Action Research Framework Research Articles

Spaces & Places: Understanding Sense of Belonging and Cultural Engagement Among Indigenous Youth

Indigenous youth continue to live with a socioeconomic and political legacy of colonization and marginalization, confronted by environments harmful to their psychosocial development. Resource strained communities may compound these experiences and outcomes for many youth. Increasingly, research points to the mitigating effects of resilience for youth exposed to contextual risks. Resilience is however dependent on both personal capacities and the availability of relevant resources within families, schools, and communities. Meaningful connection to community together with cultural continuity are important contributors to resilience. However, without critical examination of the conditions that support such youth engagement, attempts at fostering these connections may be largely unsuccessful. Spaces & Places explored the cultural continuity and civic engagement of Indigenous youth living in three communities of Atlantic Canada. Using an interactive, transactional theory of resilience, we explored how youth interact with community resources, and how these interactions impact connections with their community and culture. Participatory qualitative image-based methods were used to explore the availability of spaces and how they establish a sense of belonging to community and culture for youth. We used video capture of a day-in-the-life of participants with photo elicitation in reflective interviews, within a Participatory Action Research framework. Youth and community partners actively participated in the research process, including data analysis and knowledge mobilisation.

Exploring material circularity opportunities for a construction-SME on small-scale projects in Ireland

In Ireland, there has been a clear connection between construction output and construction and demolition waste production, with estimates of 17.8 million tonnes (Mt) in 2007 dropping to just over 3 Mt in 2014, which has mirrored the dramatic economic growth and subsequent sharp decline over that period. During this time of economy recovery and improving construction output, there is a unique opportunity to decouple this connection and rethink the traditional linear supply chain model to transition the sector towards nurturing resource efficiency and material circularity. This study explored opportunities to embed these principles within a construction-SME business model using an applied action research framework on selected case studies. A series of interventions (procurement protocols, sub-contractor engagement, auditing and benchmarking, source segregation and waste tracking) were piloted on two new-build construction projects ranging in a value from €1.5 to €2.8 million over a two-year period (2016-2018). The research is ongoing but initial results indicate that opportunities do exist in procurement/tendering, pre-construction planning and construction phases to improve resource efficiency practice and introduce material circularity principles into traditional construction-SME supply chain processes.

Learning to Read Authentic Texts in Chinese as a Foreign Language: An Action Research-Based Investigation of a New Approach towards Raising Students’ Awareness of Literary Function Words

AbstractUnderstanding the gist of Chinese authentic functional texts is a particular challenge for advanced beginners not only because of the morpho-syllabic writing system, but also due to the particular literary style. A didactic concept based on Stanovich’s (2000) and Gernsbacher’s (1997) reading models was developed for teaching Chinese as a foreign language at the university level. It is aimed at drawing the students’ attention to highly frequent literary function words in everyday texts, facilitating both the formation of relevant units of meaning and the application of higher-level strategic reading skills. The implementation of this new approach was investigated using the framework of action research. The data were analysed with qualitative methods and the results incorporated into the several teaching cycles. Two quasi-experiments were conducted to elicit individual problem solutions by the students. These data were collected in the form of video recordings of group work and student worksheets. Due to the predictability of specific literary structures, a certain automatisation in processing literary structures could indeed be achieved. Further construction of meaning, however, will have to be achieved through attentive-driven strategies, e.g. targeted dictionary use. It is important to train the students’ executive control mechanisms (e.g. comprehension monitoring), since Chinese can easily lead into a ‘dead end’ due to the absence of word segmentation and a high degree of polysemy.

Renewal of the Teaching-Learning Process in the Bachelor of Sciences of Education UAEH

