CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Action Research

�-------------------
Glee, 2009

"The purpose of action research is to provide

teacher-researchers with a method for solving
everyday problems in schools." (p. 452)
 CHAPTER 17 ACTION RESEARCH 451

LEARNING OUTCOMES TASK9

After reading Chapter 17, you should be able to Develop a plan for an action research study to
do the following: answer a school-based research question. Use the
following steps to create the components of your
17 .:t State a definition and describe the purpose
written plan:
of action research.
17 .2 Identify the key characteristics of action 1. Write an area-of-focus statement.
research. 2. Define the variables.
17 .3 Identify two types of action research. 3. Develop research questions.
I 7 .4 Describe the different levels at which action 4. Describe the intervention or innovation.
research can be conducted. s. Describe the membership of the action
17 .S Describe the steps in the dialectic action research group.
research process. 6. Describe negotiations that need to be undertaken.
1. Develop a time line.
The chapter learning outcomes form the basis for
8. Develop a statement of resources.
the following task.
9. Develop data collection ideas. (see
Performance Criteria, p. 461).

SUMMARY: ACTION RESEARCH

Definition Action research in education is any systematic inquiry conducted by
teachers, principals, school counselors, or other stakeholders in the
teaching-learning environment that involves gathering information
about the ways in which their particular schools operate, the teachers
teach, and the students learn.
Design(s) • Critical action research
• Practical action research
• Individual
• Collaborative, small group
• Schoolwide
Types of appropriate The types of research questions that emerge from your area of focus
research questions should involve teaching and learning and should focus on your
practice and be within your locus of control. The topic should be
something you feel passionate about and something you would like to
change or improve.
Key characteristics • Action research is persuasive, authoritative, relevant, and accessible.
• Action research challenges the intractability of reform of the
educational system and is not a fad.
Steps in the process 1. Identify an area of focus.
2. Collect data.
�- Conduct data analysis and interpretation.
4-. Develop an action plan.
Potential challenges • Generalizability of the research findings
Example How will incorporating more meaningful discussions into my biology
classroom affect my teaching and the ability of students to learn?
452 CHAPTER 17 • ACTION RESEARCH

ACTION RESEARCH: DEFINITION classrooms, ponder the actions and interactions of

students, validate and challenge existing practices,
AND PURPOSE and take risks in the process. When teachers gain
Action research in education is any systematic new understandings about both their own and
inquiry conducted by teachers, principals, school their students' behaviors through action research,
counselors, or other stakeholders in the teaching­ they are empowered to make informed decisions
learning environment that involves gathering infor­ about what to change and what not to change, link
mation about the ways in which their particular prior knowledge to new information, learn from
schools operate, the teachers teach, and the stu­ experience (even failures), and ask questions and
dents learn. This information is gathered with the systematically find answers. 1 Teachers' goals-to
goals of gaining insight, developing reflective prac­ be professional problem solvers who are com­
tice, effecting positive changes in the school envi­ mitted to improving both their own practice and
ronment (and on educational practices in general), student outcomes-provide a powerful reason to
and improving student outcomes and the lives of practice action research.
those involved.
The purpose of action research is to provide My Lab Education Self-Check 17 .1
teacher-researchers with a method for solving
My Lab Education Application Exercise 17.1:
everyday problems in schools so that they may Evaluating Research Articles: Evaluating
improve both student learning and teacher effec­ an Action Research Project Part 1
tiveness. Action research is done by teachers, for
themselves; it is not imposed on them by some­
one else. Action research is largely about develop­
ing the professional disposition of teachers; that is, KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF
encouraging teachers to be continuous learners­ ACTION RESEARCH
in their classrooms and of their practice. In con­
ducting research in their own classrooms and Action research exhibits five key characteristics:
schools, teachers have the opportunity to model It is persuasive and authoritative, relevant, acces­
for students not only the skills needed for effec­ sible, a challenge to the intractability of reform of
tive learning but also curiosity and an excitement the education system, and not a fad.
about gaining new knowledge.
Action research is also about incorporating Action Research Is Persuasive and
into a teacher's daily routine a reflective stance-a Authoritative
willingness to look critically at one's own teach­
ing so that it can be improved or enhanced. For Research done by teachers for teachers involves
example, a high-school teacher confronted with collecting persuasive data. Because teachers are
the challenges of teaching "unmotivated" students invested in the legitimacy of the data collection,
critically reflects on her teaching practices to deter­ they identify data sources that provide persuasive
mine the specific strategies that are most effective insights into the impact of an intervention on stu­
in improving student outcomes. Teaching students dent outcomes. Similarly, the findings of action
who are unmotivated and apathetic can be a dif­ research and the recommended actions are author­
ficult challenge for any teacher to overcome. This itative for teacher-researchers. In doing action
example illustrates the power of action research to research, teacher-researchers develop solutions to
empower the teacher to try different teaching strat­ their own problems. The teachers-not outside
egies and to collect student outcome data (e.g., test "experts"-are the authorities on what works in
scores, student attitudes, and on-task behavior) to their classrooms.
help determine which teaching strategy works best
for the unmotivated students in her classroom.
Action research contributes significantly to the 1
"Teacher as Researcher: A Synonym for Professionalism," by V.
professional stance that teachers adopt because it Fueyo and M.A. Koorland, 1997,journal of Teacher Education,
encourages them to examine the dynamics of their 48, pp. 336-344.
 CHAPTER 17 ACTION RESEARCH 453

