Benefits Of Action Research Research Articles

The lived experience of a primary physical education teacher educator engaging in action research: cycling into change

ABSTRACT This paper presents the lived experience of a practitioner researcher working as a teacher educator engaging in action research with primary pre-service teachers (PSTs). Aligning with the work of Cook (2009) [‘The Purpose of Mess in Action Research: Building Rigour Though a Messy Turn.’ Educational Action Research 17 (2): 277–291] this paper aims to make visible the decisions and reflections that occurred during the multiple cycles of action research that were significant in the transformations that occurred throughout the study. We argue that embracing and acknowledging the chaos and messiness of the process is essential to initiating change. Therefore, in making visible the often invisible actions and discomfort experienced this paper hoped to contribute as a catalyst for greater articulation of mess across research. Employing a seven-phase longitudinal action research approach, this paper draws on data from the practitioner researcher’s reflective journal maintained throughout the research and field notes based on participant observation. The challenges, complexities, and benefits of action research are discussed including the impact on the research study and the practitioner researcher’s practice as a teacher educator in primary physical education. Making visible the challenges of being comfortable in the uncomfortable elements of data collection, in accessing the PSTs, and the multiple roles of the researcher throughout the research are discussed.

Learning While Doing: Community-Engaged Action Research With Age-Friendly Community Leaders

Age-Friendly Community Initiatives (AFCIs) are expanding throughout the United States to make social and built environments within local communities more responsive to population aging. With over 450 initiatives affiliated with the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities, Cities, and States (125 of which began in 2019-early 2020), rapid growth on the ground necessitates that theory and research develop alongside practice innovations. This symposium showcases the intersection of cutting-edge scholarship with community-based efforts to generate knowledge of community change processes that is immediately actionable by community leaders. Collectively, these papers emphasize the benefits of action research and developmental evaluation in community gerontology towards building the theories of age-friendly change that will set the stage for outcomes research. The first paper will present on work with 83 AFCIs in rural Maine involving interviews with organizational leaders to inform which types of supports could stimulate age-friendly changes to communities’ built and social environments. The second paper will share a mixed-methods approach used to develop a global toolkit for dementia-friendly communities. The third presenter will describe the collaborative development and utilization of social network analysis to help age-friendly leaders plan their work, while simultaneously advancing research on variation in AFCI implementation. The final paper will present an evaluative framework that identifies roles and outcome measures for collective impact at the intersection of public health and age-friendly communities.

Action Research and Teachers’ Professional Development: Examples and Reflections

Teacher professional development had received a growing interest in the past decades due to their importance in improving teachers' knowledge, skills and values. There are various approaches and types of teachers' professional development. This paper begins by discussing the definition, characteristics and models of teachers’ professional development. Then it outlines some ideas related to teacher professional learning communities (PLCs), communities of practice (CoPs), mentoring and coaching. Next, the paper focuses on action research as one of the widely used approaches in both research and teacher professional development. The potential benefits of action research in building teachers’ professional capacity is presented next. The paper concludes with a discussion about the implications of utilizing action research in the educational development program for school principals in Bahrain Teachers College.

Language teacher action research: achieving sustainability: table 1

Action research (AR) is becoming increasingly popular in ELT contexts as a means of continuous professional development. The positive impacts of AR on language teacher development are well documented, but the important question of how those impacts can be sustained over time is virtually unexplored. Drawing on findings from a study of teachers in Australia, we address the question of the sustainability of the impact of AR. Data from a survey and interviews show that, between one and four years after completing an AR programme, the teachers felt more confident, connected to their students, research-engaged, and recognized by colleagues and managers. We argue that a balance of top-down institutional support and individual teacher motivation is essential in ensuring sustainability of the impact over time. Finally, we suggest how the benefits of AR can be sustained for teachers doing AR and their colleagues.

Raziskovanje lastne prakse kot dejavnik profesionalnega razvoja babic in medicinskih sester

Prispevek predstavlja zna.ilnosti in uporabnost akcijskega raziskovanja lastne prakse kot dejavnika profesionalnega razvoja babic in medicinskih sester. Raziskava temelji na empiri.nem anketnem raziskovalnem pristopu in kvantitativni metodologiji. Podatki so obdelani na ravni deskriptivne statistike, pri .emer je pri ugotavljanju statisti.no zna.ilnih razlik uporabljen preizkus ƒÔ2. Rezultati so pokazali, da ve. kot polovica anketiranih nima izku.enj z raziskovanjem lastne delovne prakse in da jih pri raziskovanju najbolj ovira dejavnik pomanjkanja usposabljanj za razli.ne vrste raziskovanj, v katerih bi re.evali probleme iz lastne delovne prakse. Rezultati, .e posebej pri babicah, so pokazali na pomembnost intenzivnej.ega sodelovanja z delodajalci v izobra.evalnem procesu, pridobivanja izku.enj v delovnem okolju in njihovega vklju.evanja v raziskovalno dejavnost .e med .tudijem. Spoznanja na.e raziskave so prispevala k ve.jemu zavedanju o pomembnosti akcijskega raziskovanja in raziskovalne dejavnosti nasploh v izobra.evalnem procesu in programih, ki izobra.ujejo za poklice v zdravstvu.

Action Research as Professional Development

This article explores the use of theological action research as a mode of professional development in Christian mission or ministry. Drawing on a case study of a cycle of theological action research within a Christian youth work agency in London, the benefits of action research are interpreted through the influence that participation has on theological capital. Theological capital is developed as a construct to indicate the relative agency Christian youth workers experience in fulfilling the intentional Christian ministry they aspire to perform. The case study explores the theological capital required in the challenging contexts and inter-disciplinary settings in which Christian youth work occurs. From this, action research is posited as a method of professional development for those engaged in such roles.

A Self-Study of the Teaching of Action Research in a University Context

Despite the potential benefits of action research, teaching action research in a university setting can present challenges. Analyzing my own experiences of teaching a university-based course on action research, this self-study investigates what my students (all classroom teachers) did and did not understand about action research and what hindered them from understanding action research. Data were collected over four semesters by analyzing my course materials, my teaching notes, students' work, and students' email messages. Analysis of the data produced three themes: (1) the uniqueness of teacher culture; (2) teachers' assumptions about teaching and learning; and (3) the epistemological ambiguity of action research. The article offers suggestions for how teacher educators can help teachers better understand the concept of action research and help them to design and carry out meaningful action research projects.

Action Research in an Undergraduate Teacher Education Program: What Promises Does it Hold?

The benefits of action research for practicing teachers have been widely documented. This survey study examined the beliefs of preservice teachers at 2 levels of their preparation about the benefits of action research for them. Participants were 2 groups of students in the second and final semesters of a 2-year teacher preparation program. Students in the earlier phase were more positive about action research regarding their professional growth and teaching efficacy. Both groups thought that their mentor teachers were not supportive. Our thoughts about the underlying reasons for these results are provided.

Emerging Profiles of Teacher-Mentors as Researchers: Benefits of Shared Inquiry

The authors conducted this collaborative action research project that focuses on three emerging profiles of mentor teachers as researchers in a teacher education program. The three profiles emerged from the experiences mentors had while conducting research concurrently with preservice intern teachers charged to their care. The study revealed three emerging, contextual profiles of mentors engaged in research: 1) the mentor conducting research on mentoring practice; 2) the mentor conducting research on teaching in collaboration with an intern teacher; and 3) the mentor conducting concurrent research on teaching. The study also highlights the benefits of action research for the professional development of both preservice and inservice teachers.