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An Introduction to Action Research
I have lost much of the faith I once had in the consequences of asking only the professional educational researcher to study the schools and to recommend what they should do. Incorporating these recommendations into behavior patterns of practitioners involves some problems that so far have been insoluble … most of the study of what should go and what should be added must be done in thousands of classrooms and American communities. These studies must be undertaken by those who may have to change the way they do things as a result of the studies. Our schools cannot keep up with the life they are supposed to sustain and improve unless teachers, pupils, supervisors, administrators, and school patrons continuously examine what they are doing. Singly or in groups, they must use their imaginations creatively and constructively to identify the practices that must be changed to meet the needs and demands of modern life, courageously try out practices that give better promise and methodically and systemically gather evidence to test their work.
This is the process I call action research. I hold no special brief for the name, but it has some currency and is sufficiently descriptive. It is research that is undertaken by educational practitioners because they believe that by so doing they can make better decisions and engage in better actions.
(Stephen M. Corey, 1953, p. viii)
1 What is Educational Research?
The word “research” is used all the time. It appears in our newspapers. It can be heard spoken on the radio or by a television commentator during a news bulletin. As teachers or prospective teachers, you were or are very much aware from your undergraduate studies that educational research is an integral part of the education process. So when you hear this word used, you undoubtedly conjure up some vision of what this means to you. So what is educational research?
Reflection 1.1
In your own words, give a definition of education research. In a second paragraph, describe your perception of the value of research as it applies to education.
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Many people mistakenly believe that conducting research necessarily involves the use of statistics. This mistaken notion can prohibit the use of action research because teachers often find the idea of employing a complex statistical analysis intimidating, while others make the mistake of believing that research is not valid without a statistical analysis. In actuality, research and statistical analysis are not synonymous. There are quite a few ways to do educational research without using statistics. These approaches to research are not inferior to those requiring statistical analysis nor do they necessarily yield lesser or less certain information. So while statistical analysis is very useful and particularly helpful when dealing with large numbers of research participants or a large quantity of numerical data, it is important to recognize that there are many approaches to doing research, that each has its own particular strengths and limitations, and that each can make its own unique contribution to understanding whatever issue or problem is under study.
Anyone who tries to get better evidence of the success or failure of his teaching or administrative or supervisory activities, and what he does in light of this evidence is conducting a type of action research.
Research methods that utilize statistical analysis and numerical data are classified as quantitative research. Approaches to research that do not involve a statistical analysis and a minimal use of numerical data are classified as qualitative research. In recent decades, qualitative research has gained increasing prominence in the field of educational research. A qualitative approach makes use of interviews, open-ended surveys, observations, and the analysis of teacher and student interactions. It is much more oriented to the use and interpretation of language rather than numbers. A vast number of qualitative studies have shown that qualitative research can enrich our understanding of teaching and learning.
Reflection 1.2 is a brief summary of the differences between quantitative and qualitative approaches to research.
So for those who are new to the research process and feel leery of research due to a dread of statistics, there is hope. First, you can feel reassured that doing research is more than simply using statistics. Second, this self-study guide deals exclusively with action research, which is primarily concerned with qualitative research. The analysis of numbers is minimal and simplified. The statistical concepts used in this book are already familiar to most educators, such as mean, median, and mode.
Reflection 1.2 Differences between quantitative and qualitative research
| Quantitative research: | Qualitative research: |
| is oriented towards numbers | is more oriented towards language |
| has large numbers of participants | has relatively few participants |
| examines a quantity of data | examines less data in more depth |
| is interested in how much and how many relies on statistical analysis | is concerned with specific qualities has analysis varied by context |
| is interested in universal conclusions | draws conclusions specific to a context |
| includes concepts such as random sampling, control groups, and statistical analyses | is often based on individual case studies |
Reflection 1.3
Identify each of the following research projects as either qualitative or quantitative:
| ____________1 | Interview a group of principals about the effects of the No Child Left Behind legislation. |
| ____________2 | Determine the better of two instructional methods by comparing the average test score of two groups of students. |
| ____________3 | Observe school hallways between classes to determine the traffic patterns. |