Action Research Is Relevant that teachers have little access to research find­
ings·' third' it addresses the concern that, even if
The relevance of research published in journals to teachers were informed of the results of studies,
the real world of teachers is perhaps the most com­ most would be unlikely to change their practices.
mon concern raised by teachers when asked about Herein lay the beauty, power, and potential of
the practical applications of educational research. action research to affect practice positively. Action
Either the problems investigated by researchers researchers challenge their own taken-for-granted
are not the problems teachers really have, or the assumptions about teaching and learning. Research
schools or classrooms in which the research was findings are meaningful to you because you have
conducted are not similar to the teachers' own identified the area of focus. You have been will­
school environments. ing to challenge the conventional craft culture. In
In reviewing two decades of research on short, as an action researcher, your willingness to
schools and teaching, Kennedy cited seminal reflect on and change your thinking about your
works2 to illustrate the relevance of the findings teaching has led you to become a successful and
of these studies-classroom life is characterized by productive member of the professional community.
crowds, power, praise, and uncertainty. By crowds,
she meant that students are always grouped with
20 or 30 others, which means that they must wait Action Research Challenges the
in line, wait to be called on, and wait for help. Intractability of Reform of the
By power, she meant that teachers control most Educational System
actions and events and decide what the group will
In her review, Kennedy suggested that the lack
do. Teachers also give and withhold praise so that of connection between research and practice can
students know which students are favored by the
be attributed to the education system itself, not
teacher. Finally, the presence of 20 to 30 children the research. She noted that the educational sys­
in a single classroom means there are 20 to 30 pos­
tem can be characterized as a system that lacks
sibilities for an interruption in one's work-a lot of agreed-on goals and guiding principles, has no
uncertainty.
central authority to settle disputes, and is continu­
Kennedy further argued that one aim of educa­ ally bombarded with new fads and fancies. Fur­
tional research is to increase certainty by creating
thermore, the system provides limited evidence to
predictability within the classroom. An outcome of support or refute any particular idea, encourages
action research is that it satisfies the desire that reforms that are running at cross-purposes to each
all teachers have to increase the predictability of
other, and gives teachers (in the United States) less
what happens in their classrooms-in particular, time than those in most other countries to develop
to increase the likelihood that a given curriculum,
curricula and daily lessons. Given this character­
instructional strategy, or use of technology will ization ' it is little wonder that the more tilings
positively affect student outcomes. In other words,
change, the more they stay the same! Reform is dif-
the results of action research are relevant to the
ficult to direct or control-it is intractable. Action
work of individual teacher-researchers.
research gives teacher-researchers the opportu­
nity to embrace a problem-solving philosophy and
Action Research Is Accessible practice as an integral part of the culture of their
Action research addresses several key concerns schools and their professional disposition and to
about accessibility. First, it addresses the concern challenge the intractability of educational reform
that educational research does not affect teaching by making action research part of the system.
because it does not address teachers' prior beliefs
and values; second, it addresses the concern Action Research Is Not a Fad
2
M. M. Kennedy, 1997, Educational Researcher, 26(7), pp. 4-12;
Action research is decidedly not a fad for one
the seminal works include Life in Classrooms, by P. \V. Jackson, simple reason: Good teachers have always looked
1968, New York: Holt, Rinehart & \Vinston; Schoolteacber: A systematically at the effects of their teaching on
Sociological Study, by D. C. Lortie, 1975, Chicago, IL: University
of Chicago Press.
student learning. They may not have called this
454 CHAPTER 17 • ACTION RESEARCH