The Network of Communities for the Renewal of Teaching - Learning in Higher Education (RECREA) began in 2017 in Mexico with a collaboration between public universities and higher normal schools as a strategy to interact with teachers of both institutions to renew jointly their teaching practices in order to achieve better learning outcomes in students. The project supported by the Secretariat of Public Education of Mexico seeks to promote a culture of collaboration among academics for innovation and improvement of their teaching practices. Taking as a theoretical basis the complex thinking, coined by Edgar Morin, the formation of communities and networks of academics oriented to the innovation of the teaching practices, centered in the learning of the students and in the collective construction of knowledge, is fostered. Following a methodological framework of action research, a monitoring and evaluation plan of the teaching-learning process and its results is established, which allows to relate innovations and the use of ICTs with learning outcomes, to subsequently document and analyze teaching innovation experiences. and its results. Working from tasks or projects that reflect real situations and problems with a complex thinking approach, linking the work of the student with the advances, methodologies and results of research in the disciplinary and professional fields and incorporating the use of ICTs as support tools for academic work and for interaction with and among students, it is possible to form communities of academics to design and share experiences on teaching transformation and innovation, documenting the teaching experience based on a research methodology in the action.The paper documents the experiences and first results of the research process in a subject, called “Multicultural Mexico” in the case of a Mexican public university participating in the project and analyzes the active and collaborative participation in a community of teachers for the generation of teaching and learning proposals and methodologies for innovative learning.

Examining the blue line in the rainbow: the interactions and perceptions of law enforcement among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities

ABSTRACT Despite the fact that LGBTQ individuals are at greater risk of victimization than the average citizen, the LGBTQ community’s relationship with law enforcement has been a turbulent one. Using a mixed-methods approach, including surveys, semi-structured interviews and observations of town hall meetings, and following the participatory action research framework, this study examines the interactions between the LGBTQ community and law enforcement, and the perceptions of police within the LGBTQ community. The current study demonstrates how members of the LGBTQ community continue to have negative experiences with police that adversely impact their perceptions of law enforcement. Moreover, the findings underline the importance of examining how multiple identities impact an individual’s experiences with and their perceptions of law enforcement. Expanding past research on this topic, this study offers an analysis based upon suggestions of the study’s participants of what steps must be taken in order to improve relations between these two groups.

A Qualitative Exploration of Post-Migration Family Dynamics and Intergenerational Relationships

Migration can be a very stressful event that post migration involves major changes in family dynamics and intergenerational relationships. With plenty of literature discussing the challenges in these areas, this article focuses on the ways migrants perceive, navigate, and manage changes to their family structure, roles, and relationships. This study in Australia employed a participatory action research framework and qualitative focus groups with 164 migrants from seven ethno-cultural groups and a range of visa pathways. The data were analyzed thematically and revealed two major topics: Changes in Family Structure and Reconstructing Intergenerational Relationships and Roles. While acknowledging the challenges, the results demonstrate migrants’ resilience and ability to manage post-migration changes across generations, genders, and cultures. Notably, the migrants’ lives are characterized not only by a desire for multiculturalism and acculturation but also by the challenges that are related to assimilation and marginalization. This research highlights the important role that migrant and resettlement services can play in supporting families and community-oriented approaches to resettlement support. This may include the implementation of cross-cultural and intergenerational strategies drawn on the strengths of migrant families and their capacity to adapt to new and sometimes hostile environments.

Speaking Activities to Foster Students’ Oral Performance at a Public School

By employing an action research framework, this study was designed to explore the effectiveness of a set of speaking activities centered on a children’s cartoon to improve oral performance in the EFL classroom. The participants were fourth graders of a public school in Colombia, who had low oral performance in spoken English language. The findings suggest that the proposed speaking activities were comprehensible for the students, and appropriate to the students’ proficiency level. Although to maximize learners’ opportunities to speak in the classroom, teachers should design activities that provide chances to talk in English. Thus students will be engaged to participate in the classroom. Also, most of the students were comfortable speaking during the activities since they were familiar with watching cartoons, thus being at ease with certain topics can help students exchange ideas in class. The most important recommendation is to avoid translating instruction into students’ mother tongue for the purpose to familiarize students with the target language.

"In Their Own Voice"-Incorporating Underlying Social Determinants into Aboriginal Health Promotion Programs.

