
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Advantages
 Data are unaffected
by the data
collector’s presence.
 Historical events can
be studied
objectively.
Disadvantages
 Records might be
incomplete or
amassed in biased
ways.
 The validity of the
information might be
questionable.
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Develop
an ethical perspective that
is close to your personal ethical
position.
Seek informed consent from all
participants.
Consider confidentiality and
anonymity and avoid harm.
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•
Validity refers to the degree to which
scientific observations measure what they
purport to measure. In qualitative research
trustworthiness is the term used.
Different types of validity are:
Face, concurrent, and content.
Trustworthiness is established by addressing:
Credibility, transferability, dependability and
confirmability.
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REPORTING
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 Data
Analysis reports the outcomes of
findings in a dependable, accurate and
reliable manner
 Data
Interpretation focuses on the
meaning of the findings.
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Data Analysis Techniques
 Identify themes.
 Code surveys, interviews, and
questionnaires.
 Ask key questions: who, what, why, when,
where and how?
 Do an organizational review of the school.
 Develop a concept map.
 Analyze antecedents and consequences
 Display findings.
 State what is missing.
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Data Interpretation Techniques
 Extend the analysis by raising
questions.
 Connect the findings with personal
experience.
 Seek the advice of critical friends.
 Contextualize findings in the literature.
 Turn to theory.
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DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
Definition of Measure
A measure of central
tendency is a single
number that gives us
information about an
entire group of
Type used in Action Research
Mean (average)
Mode (most frequently
occurring score)
Median (middle score)
numbers.
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DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
Definition of Measure
A measure of
variability tells us
how spread out a
group of scores are.
Type used in Action Research

Standard deviation (a
measure of distance from the
mean that helps us to
understand approximately how
much a particular score
deviates from the average
score)
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STEPS TO ACTION
 Findings of the research.
 Recommended action.
 Responsibilities.
 Sharing findings with colleagues.
 Ongoing monitoring (data collection).
 Timeline for action.
 Resources.
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Some Challenges Facing Teacher Researchers
 Lack of resources.
 Resistance to change.
 Reluctance to interfere with other’s professional
practice.
 Reluctance to admit difficult truths.
 Finding a forum to share what you learned.
 Making time for action research endeavours.
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Facilitating Educational Change
Restructuring power and authority
relationships.
Teachers must be provided with support.
Top-Down and Bottom-Up can both work
Every person is a change agent.
Recognize that change is difficult.
Pay attention to the culture of the school.
Outcomes must benefit students.
 Being hopeful is a critical resource.
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Celebrating Action Research
Performance Texts Options
 Role-play
 Videotape a classroom activity
 Use drama
 Incorporate music
 Share a reading of text
 Add interactive multimedia
 Show pictures, slides, photographs or video
 Use other audiovisual aids.
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 Does
your action research lead to an action?
 Who is the intended audience for your
report?
 Have you presented the report using an
acceptable format?
 Have you shared any prejudices that may
have affected your findings?
 How has the action research effort
contributed to your reflective stance on the
way you view teaching and learning?
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 How
have your efforts enhanced the lives of
the students in your care?
 What action have you taken?
 How is the proposed action connected to
your data analysis and interpretation?
 How will you monitor the effects of your
practice?
 What would you do differently next time?
 How did your colleagues respond to your
findings and the actions recommended by
your research?
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
Conferences: Formal and Informal
 Poster sessions
 Multimedia presentations
Parent conferences
- Student input
- Parent input
 Principal meetings
- Role-play by teachers and students
- Poster sessions
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Celebration is an important part of communitybased work. It not only satisfies the very human,
emotional elements of the experience, it works to
enhance participants’ feelings of solidarity,
competence, and general well-being.
It is a time when the emotional energy expended
in particularly difficult activity can be recharged,
and when any residual antagonisms developed
during the project can be defused and
relationships among stakeholders enhanced.
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