. . .
I;,TABLE·i17.1 , • Components of, a critical;perspective'ofaction·research·,

Key Concept Example

Action research is participatory and You have identified an area in your teaching that you believe can be improved
democratic. (based on data from your students). You decide to investigate the impact of your
intervention and to monitor if it makes a difference.

Action research is socially You are concerned that minority children (for example, English as a Second
responsive and takes place in Language [ESL) students) in your classroom are not being presented with
context. curriculum and teaching strategies that are culturally sensitive. You decide to
learn more about how best to teach ESL children and to implement some of
these strategies.

Action research helps teacher­ You have adopted a new mathematics problem-solving curriculum and decide
researchers examine the everyday, to monitor its impact on student performance on open-ended problem-solving
taken-for-granted ways in which questions and students' attitudes toward mathematics in general.
they carry out professional practice.

Knowledge gained through action Your school has a high incidence of student absenteeism in spite of a newly
research can liberate students, adopted districtwide policy on absenteeism. You investigate the perceptions
teachers, and administrators and of colleagues, children, and parents toward absenteeism to understand more
enhance learning, teaching, and fully why the existing policy is not having the desired outcome. Based on what
policy making. you learn, you implement a new policy and systematically monitor its impact on
absenteeism levels and students' attitudes toward school.

Source: Mills, Geoffrey, Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 6th Edition,© 2018, p. 8. Reprinted by permission of Pearson
Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ.

practice action research, and they may not have certainly be both. Table 17.1 shows a summary of
thought their reflection was formal enough to be the most important components of critical action
labeled research, but it was action research! research.
The values of critical action research dictate
Mylab Education Self-Check 17.2
that all educational research not only should be
socially responsive but also should exhibit the fol­
Mylab Education Application Exercise 17.2: lowing characteristics: 3
Evaluating Research Articles: Evaluating an
Action Research Project Part 2 1. It is democratic, enabling the participation of
all people.
2. It is equitable, acknowledging people's
TYPES OF ACTION RESEARCH equality of worth.
3. It is liberating, providing freedom from
The two main types of action research are criti­ oppressive, debilitating conditions.
cal (or theory-based) action research and practical 4. It is life enhancing, enabling the expression
action research. of people's full human potential.
Although this critical theory-based approach has
Critical Action Research been challenged for lack of practical feasibility,4
it is nonetheless important to consider because it
In critical action research, the goal is liberating
provides a helpful heuristic, or problem-solving
individuals through knowledge gathering; for this
approach, for teachers who are committed to
reason, it is also known as emancipatory action
research. Critical action research is so named
3 Action Research (3rd ed, p. 11), by E.T. Stringer, 2007, Thou­
because it is based on a body of critical theory,
sand Oaks, CA: Sage. [Italics in original.]
not because this type of action research is critical, 4
"On the Teacher as Researcher," by M. Hammersley, 1993,
as in faultfinding or important, although it may Educational Action Research, 1, pp. 425-441.
 CHAPTER 17 ACTION RESEARCH 455

TABLE 17 .2. • Components ofa· practical.perspective ofaction research

Key Concept Example

Teacher-researchers Your school has adopted a school-based decision-making approach that provides teachers
have decision-making with the authority to make decisions that have the most direct impact on teaching and
authority. learning. Given this decision-making authority, you decide, as part of your continued
professional development, to investigate the effectiveness of a newly adopted science
curriculum on students' process skills and attitudes.

