Professional changes of primary science teachers: experience on collaborative action research in Thailand

Sirinapa Kijkuakul

doi:10.1186/s41029-019-0030-2

Abstract

This article focuses on impacts of collaborative action research with a spiral process of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting that had been used as a strategy to promote teacher professional development in science education of Thailand. With the school principals’ support, three primary science teachers’ instructional practices are the subject of individual case studies. A range of qualitative methods and data sources including participant observations, individual and collective interviews, teacher and student artifacts were adapted to elicit evidence related to change of teaching practices and perceptions on action research activities. The case study analysis showed that collaborative action research enabled the primary science teachers to change their teaching practices within the classroom conditions. Factors that were identified as important to these changes included: 1) the primary teachers needed school leadership that powerfully attends to their professional development activities; and 2) the teachers needed a university coach to collaboratively reflect and suggest how to teach in the particular subject i.e. science. In the case of a primary teacher who, having no qualifications (i.e., certification-related teacher preparation) in science teaching, additionally needed a community of professional teachers willing to collaboratively reflect on classroom experiences for better inquiry into science teaching practices. As a means to sustain the changes in this educational context, implementing the collaborative action research while providing opportunities for parents to observe and reflect upon teachers’ classroom teaching practices was also found to be important.

Highlights

Collaborative action research has been implemented as a strategy to promote development of teacher professionalism in various school contexts (Jaipal and Figg 2011) and extensively regarded for its potential to improve science educational processes (Hine and Lavery 2014) in many countries, such as the United States of America (Mitchener and Jackson 2012), Australia (Hine and Lavery 2014) and Singapore (Hairon 2017), where schools typically have adequate educational budgets, technology, learning resources and certified teachers
There was surveying the school contexts and science teacher backgrounds, working with teachers to help them understand how to teach science based on the national science curriculum standards, and encouraging all science teacher participants to be confident in the process of action research
In addition to empowerment for change, the primary science teachers needed the school principal to attend their classes to communicate to other stakeholders for adjusting school perceptions about science teaching

Summary

Introduction

Collaborative action research has been implemented as a strategy to promote development of teacher professionalism in various school contexts (Jaipal and Figg 2011) and extensively regarded for its potential to improve science educational processes (Hine and Lavery 2014) in many countries, such as the United States of America (Mitchener and Jackson 2012), Australia (Hine and Lavery 2014) and Singapore (Hairon 2017), where schools typically have adequate educational budgets, technology, learning resources and certified teachers. In Thailand, there is need for effective professional development strategies for reforming science teaching practices at primary school level (2019) 5:1 in rural areas where schools often have a small student population, limited teaching and learning resources, as well as ineffectively trained teachers (Office of Commercial Services 2002). This need has been recognized as a context in which schools can enhance equity and improve the quality of science education. These results provide significant information for school districts and teacher organizations to facilitate professional development in science teaching

Methods

Results

Conclusion