| ____________4 | Survey students to determine their reading preferences. |
| ____________5 | Analyze trends for standardized achievement tests. |
2 What is Action Research?
Can teachers do research? The answer to this question is a resounding, “You bet we can!” The very act of teaching involves collecting information to improve instruction. While some may not make a conscious effort to do research, all reflective teachers constantly plan new strategies, watch how students respond to them, and then think about how to make further improvements. For example, here is a summary of how a teacher improved his approach to mainstreaming (Fenstermacher, 1994):
Author-educator Geoffrey Mills (2000) identifies action research as “Any systematic inquiry conducted by teacher researchers, principals, school counselors, or other stake - holders in the teaching/learning environment to gather information about how their particular schools operate, how they teach, and how well their students learn.”
[The teacher] responds that he has worked very hard on this feature of his teaching; he states that he is a strong believer in the moral principles that sustain mainstreaming but really did not know how it would work in practice until he tried it. As this teacher continues to address my questions, he sets forth an account of what he does and why he does it. In other words, he provides reasons that make it clear that it was his desire and intention to work with the class in the manner that I observed and that his procedures for doing so are the result of many trial-and-error efforts, readings, talking with teachers, and talking with the students themselves about their perceptions of his teaching. In this example, the teacher is offering good reasons to explain his actions, reasons that, when taken together and arrayed in some coherent order, constitute a justification for the claim that this teacher knows how to promote student engagement in mainstreamed classrooms. (pp. 44–45)
There are two essential aims of all action research: to improve and to involve. Action research aims at improvement in three areas: firstly, the improvement of a practice; secondly, the improvement of the understand ing of the practice by its practitioners; and thirdly, the improvement of the situation in which the practice takes place. Those involved in the practice being considered are to be involved in the action research project in all its phases of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting. As an action research project develops, it is expected that a widening circle of those affected by the practice will become involved in the research process.
(Carr & Kemmis, 1986, p. 165)
This process of experimentation and reflection can be enhanced by action research, which is a type of research that can be used to great effect in school settings. Simply put, action research is undertaken for the purpose of improving student learning by introducing more effective teaching strategies. Action research has been shown to improve student achievement, provide opportunities for professional development, help teachers make their practice more explicit, and serve as a pre-professional activity for preservice teachers (Zeichner & Noffke, 2001).
The purpose of action research is to solve a problem here and now, in a local setting. In contrast, educational research addresses issues that can be applied in a wide variety of educational settings. This fundamental difference in how the two forms of research are conceived leads to other, more practical differences, such as who does the research, where and how it’s done, how it is analyzed, and how it is utilized. For example, educational research may take place inside or outside of schools, while action research almost always takes place in a school setting. Studies in educational research require that researchers be very selective about choosing participants, while teachers are primarily interested in researching the students assigned to them. Educational researchers maintain careful control over what data is collected and when it is collected, while teachers must usually rely on data sources that are commonly available in schools. Educational researchers are more likely to have access to expertise in statistics or research from their colleagues: teachers must base their decisions on less technical analyses of the data.
Reflection 1.4
You have now read a number of definitions and have probably formed an impression of action research. So let’s take a stab at creating your own definition. In the space below, write a working definition for action research. It may change somewhat as you continue with this course of study, but for now it has personal meaning to you.
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3 Creating a Research Persona
To become effective action researchers, teachers need to take on a research persona. More precisely, this means to acquire a set of dispositions and behaviors that are associated with collecting and analyzing data. The research persona needed to conduct action research differs somewhat from a teaching persona. For example, when giving instruction, teachers usually address issues in the classroom in a very holistic way. In rapid succession or even simultaneously, teachers must handle issues related to classroom management, motivation, s...
