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For each chapter in Action Research: Teachers as Researchers in the Classroom, Second Edition, links to supplemental journal articles have been provided. The inclusion of these articles as supplemental assignments is intended to extend and strengthen students' understanding of conceptual basis, background, and procedures for conducting action research. For each article, students should be prepared to respond to the following questions:
- What have you learned about action research that you did not know prior to reading this article?
- In what ways has this article made you think differently about action research?
- Are there aspects, or specific points, made by the author(s) with which you strongly agree? Describe those aspects with which you agree.
- Are there aspects, or specific points, made by the author(s) with which you strongly disagree? Describe your basic disagreements.
- Why do you believe that this article is important to the body of literature on action research? How does it contribute to knowledge about action research?
If the particular article is a write-up of an empirical action research study (this is noted after the citation), students should also be prepared to respond to the following additional questions:
- What is the problem or topic, and what are the research questions, that guide this action research study?
- What procedures were used to conduct the study? Summarize the research design, data collection, and data analysis for this study.
- Do you believe that the authors have done an adequate, thorough job of answering their original research questions? Why or why not?
- What is the nature of the action plan(s) developed by the authors? Do they describe plans for a next cycle of action research? If so, what are their plans?
- What aspects of this study truly make it an action research study? In other words, discuss why this is a good example of action research.
Chapter 1: Introduction to Action Research
Chapter 2: Overview of the Action Research Process
Chapter 3: Planning for Action Research
Chapter 4: Developing a Research Plan
Chapter 5: Collecting Data
Chapter 6: Analyzing Data
Chapter 7: Developing an Action Plan
Chapter 8: Sharing and Reflecting
Chapter 9: Writing Up Action Research
Chapter 1: Introduction to Action Research
Brydon-Miller, M., Greenwood, D., & Maguire, P. (2003).
Why action research?
Action Research, 1(1), 9-28.
http://arj.sagepub.com
Abstract
Members of the editorial board of Action Research responded to the question, 'Why action research?' Based on their responses and the authors' own experiences as action researchers, this article examines common themes and commitments among action researchers as well as exploring areas of disagreement and important avenues for future exploration. We also use this opportunity to welcome readers of this new journal and to introduce them to members of the editorial board.
Dick, B. (2006).
Action research literature 2004–2006: Themes and trends.
Action Research, 4(4), 439-458.
http://arj.sagepub.com
Abstract
This review of recent action research books covers the period from about mid-2004 to mid-2006, complementing an earlier review (Dick, 2004). After noting some important recent additions to the action research literature, I address the literature on several different applications of action research including education, community, participatory development, and organizations. There are briefer sections on other topics. Action research journals and special issues of other journals are also identified. Finally, I identify some themes and trends in the action research literature.
Lewin, K. (1947).
Frontiers in group dynamics: Social planning and action research.
Human Relations, 1, 143-153.
http://hum.sagepub.com
Abstract
In the first of these articles, those aspects of group life which can be represented as an equilibrium in a phase space were considered. In the discussion of social equilibrium it was emphasized that for understanding social events, and for planning social action, a reference from the phase space to the total social field is usually necessary. As an example of such an analysis of a social field, certain problems of social channels will be discussed briefly in this second article. We shall then consider some general problems of social planning, with particular reference to the role of "action research " in bringing about social change.
Peters, M., & Robinson, V. (1984).
The origins and status of action research.
The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 20(2), 113-124.
http://jab.sagepub.com
Abstract
Diverse claims have been made for and about action research in a variety of contexts. In this article, we first trace the origins of this approach to Kurt Lewin and provide a synopsis of his views. We then compare Lewin's views on action research with those of contemporary exponents. In the third section, we review and systematize the claims of 11 action researchers to determine the extent to which their claims constitute a shared conception. While most authors characterize action research as a methodology, a few also attempt to link action research to a particular interpretation or theory of social science. We build on this distinction in the final section and distinguish a weak from a strong version of action research, concluding that, at this time, neither version enjoys the status of a paradigm.
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Chapter 2: Overview of the Action Research Process
Crocco, M., Faithfull, B., & Schwartz, S. (2003).
Inquiring minds want to know: Action research at a New York City professional development school.