Teacher-researchers Based on the results of statewide assessment tests and classroom observations, the
are committed to teachers and principal at your school determine that reading comprehension skills are weak.
continued professional Collaboratively, staff members determine the focus for a school improvement effort and
development and school identify the necessary professional development that will be offered to change the ways
improvement. teachers teach reading.

Teacher-researchers You are a successful classroom teacher who regularly reflects on your daily teaching and
want to reflect on their what areas could be improved. You believe that part of being a professional teacher is the
practices. willingness to examine your teaching effectiveness continually.

Teacher-researchers use Given a schoolwide reading comprehension focus, you have decided to monitor the
a systematic approach effectiveness of a new reading curriculum and teaching strategies by video-recording a
for reflecting on their reading lesson (once per month), administering reading comprehension "probes" (once per
practice. week), interviewing children in your classroom (once per term), and administering statewide
assessment tests (at the end of the school year).

Teacher-researchers To continue the example above, you have focused on the effectiveness of a new reading
choose an area of curriculum and teaching strategies. You have decided to collect data using video-recordings
focus, determine data of lessons, regular interviews ("probes"), and statewide assessment tests. During the year,
collection techniques, you try to interpret the data you are collecting and decide what these data suggest about
analyze and interpret the effectiveness of the new curriculum and teaching strategies. When all of the data have
data, and develop action been collected and analyzed, you decide what action needs to be taken to refine, improve,
plans. and maintain the reading comprehension curriculum and teaching strategies.

Source: Mills, Geoffrey, Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 6th Edition,© 2018, p. 9. Reprinted by permission of Pearson
Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ.

investigate through action research the taken-for­ focus, determine their data collection techniques,
granted relationships and practices in their profes­ analyze and interpret the data, and develop action
sional lives. plans based on their findings. These beliefs are
summarized in Table 17 .2.
Practical Action Research
Compared to critical action research, practi­ Mylab Education Self-Check 17.3
cal action research emphasizes more of a how­ My Lab Education Application Exercise 17.3:
to approach to the processes of action research Explaining the Types of Action Research
and has a less philosophical bent. An underlying
assumption is that, to some degree, individual
teachers or teams of teachers are autonomous and
can determine the nature of the investigation to be LEVELS OF ACTION RESEARCH
undertaken. Other assumptions are that teacher­
researchers are committed to continued profes­ Educational action research can be undertaken at
sional development and school improvement and three levels: the single school or department level,
that they want to reflect on their practices sys­ in which small teacher groups or teams conduct
tematically. Finally, the practical action research the research; the schoolwide level; or the indi­
perspective assumes that, as decision makers, vidual teacher level. It is important to note that
teacher-researchers choose their own areas of teachers rarely carry out action research involving
456 CHAPTER 17 • ACTION RESEARCH

