1. Chapter 20 Action Research Gay, Mills, and Airasian
Educational Research
Chapter 20
Action Research
Gay, Mills, and Airasian

2. Topics Discussed in this Chapter
The definition and purpose of action research
The action research process
The four steps in conducting action research
Key characteristics of action research
Action research data collection techniques

3. Definition and Purpose
Any systematic inquiry conducted by teacher researchers, principals, school counselors, or other stakeholders in the teaching/learning environment to gather information about the ways that their particular schools operate, how they teach, and how their students learn.
Objective 1.1

4. Definition and Purpose
Three purposes
To provide teacher researchers with a method for solving everyday problems in schools to improve both student learning and teacher effectiveness
To develop the professional disposition of teachers
Encourage teachers to be life-long learners
To incorporate into a teacher’s daily routine a reflective stance
The willingness to look critically at teaching so it can be improved
Objective 2.1

5. The Action Research Process
The Dialectic Action Research Spiral
A model that provides teacher researchers with a practical guide and illustrates how to proceed with inquiries.
Four steps
Identifying an area of focus
Data collection
Data analysis and interpretation
Action Planning
See Figure 20.1
Objectives 3.1 and 4.1

6. Key Characteristics of Action Research
Two types of action research
Critical action research
Known as emancipatory action research
The goal is to liberate individuals through the gathering of knowledge
Five guiding values
Socially responsive
Democratic – enabling participation of people
Equitable – acknowledging people’s equality of worth
Liberating – providing freedom from oppressive debilitating conditions
Enhancing – enabling the expression of people’s full human potential
Objective 5.1

7. Key Characteristics of Action Research
Two types of action research (cont.)
Practical action research
Five key concepts
Individual teachers have decision-making authority
Teacher researchers are committed to continued professional development and school improvement
Teacher researchers want to reflect on their practice
Teacher researchers will use a systematic approach for reflecting on their practice
Teacher researchers follow the Dialectic Action Research Spiral
More applied and less philosophical than critical action research
Objective 5.1

8. Key Characteristics of Action Research
Three levels
Individual teacher research
Small teacher groups or teams in a single school
Departments
Common content areas
School-wide research
Objective 5.2

9. Key Characteristics of Action Research
Five characteristics
Persuasive and authoritative
Teachers develop solutions to their own problems
Relevant
The focus is on issues of concern to teachers, not educational researchers
Accessible
Teachers’ willingness to reflect on and change their thinking about teaching leads them to become more successful and productive members of the professional community
Objective 5.3

10. Key Characteristics of Action Research
Five characteristics (continued)
Challenges the reform of the educational system
Offers an opportunity to embrace a problem- solving philosophy and practice as an integral part of the culture of teachers’ schools
Not a fad
Good teachers have always systematically looked at the effects of their teaching on student learning
Objective 5.3

11. Action Research Techniques
Take time to identify a meaningful, engaging problem
Four criteria
The focus should involve teaching and learning and should be related to the teacher’s own practice
The focus is something within the teacher’s locus of control
The focus is something about which the teacher feels passionate
The focus is something the teacher would like to change or improve
Objective 6.1

12. Action Research Techniques
Data collection
Reconnaissance
Generally thought of as preliminary data gathering
Reflecting on your own beliefs
Understanding the nature and context of your general idea
Objective 6.1

13. Action Research Techniques
Reconnaissance (continued)
Three forms
Gaining insight through self-reflection
Theories that impact your practice
Your educational values
How your work fits into the larger context of schooling and society
Historical contexts of your school and schooling
Historical contexts of your beliefs about teaching and learning
Objective 6.1

14. Action Research Techniques
Reconnaissance (continued)
Three forms (continued)
Gaining insight through descriptive activities
Focusing on who, what, when, and where
Provide evidence that your problem is, in fact, a problem
Identify students who are struggling with tasks related to your problem
Identify current methods for dealing with your problem
Identify the frequency with which your problem arises
Objective 6.1

15. Action Research Techniques
Reconnaissance (continued)
Three forms (continued)
Gaining insight through explanatory activities
Focus on why
Account for critical factors that have an impact on your problem
Develop a hypothesis stating the expected relationships between variables in your study
Clarifies what the teacher believes about the relationships of factors, variables, and contexts that make up their work
Identifies what the teacher believes can improve the situation
Objective 6.1

16. Action Research Techniques
Data collection
Largely determined by the nature of the problem
Idiosyncratic based on the teacher, problem, context, and accessibility
Dominated by qualitative techniques
If quantitative data is collected it tends to remain on a descriptive level
Objective 6.1

17. Action Research Techniques
Sharing the results
Communicating the results to others in formal and informal settings
Several commonly used forms
Conversations
Presentations
Papers
Can lead to further analysis and understanding
Creates a permanent record of the research
Objective 6.1

18. Action Research Techniques
Taking action
Deciding what steps need to be taken and how to take them in order to alter or improve practice
This is the action in action research
Objective 6.1