Despite growing acknowledgement of the socially determined nature of health disparities among Aboriginal people, how to respond to this within health promotion programs can be challenging. The legacy of Australia’s assimilation policies have left profound consequences, including social marginalisation, limited educational opportunities, normalisation of premature death, and entrenched trauma. These social determinants, in conjunction with a reluctance to trust authorities, create barriers to accessing healthcare services for the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of chronic disease. The Heart Health program is a culturally sensitive cardiac rehabilitation program run at the local Aboriginal Medical Service in Perth, Western Australia that has since moved beyond cardiac education to provide a holistic approach to chronic disease management. A participatory action research framework was used to explore Heart Health participant and service provider perspectives on the barriers, enablers, and critical success factors to program participation and behaviour change. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts was undertaken, and through yarning (Aboriginal storytelling) sessions, many participants made unprompted reference to the impacts of white settlement, discrimination, and the forced fracturing of Aboriginal families, which have been explored in this paper reiterating the need for a social determinants lens to be taken when planning and implementing Aboriginal health promotion programs.

Transforming self-driven learning using action research

Purpose This purpose of this paper is to use autoethnographic methods to enable an individual to reflect on their learning practices and habits in their professional role in computing and data science. Design/methodology/approach Action reflection cycles with autoethnographic methods are used in this enquiry to examine and transform the self-driven learning in the role of a professional in the context of computing and data science. Data are collected using personal thoughts and emotions in order to determine to what degree the changes that are brought about are improving their learning practice. Findings An incongruity between espoused theory and theory-in-use is identified. In this paper the authors explore how engaging in reflection within the structure of an action research framework can change the learning behaviour of an individual, motivating them to engage more positively and consistently with self-directed learning in their workplace environment. Research limitations/implications Through analysis of reflective journals key aspects of personal and professional life that influences the individual’s approach to the learning tasks is identified. In addition, activity logs are maintained which collect information on the tasks that are undertaken. These activity logs are automatically generated using specific task-tracking software. Double-loop learning (Argyris and Schön, 1974) helps to identify the values that underpin the learning practice. Practical implications By resolving the tension created due to the incongruity of values, the individual has been able to find more motivation for learning and thus become more engaged in the learning process. Social implications Participation in the knowledge economy requires individuals to engage in continuous learning. Organisations that support individuals in continuous learning are best adapted to take advantage of emergent and evolving knowledge and skill requirements. Originality/value This paper examined the behaviour of an individual engaging in self-directed learning and showed how through engagement with reflection and critical self-analysis, he increased his motivation and efficiency for self-directed learning. The authors show how this skill becomes increasingly important in modern knowledge economy workplaces.

The use of TED and YOUTUBE in Extensive Listening Course: Exploring possibilities of autonomy learning

This study explores how extensive listening can utilize internet based-media, namely TED and YouTube. The study also examines the researcher’s reflection on his teaching practice by adopting the participatory action research framework. Participating in this study are EFL freshmen of a state university in Indonesia during the Extensive Listening course. The findings showcase several changes in the teaching-learning circumstances that affect the implementation of in-class activities. The students share that YouTube and TED help them enrich their English vocabulary. Further, they also state that the tasks create a more dynamic and less monotonous learning atmosphere. Overall, the use of YouTube and TED can be designed to be effective instructional media for Extensive Listening tasks.

An educational framework for participatory action learning and action research (PALAR)

The purpose of this article is to provide an educational, theoretical, and methodological framework for using a special kind of action research, namely PALAR (participatory action learning and action research). This integrated methodology of lifelong action learning (AL) and participatory action research (PAR) has been developed over the past 25 years. It has been proven to be an effective approach to individual, professional, organizational, community (and generally practice) development. PALAR can be instrumental in pursuit of social justice and is well suited for both experienced and beginning researchers interested in researching and improving their own practice. The article illustrates with case examples how this framework has been put into practice for various programs in a variety of fields and countries. The PALAR framework is the basis for a generic program design, structure, and content, and for processes of learning, teaching, assessment, evaluation, and leadership development. It is a systemic and systematic program on how to design, justify, conduct, evaluate, write, and publish research that is particularly useful for community or work-based theses at master’s, professional doctorate, and PhD levels. An original feature of this article is its comprehensive overview and summary of the theory and practice of PALAR for the first time, with references to further readings.

Stigma-related access barriers and violence against trans women in the Colombian healthcare system

ABSTRACTDrawing from qualitative research conducted in a participatory action research framework with 28 transgender women in Colombia, this paper presents the stigma-related barriers to healthcare experienced by trans women and their experiences of multi-level violence within the healthcare system. The authors also discuss how advocacy work was conducted as part of the research process and how trans community leaders were involved throughout the project in order to promote policy-relevance and community-based implementation of findings. The paper concludes with a discussion of how the experiences of violence and stigmatisation within the health care system is linked to broader processes of structural stigma reproduced within Colombian society.