multiple schools because of the organiza­

FIGURE 17 .1 • The dialectic action research spiral
tional complexity and the uniqueness of the
many settings or schools.
It is likely that in a single school, action Identify an
research is carried out by groups of teachers, Area of Focus
all of whom seek to understand and improve
a common issue, rather than by an individual
teacher. For example, a group of high-school
math teachers may work together to imple­ Develop an
Collect Data
ment a promising hands-on math strategy Action Plan
for students who are lagging in math perfor­
mance and then determine its impact on stu­
dent math performance. At the school level,
it is more common and interesting for teach­ Analyze and
ers to focus their action research in their own Interpret Data
disciplines, although some teachers collabo-
rate across subject areas, and shared goals are
surely voiced by teachers in diverse content Source: Mills, Geoffrey, Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher,
6th Edition,© 2018, p. 19. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education, Inc.,
areas. For example, elementary-school teach­ Upper Saddle River, NJ.
ers may form a small group and design a study
to answer questions about varied strategies such as study. Individual teacher action research can be
inclusion of special education students, inquiry­ a useful tool for solving educational problems in
based learning, or literary clubs, which cross con­ one's own setting.
tent area and grade lines. Other teachers may be
involved in collaborative or participatory research Mylab Education Self-Check 17.4
by working with university-based researchers in
their classrooms. For example, teachers may study
their own research questions along with similar or
related questions that the university researcher has. THE ACTION RESEARCH
In schoolwide action research, the major­ PROCESS
ity of the school community identifies a problem
and conducts research together with a common, The basic steps in the action research process are
focused goal in mind. For example, a schoolwide identifying an area of focus, data collection, data
emphasis on reading is a common goal of many analysis and interpretation, and action planning.
elementary schools. As another example, coun­ This four-step process has been termed the dia­
selors, teachers, and administrators may band lectic action research spiral5 and is illustrated in
together in a middle school and try strategies to Figure 17.1. It provides teacher-researchers with
integrate cliques or other groups of students to a practical guide and illustrates how to proceed
create a more cooperative environment. with inquiries. It is a model for research done
Although a group of teachers working together by teachers and for teachers and students, not
is more common, individual teachers can conduct research done on them, and as such is a dynamic
action research to improve their understanding and responsive model that can be adapted to dif­
and practice in their own classrooms. Quite often, ferent contexts and purposes. It was designed to
individual teachers seek to study aspects of their provide teacher-researchers with "provocative and
classrooms that are unique to them and to their constructive ways"6 of thinking about their work.
students. For example, a teacher may gather infor­
mation by observing students to understand their
interests or behaviors in a particular subject area. 5 Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher (6th ed.),
Alternatively, the teacher may select or construct by G. E. Mills, 2018, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice
Hall.
simple instruments or tests to collect student infor­ 6 Kwakiutl Village and School (p. 137), by H. F. \Volcon, 1989.
mation pertaining to the issue or problem under Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.
 CHAPTER 17 ACTION RESEARCH 457

Action research techniques can be viewed in ■ In my reading of the subject, I have been
terms of the dialectic action research spiral. In this influenced by Van de Walle's8 theory
section, we discuss specific action research tech­ about teaching and learning mathematics
niques related to this model. developmentally. In particular, the goal of
mathematics is relational understanding, which
Identifying an Area of Focus is the connection between conceptual and
procedural knowledge in mathematics. This
Finding an area of focus can be hard work for theory of mathematics directly affects the ways
teacher-researchers who, confronted with many I think about teaching mathematics to my
problems in their classrooms and schools, are children.
not sure which one to choose. It is critical in the ■ I hold the educational value that children ought
early stages of the action research process that to be able to transfer problem-solving skills
the researcher take time to identify a meaningful, to other areas of mathematics as well as to
engaging question or problem to investigate. One life outside school. That is, I am committed to
technique that can help in identifying an area of relevancy of curricula.
focus is to ensure that four criteria are satisfied: ■ I believe that mathematical problem solving,
(1) the area of focus should involve teaching and and problem solving in general, fits the larger
learning and should focus on your own practice, context of schooling and society by providing
(2) the area of focus is something within your children with critical lifelong learning skills that
locus of control, (3) the area of focus is something can be transferred to all aspects of their lives.
you feel passionate about, and (4) the area of focus ■ The historical context of mathematics teaching
is something you would like to change or improve. suggests a rote method of memorizing facts
The next important step in the action research and algorithms. Although this approach to
process is reconnaissance, or preliminary infor­ teaching mathematics worked for me (as a child
mation gathering. More specifically, reconnais­ and young teacher), it no longer suffices as a
sance is taking time to reflect on your own beliefs teaching method today.
and to understand the nature and context of ■ The historical context of how I came to believe
your general idea. Doing reconnaissance involves in the importance of changing how I teach
gaining insight into your area of focus through mathematics to children has grown out of my
self-reflection, descriptive activities, and explana­ own frustration with knowing what to do to
tory activities. solve a problem but not knowing why I need to
use a particular approach or algorithm.
Gaining Insight through Self-Reflection ■ Given this self-reflection on an area of focus
You can begin reconnaissance by exploring your related to the integration and transfer of
own understandings of the theories that affect your problem-solving skills in mathematics, I can
practice, the educational values you hold, how now better understand the problem before
your work in schools fits into the larger context I implement an intervention that addresses
of schooling and society, the historical contexts of my concern for how best to teach a relevant
your school and schooling and how things got to problem-solving curriculum.
be the way they are, and the historical contexts of
how you came to believe what you believe about Gaining Insight through Descriptive
teaching and learning.7 For example, suppose that
Activities
your general idea for your action research inquiry
is the question "How can I improve the integra­ To continue in the reconnaissance process, you
tion and transfer of problem-solving skills in math­ should try to describe as fully as possible the situa­
ematics?" Your exploration and self-reflection may tion you want to change or improve by focusing on
include the following observations: who, what, where, and when. Grappling with these