Journal of Teacher Education, 54(1), 19-30. Empirical action research study
http://jte.sagepub.com
Abstract
This article describes a professional development school (PDS) relationship between Teachers College, Columbia University, and the Beacon School in New York City. In examining this case of an urban high school with a diverse student population working with a college of education, the authors add to the literature on PDS partnerships, which has dealt mostly with elementary school partnerships with colleges of education. The authors focus on the action research projects conducted by teaching interns at Beacon who are also master's students in secondary education programs, chiefly social studies and English, at Teachers College. The authors analyze the impact of this collaboration on participants and institutions, while acknowledging the areas of strain in maintaining the professional development relationship over time.
Glanz, J. (2005).
Action research as instructional supervision: Suggestions for principals.
NASSP Bulletin, 89, 17-27.
http://bul.sagepub.com
Abstract
Supervision based on collaboration, participative decision making, and reflective practice is the hallmark of a viable school improvement program that is designed to promote teaching and learning. Action research has gradually emerged as an important form of instructional supervision to engage teachers in reflective practice about their teaching and to examine actors that aim to promote student achievement. This article examines supervision as it has evolved and moved toward action research advocacy and presents two case studies that show how action research improves teaching and learning. Practical guidelines for implementing action research as instructional improvement are provided for principals.
Judah, M., & Richardson, G. (2008).
Between a rock and a (very) hard place: The ambiguous promise of action research in the context of state mandated teacher professional development.
Action Research, 4(1), 65-80.
http://arj.sagepub.com
Abstract
Conversations with teachers and professional development leaders enable us, as researchers, to highlight the ambiguous promise of action research within the context of mandated teacher professional development in the province of Alberta, Canada. From this departure, we investigate how educators believe action research projects influence their professional practices and we explore the question of the validity of using state-mandated action research projects as a means of bringing about authentic teacher professional development. Using conversations, we recount the experiences of three teachers who took part in two separate action research projects. As the conversations we present underscore, many teachers involved in state-mandated school-based projects found themselves caught between competing discourses of personal empowerment and individual autonomy on the one hand and externally driven measures of accountability and excellence on the other. In this complex and ambiguous location and within the context of their involvement in action research projects, the three teachers in this study negotiated their own understandings of professional development.
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Chapter 3: Planning for Action Research
Howes, A. (2001).
School level action research: Creating critical space in school communities.
Improving Schools, 4(2), 43-48.
http://imp.sagepub.com
Abstract
The article explores an increasingly popular form of University support for school development: collaborative action research. Research into the development of inclusive practices in schools is a social process: it is impossible to understand the process without thinking carefully about the relationship between the researcher and the staff of the school. My aim here is to make connections between the development of inclusive practices and features of the partnership between university and school staff, in order to clarify the meaning and value of collaborative action research in this context.
Price, J., & Valli, L. (2005).
Preservice teachers becoming agents of change: Pedagogical implications for action research.
Journal of Teacher Education, 56(1), 57-72. Empirical action research study
http://jte.sagepub.com
Abstract
This article examines the construction and experience of change agency within action research courses in preservice teacher education. Four preservice teachers' experiences of action research are analyzed, and tensions and challenges teacher educators and preservice teachers face as they attend to change processes in learning to teach are explored. This analysis suggests five central tensions in the process and pedagogy of action research: individual and institutional change, action and understanding, support and challenge, passion and reason, and regulation and emancipation. Rather than selecting one side of a tension over another, the authors argue that teacher educators need to work with tensions to develop understandings of change in relation to biography, teaching, and context. The authors argue that such contradictory and complex dimensions provide a useful frame for a pedagogy of action research. They are integral to the process of helping teacher candidates develop conceptions of teaching that embody change agency.
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Chapter 4: Developing a Research Plan
Brydon-Miller, M., & Greenwood, D. (2006).
A re-examination of the relationship between action research and human subjects review processes.
Action Research, 4(1), 117-128.
http://arj.sagepub.com
Abstract
In this brief article, we review the history of the human subjects review process and identify key aspects of that review as they relate to action research. In particular, we examine the issues of coercion, predictability, confidentiality, and risk – concerns central to the criteria used in current review processes but reflecting fundamental differences in the basic conceptualization of ethical practice as this is understood in action research.
Howell, J. J., & Luckner, J. L. (2003).
Helping one deaf student develop content literacy skills: An action research report.
Communication Disorders Quarterly, 25(1), 23-27. Empirical action research study
http://cdq.sagepub.com
Abstract
The development of reading skills is regarded as the highest priority area in contemporary education. Yet for many students who are deaf or hard of hearing, this is the academic area of greatest difficulty. Adding to this problem is the current demand that all students master higher levels of knowledge in content areas. In an effort to support students' needs to become literate and master content, professionals are teaching students content literacy strategies. Explicit teaching and practice of these strategies can help students become more comfortable with reading textbooks, improve their ability to succeed in content classes, increase their comprehension, and build a foundation for lifelong learning. The authors of this article present the case report of an action research study conducted with one deaf student who excelled in a general education setting through the use of content literacy strategies.