Trialing the Community-Based Collaborative Action Research Framework: Supporting Rural Health Through a Community Health Needs Assessment.

To describe the application of the Community-Based Collaborative Action Research (CBCAR) framework to uplift rural community voices while conducting a community health needs assessment (CHNA) by formulating a partnership between a critical access hospital, public health agency, school of nursing, and community members to improve societal health of this rural community. This prospective explorative study used the CBCAR framework in the design, collection, and analysis of the data. The framework phases include: Partnership, dialogue, pattern recognition, dialogue on meaning of pattern, insight into action, and reflecting on evolving pattern. Hospital and public health agency leaders learned how to use the CBCAR framework when conducting a CHNA to meet Affordable Care Act federal requirements. Closing the community engagement gap helped ensure all voices were heard, maximized intellectual capital, synergized efforts, improved communication by establishing trust, aligned resources with initiatives, and diminished power struggles regarding rural health. The CBCAR framework facilitated community engagement and promoted critical dialogue where community voices were heard. A sustainable community-based collaborative was formed. The project increased the critical access hospital's capacity to conduct a CHNA. The collaborative's decision-making capacity was challenged and ultimately strengthened as efforts continue to be made to address rural health.

Culturally-Relevant Online Education Improves Health Workers' Capacity and Intent to Address Cancer.

To address a desire for timely, medically-accurate cancer education in rural Alaska, ten culturally-relevant online learning modules were developed, implemented, and evaluated with, and for, Alaska's Community Health Aides/Practitioners (CHA/Ps). The project was guided by the framework of Community-Based Participatory Action Research, honored Indigenous Ways of Knowing, and was informed by Empowerment Theory. Each learner was invited to complete an end-of-module evaluation survey. The survey asked about changes in intent to share cancer information with patients as a result of the module. In 1year, August 1, 2016-July 31, 2017, 459 surveys were completed by 79 CHA/Ps. CHA/Ps reported that, because of the modules, they felt more knowledgeable about cancer, and more comfortable, confident, and prepared to talk about cancer with their patients, families, and communities. All learners shared that because of the modules, they intended to talk with their patients more often about cancer screenings, tobacco cessation, physical activity, or nutrition. These findings suggest that the application of this collaboratively developed, culturally-relevant, health promotion intervention has supported increased CHA/P capacity and intent to interact with patients about cancer. In the words of a learner: "Doing all these courses makes me a ton times more comfortable in talking about cancer with anyone. I didn't know too much about it at first but now I know a whole lot. Thank you".

Making Rigorous Research Relevant: Innovating Statistical Action Research

This paper proposes a new type of action research—statistical action research (AR)—along with our guidelines on how to conduct it and how to evaluate it. Statistical AR provides a new toolkit for our discipline that strengthens the scholarly community by contributing to the recent discussion regarding the collaborative nature of qualitative and quantitative techniques. The major methodological contribution of statistical AR is the introduction and demonstration of the use of statistical hypothesis testing in action research, where this contribution is the first instance of not only statistical AR, but also positivist action research, in the information systems discipline. Our approach to AR addresses, from a positivist perspective, perceived weaknesses of AR. Statistical AR fits comfortably within the framework of canonical AR, with the only difference being that statistical AR takes a positivist perspective rather than an interpretive one. As conducted in this study, statistical AR applies, tests, and advances knowledge validation theory in a knowledge management system (KMS) context. The major practical contribution is illustrating to practitioners how to integrate different methods in action research. A secondary practical contribution consists of turning around an instance of an ineffective KMS, as experienced by an organization, into one that is effective.

Increasing Healthy Food Availability, Purchasing, and Consumption: Lessons Learned from Implementing a Mobile Grocery.