7 The Action Research Reader(3rd ed.), by S. Kemmis and R.

8
McTaggart (Eds.), 1988, Geelong, Victoria, Australia: Deakin Elementary School Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally,
University Press. by J. A. Van de Walle, 1994, New York: Longman.
458 CHAPTER 17 • ACTION RESEARCH

questions to clarify the focus area for your action Data Collection, Analysis, and
research efforts keeps you from moving ahead with
Interpretation
an investigation that was too murky at the start. For
example, in this stage, you may ask yourself a series The type of data collected for an action research
of questions, such as "What evidence do I have that study is largely determined by the nature of the
this (the problem-solving skills of math students) is problem. A teacher-researcher must determine how
a problem?" "Which students are not able to trans­ the data will contribute to the understanding and
fer problem-solving skills to other mathematics resolution of a given problem. Hence, data collec­
tasks?" "How is problem solving presently taught?" tion during action research is often idiosyncratic,
"How often is problem solving taught?" "What is fueled by the desire to understand one's practice
the ratio of time spent teaching problem solving to and to collect data that are appropriate and acces­
time spent teaching other mathematics skills?'' The sible. Therefore, data collection strategies (and
answers you develop provide a framework for the hence research design) are chosen on the basis of
research. the type of research problem confronted by the
action researcher. No single method is better (or
worse) than another; it is chosen on the basis of
Gaining Insight through Explanatory
the research questions.
Activities The literature on action research supports the
After you've adequately described the situation assertion that qualitative data collection methods
you intend to investigate, you can try to explain it. are more often applied to action research prob­
Focus on tl1e why. Can you account for the critical lems than are quantitative methods and designs. In
factors that have an impact on the general idea? In part, this choice can be attributed to the fact that
essence, in this step you develop hypotheses about teachers and administrators do not routinely assign
the expected relations among variables in your children to an experimental group that receives
study. For example, you may hypotl1esize that stu­ a treatment or to a control group that does not.
dents are struggling with the transfer of problem­ However, action researchers do not-and should
solving skills to other mathematics tasks because not-avoid numerical data. Clearly, many quantita­
they are not getting enough practice, because they tive data sources are readily available for collection
lack fundamental basic math skills, or because by teacher-researchers. For example, standardized
the use of math manipulatives has been missing test scores are increasingly important to justify
or they have not been used to their full potential. state and federal funding for academic programs.
Given these possible explanations for why children For the most part, numerical data collected
have not been transferring problem-solving skills to as part of an action research study are appropri­
other areas of mathematics successfully, you may ately summarized with descriptive statistics, such
further hypothesize that the use of a mathematics as measures of central tendency (i.e., mean, mode,
curriculum that emphasizes the children's knowl­ median) and variability (e.g., standard deviation).
edge of what to do and why to do it is related Our advice here is simple: Count what counts! If
to children's abilities to transfer problem-solving it makes sense to tally and count events, catego­
skills; you may further hypothesize that the use of ries, occurrences, or test scores, use an appro­
a mathematics curriculum that emphasizes the use priate descriptive statistic. However, do not feel
of manipulatives to help children create meaning compelled to include elaborate statistical measures
is related to children's abilities to transfer problem­ simply to add a perceived sense of rigor or cred­
solving skills. ibility to your inquiry.
Reconnaissance activities such as self­
reflection, description, and explanation help
Action Planning
teacher-researchers to clarify what they already
know about the proposed focus of the study; what One of the final tasks in action research is for the
they believe to be tn1e about the relations among researcher to share the findings with others, in
the factors, variables, and contexts that make up both formal and informal settings. For example,
their work environments; and what they believe results can be shared with other teachers, both in
can improve the situation. the researcher's school or in other schools, and
 CHAPTER 17 ACTION RESEARCH 459