Nolen, A., & Vander Putten, J. (2007).
Action research in education: Addressing gaps in ethical principles and practices.
Educational Researcher, 36(7), 401-407.
http://er.aera.net
Abstract
Action research in education has gained increasing attention in the past 20 years. It is viewed as a practical yet systematic research method that enables teachers to investigate their own teaching and their students' learning. However, the ethical issues unique to this form of insider research have received less attention. Drawing on several professional associations' principles for research practice, the authors identify a series of potential ethical issues inherent in action research in K–12 schools and the corresponding difficulties that action researchers encounter with the policies and procedures of institutional review boards. The authors conclude with recommendations for future practice addressed to three groups: institutional review boards, K–12 school professionals and teacher educators, and national professional and representative organizations.
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Chapter 5: Collecting Data
Bradbury, H., & Reason, P. (2003).
Action research: An opportunity for revitalizing research purpose and practices.
Qualitative Social Work, 2(2), 155-175.
http://qsw.sagepub.com
Abstract
In this overview the authors describe the underlying principles of action research as: (1) grounded in lived experience, (2) developed in partnership, (3) addressing significant problems, (4) working with, rather than simply studying, people, (5) developing new ways of seeing/theorizing the world, and (6) leaving infrastructure in its wake. We refer to the role of social workers as frontline implementers of important social policies and suggest how action research can be used to both implement and also influence the creation of such policies. We offer examples of action research efforts that can be applied to the social worker's practice–scholarship repertoire.
Rubin, B., & Jones, M. (2007).
Student action research: Reaping the benefits for students and school leaders.
NASSP Bulletin , 91(4), 363-378.
http://bul.sagepub.com
Abstract
Recent years have seen a proliferation of student action research both nationally and internationally. Going by various names—participatory research, action research, participatory evaluation—student action research is research that (a) is conducted by youth, within or outside of schools and classrooms, with the goal of informing and affecting school, community, and/or global problems and issues and (b) contributes to the positive development of a variety of academic, social, and civic skills in youth. This article reviews research and writing on student action research, describing different types of student action research initiatives, the benefits of this powerful practice, and how principals can manage implementation challenges.
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Chapter 6: Analyzing Data
Klingman, A. (1990).
Action research notes on developing school staff suicide-awareness training.
School Psychology International, 11, 133-142. Empirical action research study
http://spi.sagepub.com
Abstract
This paper describes action research employed in the development of a suicide-prevention program which prepared educational staff to become 'gatekeepers'. Intervention strategies and programs were based on results of a survey. A quasi-experimental design was used to evaluate the workshops offered within this intervention. The three studies presented in the article demonstrate a collaboration between practitioner and researcher in a recurring cycle of basic research, program development and program evaluation, aimed at addressing the problem of adolescent-suicide prevention.
Levin, B., & Rock, T. (2003).
The effects of collaborative action research on preservice and experienced teacher partners in professional development schools.
Journal of Teacher Education, 54(2), 135-149. Empirical action research study
http://jte.sagepub.com
Abstract
This study describes the perspectives of five pairs of preservice teachers and their experienced mentor teachers who engaged collaboratively in planning, implementing, and evaluating action research projects during a semester-long internship experience in their professional development school sites. The views of novice and experienced teachers about the costs and benefits of doing collaborative action research are presented, and the authors elaborate on the development of the mentor/mentee relationship between the preservice and experienced teacher pairs. The authors also offer guidelines for successfully engaging preservice and experienced teachers in collaborative action research.
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Chapter 7: Developing an Action Plan
Burgess, J. (2006).
Participatory action research: First-person perspectives of a graduate student.
Action Research, 4(4), 419-437.
http://arj.sagepub.com
Abstract
This article examines the tensions and challenges of a graduate student maneuvering the institutional hierarchies in her journey of participatory action research (PAR). By using a first-person action research framework, the researcher moves back and forth exploring the prose of others, and revealing her reflexive self inquiry of underlying assumptions and beliefs. Iterations of insider-outsider positionality, drawing on and integrating paradigms, reconciling multiple roles and perspectives, exploring the complexity of power relations, and uncovering the promises and perils of PAR, moves the researcher toward a partnership with her community of inquiry. First-person action research unfolds a process of self-transformation.