A mobile grocery (MoGro) was developed through a partnership with community stakeholders, community advisory boards (CABs), Rick and Beth Schnieders, and the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health (JHCAIH). MoGro provided access to subsidized healthy foods, with complementary events, including fitness activities and cooking classes. MoGro is an innovative approach to promoting food security. Within a community-based participatory action research (CPBAR) framework, the JHCAIH and partners designed and administered household surveys at baseline and 3 months after MoGro's launch. A randomly selected 20% of households participated at each timepoint. About 75% of respondents indicated that MoGro had changed the foods they purchased, and 68% reported that MoGro had changed how their families ate. After MoGro's launch, food availability increased significantly and food insecurity decreased. The evaluation documented MoGro's impact in the community; high self-reported positive changes, significant increases in food availability, and decreases in food insecurity.

Truckies and health promotion: using the ANGELO framework to understand the workplace’s role

Purpose Workplaces are challenging environments which place workers at the risk of obesity. This is particularly true for Australian road transport industry workplaces. The Analysis Grid for Environments Linked to Obesity (ANGELO) framework is a public health tool which can be used to conceptualise obesogenic environments. It suggests that workplaces have a variety of roles (in the physical, economic, political and sociocultural domains) in responding to obesity in transport industry workplaces. The purpose of this paper is to present the findings which explore this idea. Design/methodology/approach The project used a mixed-methods approach located within a participatory action research framework, to engage workplace managers and truck drivers in the implementation and evaluation of workplace health promotion strategies. The project involved six transport industry workplaces in Queensland, Australia. Findings This study found that transport industry workplaces perceive themselves to have an important role in addressing the physical, economic, political and sociocultural aspects of obesity, as per the ANGELO framework. However, transport industry employees – specifically, truck drivers – do not perceive workplaces to have a major role in health; rather, they consider health to be an area of personal responsibility. Practical implications Balancing the competing perceptions of truck drivers and workplace managers about the workplace’s role in health promotion is an important consideration for future health promotion activities in this hard-to-reach, at-risk population. Originality/value The use of the ANGELO framework allows the conceptualisation of obesity in a novel workplace context.

Involving University Students in Intercultural Communicative Competence Activities through the Use of Cultural Products and Practices

This document presents the findings of a research study developed with elementary level of English students from Instituto Internacional de Idiomas at Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia. A series of pedagogical interventions were designed, in response to an initial diagnostic, which explored students’ Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) taking as referent Byram’s model (1997). Using the framework of qualitative action research, class activities, reflective journals and focus groups interviews were used to obtain the necessary information in order to reflect upon what students expressed regarding the ICC. The study revealed three categories: cultural recognition, cultural experience and cultural reaction. Moreover, the results indicated that students were in an early stage of their ICC which was fostered through class activities. They understood the purpose and usefulness of the ICC. In addition, they were open and interested in including culture and ICC activities in the EFL classroom.

Customer-Driven Smart and Sustainable Interactions in Conventions: The Case of Nestlé’s Smart Button Adoption

Services based on Internet of Things (IoT) technologies have emerged in various business environments. To enhance service quality at conventions and maximize the experience of attendees, this study developed a customer-driven smart and sustainable service, applying a smart button as an IoT technology. An application of the IoT technology-based smart button was adopted by comparing advantages and disadvantages of technologies. We also identified the need for customer-driven smart and sustainable service by analyzing cases. Then, we designed, constructed and evaluated the service with the action research framework, which includes phases such as diagnosis, action planning, action taking, evaluation, and specify learning. In the first phase, various challenges and problems of the smart convention were diagnosed through interviews with organizers. In the action planning phase, service models were designed to solve the problems. In the action taking phase, which IoT technology would be the most appropriate was discussed and it was applied to the convention space. In the evaluation phase, we derived the role of IoT technology for smart conventions and summarized the results of the smart convention service. Finally, we presented implications for a business.

APPLICATION OF DIRECT INSTRUCTION WITH LABORATORY ACTIVITY TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ PARTICIPATION AND LEARNING ACHIEVEMENT

This research aimed to improve students’ achievement and participation. To achieve the goals, researchers applied direct instruction model with laboratory activity during teaching and learning process. A qualitative methods was applied in this study in a classroom action research (CAR) framework. Subject of this study were 7 grade students of Stanislaus I Surabaya junior high school. The data were collected by test, observations rubric and questionnaires before and after treatment.The classroom action research was completed in two cycles. Based on the statistical analysis, there was a significant improvement in teaching and learning goals before and after treatment. This result affirm that the use of direct instruction model with laboratory activity in science learning process can improve students learning achievement and participation.