results may be presented verbally-in formal pre­ instruction, procedures, and outcomes of education
sentations and informal conversations-or in writ­ or to aid teacher understanding of instruction and
ten reports. Writing can lead to further analysis, applications. Often, action research leads to new
improved interpretation, and deeper understand­ questions to examine, thus forging new forms of
ing of the problem-as well as suggestions for understanding and deeper insights in practice. The
how to act on the findings. Writing also creates a practical natu.re of action research fosters much of
permanent record of the research that others may the teacher-based improvement in schools.
use. Other teachers, administrators, researchers,
and current or potential investors in the program
may be in a position to benefit from the results.
As the name suggests, action research is Mylab Education Self-Check 17.5
action-oriented, and it is directed toward both Mylab Education Application Exercise 17.4:
understanding and improving practice. Thus, the Evaluating Research Articles: Identifying
last step in the research process is deciding what Steps in the Action Research Project
steps, if any, need to be taken to alter or improve
Mylab Education Application Exercise 17.5:
practice. For example, study results can be used
Planning an Action Research Study
in the classroom, school, or district to improve
460 CHAPTER 17 • ACTION RESEARCH

SUMMARY

ACTION RESEARCH: DEFINITION AND autonomous and can determine the nature of
PURPOSE the investigation to be undertaken.

1. Action research in education is any systematic LEVELS OF ACTION RESEARCH

inquiry conducted by teacher-researchers,
8. Education action research can be undertaken
principals, school counselors, or other
at three levels: the individual teacher level,
stakeholders in the teaching-learning
the single school or department level, or the
environment that involves gathering information
schoolwide level.
about the ways in which their particular schools
operate, the teachers teach, and the students THE ACTION RESEARCH PROCESS
learn.
2. The purpose of action research is to provide 9. The action research process includes identify­
teacher-researchers with a method for solving ing an area of focus, data collection, data anal­
everyday problems in schools so that they ysis and interpretation, and action planning.
may improve both student learning and These four steps form a process known as the
teacher effectiveness. dialectic action research spiral.
3. Action research is research done by teachers, 10. The area of focus for action research should
for themselves; it is not imposed on them by involve teaching and learning, focus on your
someone else. practice, and be within your locus of control. It
should be something you feel passionate about and
KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF ACTION something you would like to change or improve.
RESEARCH 11. Insight into an area of focus can be gained
through self-reflection, descriptive activities,
4. Action research is persuasive, authoritative, and explanatory activities.
relevant, and accessible. 12. Data collection techniques used in action
S. Action research challenges the intractability of research depend on the area of focus.
reform of the educational system and is not a 13. Qualitative data collection techniques are
fad. more often applied to action research
problems than are quantitative methods and
TYPES OF ACTION RESEARCH designs. Teachers do not routinely assign
children on a random basis to an experimental
6. Critical action research is based on a body
group that receives a treatment or to a control
of critical theory and has a goal of liberating
group that does not.
individuals through knowledge gathering. It is
14. Action research is action-oriented. Action
also known as emancipatory action research.
researchers follow through with their action
7. Practical action research emphasizes a
plans to ensure that lessons learned are
how-to approach to the processes of action
implemented in the classroom or school setting.
research. An assumption is that teachers are