Kitchen, J., & Stevens, D. (2008).
Action research in teacher education: Two teacher-educators practice action research as they introduce action research to preservice teachers.
Action Research, 6(1), 7-28. Empirical action research study
http://arj.sagepub.com
Abstract
Two teacher-educators, an instructor and a teaching assistant, designed an action research project focused on enhancing their professional practice and the practice of their students by introducing the preservice teachers to action research. Both teachereducators viewed this decision as progressive and emancipatory, as action research encourages inquiry and reflection, connects theory to practice, and creates links between preservice and in-service teaching. Simultaneously, the teacher-educators integrated preservice curriculae, modeling the enriched teaching and learning that can result from an interdisciplinary approach. Data include preservice teachers' action research proposals, reports and reflections, as well as the teacher-educators' reflections and collaborative conversations. Instructors used self-study methodology to reflect on their effectiveness in enhancing the professional lives of their students and themselves. A significant number of preservice teachers indicated that engaging in action research expanded their conceptions of teaching; such expansion holds potential for fostering change in schools.
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Chapter 8: Sharing and Reflecting
Arnold, D. (1998).
Action research in action: Curricular articulation and i ntegrated instruction.
NASSP Bulletin, 82, 74-78. Empirical action research study
http://bul.sagepub.com
Abstract
Action research can be a potent tool for school improvement and a catalyst for change. Galax High School developed a project on integrated instruction to increase curricular articulation and connections among disciplines in the school, and to decrease the isolation often experienced by teachers.
Koch, T., Mann, S., Kralik, D., & van Loon, A. (2005).
Reflection: Look, think and act cycles in participatory action research.
Journal of Research in Nursing , 10(3), 261-278.
http://jrn.sagepub.com
Abstract
In this paper, four researchers describe reflection as a component of a participatory action research cycle. We draw on our experiences and learning while undertaking three research inquiries. In the first inquiry we listen and respond to the voices of Australian Aboriginal people who live with diabetes and we share an alternate story, where fear is turned into courage, as told by these Elders. The second inquiry involves email communications with women and men who live with a chronic illness and gives a facilitator's reflections. And the third study is a capacity building process with women who have experienced child sexual abuse. These women have used/misused alcohol, licit/illicit substances, or gambling, which has contributed to their homelessness. Confronted by many of life's obstacles, we gain a glimmer of hope as women describe the way in which they use the participatory process to make sense of their lives.
It is argued that reflection occupies a central place is participatory action research cycles of 'look, think and act'. 'Look, think and act' processes are appealing precisely because they are meaningful to research participants in their everyday lives. When these processes are internalised as modus operandi, they can be sustained throughout one's life as a strategy for building capacity or 'moving on'. 'Moving on' or transition is the theoretical focus that holds these inquiries together.
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Chapter 9: Writing Up Action Research
Sankaran, S. (2005).
Notes from the field: Action research conversations.
Action Research, 3(4), 341-352.
http://arj.sagepub.com
Abstract
I had the pleasure of meeting several action researchers across the USA during my sabbatical late last year. The multiple purposes for my visit to the USA were to meet doctoral students doing their research in organizational change and development in Hawaii; interview prominent action researchers in the US about examining action research dissertations; and to have discussions with action researchers on ways to increase conversations among action researchers around the world. I thought it would be good to share some insights from my visit with fellow action researchers as a letter to Action Research.
Sankaran, S., Hase, S., Dick, B., & Davies, A. (2007).
Singing different tunes from the same song sheet: Four perspectives of teaching the doing of action research.
Action Research, 5(3), 293-305.
http://arj.sagepub.com
Abstract
In a move consistent with co-generated learning, this article is co-written by teachers of action research and a former student. Before we present the content and structure of the actual course, we write about the vital issues in teaching action research. We then describe the course and finally hear a former student (himself now supervising doctoral students) on the merits of this particular approach to learning AR as a doctoral student. This article represents the combined experience of the authors in teaching action research together for several years at Southern Cross University in New South Wales, Australia. While involved in the same general activity our focus and experiences have, naturally, been quite different and we have tried to communicate them in this article. Hopefully, our learning will be of some value to the readers. What follows, then, are the thoughts of: Bob, the master action research craftsman and educator; Alan, who sees the bigger picture no matter what he is looking at; Shankar, the implementer and coordinator of projects; and Stewart, who struggles and is at peace with a world full of contradictions.
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