Facilitated Action Research Research Articles

Mode-2 Knowledge Production within Community-Based Sustainability Projects: Applying Textual and Thematic Analytics to Action Research Conversations

Sustainability transition projects (STPs) employ specialist knowledge and learning to lever changes for the communities with which they engage. Research into these forms of organizations often focuses on engagement practices and their relative success or failure to facilitate local transitions toward sustainability. What has attracted comparatively less attention, however, is how STPs develop their own sense of expertise in this role as a broker of Mode-2 knowledge or their own understanding about what it is that they are doing in facilitating community-scale changes. Privileging an emphasis on language-in-use research in organizational theory, this study analyzed the transcriptions of facilitated action research (AR) meetings of a case study STP by applying text mining methods in conjunction with a thematic analysis, the latter exploring insights gained across themes of governance, delivery, networks, challenges, and learning. The findings from these analyses are discussed with reference to how the case study STP staff group construes their work in the domain of sustainability and the generation and acquisition of relevant knowledge and learning in this specialized subsector of community development.

Understanding implementation and feasibility of tobacco cessation in routine primary care in Nepal: a mixed methods study.

BackgroundBy 2030, 80 % of the annual 8.3 million deaths attributable to tobacco will be in low-income countries (LICs). Yet, services to support people to quit tobacco are not part of routine primary care in LICs. This study explored the challenges to implementing a behavioural support (BS) intervention to promote tobacco cessation within primary care in Nepal.MethodsThe study used qualitative and quantitative methods within an action research approach in three primary health care centres (PHCCs) in two districts of Nepal. Before implementation, 21 patient interviews and two focus groups with health workers informed intervention design. Over a 6-month period, two researchers facilitated action research meetings with staff and observed implementation, recording the process and their reflections in diaries. Patients were followed up 3 months after BS to determine tobacco use (verified biochemically) and gain feedback on the intervention. A further five interviews with managers provided reflections on the process. The qualitative analysis used Normalisation Process Theory (NPT) to understand implementation.ResultsOnly 2 % of out-patient appointments identified the patient as a smoker. Qualitative findings highlight patients’ unwillingness to admit their smoking status and limited motivation among health workers to offer the intervention. Patient-centred skills needed for BS were new to staff, who found them challenging particularly with low-literacy patients (skill set workability). Heath workers saw cessation advice and BS as an addition to their existing workload (relational integration). While there was strong policy buy-in, operationalising this through reporting and supervision was limited (contextual integration). Of the 44 patients receiving the intervention, 27 were successfully followed up after 3 months; 37 % of these had quit (verified biochemically).ConclusionsTraditionally, primary health care in LICs has focused on acute care; with increasing recognition of the need for lifestyle change, health workers must develop new skills and relationships with patients. Appropriate and regular recording, reporting, supervision and clear leadership are needed if health workers are to take responsibility for smoking cessation. The consistent implementation of these health system activities is a requirement if cessation services are to be normalised within routine primary care.

The role of the community volunteer in advance care planning

This presentation reports findings about the volunteer's role in an intervention developed through research to establish an accessible and sustainable model of advance care planning (ACP) for older people in...

Waiting for surgery after orthopaedic trauma

Nursing staff on a paediatric surgical ward were concerned about delays experienced by children waiting to go to theatre following orthopaedic trauma, and their families. A facilitated action research approach was used which involved describing the issue, gathering information from a range of sources and introducing changes to the process of care. A flowchart was developed to clarify the stages and the staff involved in admitting a child with orthopaedic trauma for surgery. A white board was introduced to record information on 'trauma' patients. A facilitated action research process offers a flexible and accessible way for staff to develop a range of transferable research and change management skills.

Time off the ward: an action research approach to reducing nursing time spent accompanying children to X-ray

Nursing staff on a busy medical ward were concerned about the amount of time spent off the ward accompanying children to X-ray and for other radiological investigations. They chose this as the focus for an action research project. To improve the process of accompanying a child to X-ray and reduce the amount of time spent off the ward by nursing staff. A facilitated action research approach was used which involved defining the issue, gathering baseline measures, introducing changes in practice and repeating the measures. The changes in practice included telephone negotiation of timings between ward staff and X-ray, the inclusion of X-ray in the orientation programme of new staff and students, and the establishment of a link nurse system. Audits, performed before and after changes in practice, demonstrated that the proportion of time spent in X-ray was halved. Changes in day-to-day practice, implemented at ward level, can have a measurable impact on routine events and in building co-operative relations between departments. The facilitated action research process provided a structure and direction to the process of improving practice whilst providing an opportunity to learn new skills.

Leading change from within: action research to strengthen curriculum leadership in a primary school

Practitioner research lends itself to situations in which a school wishes to examine and improve practice. This is an account of one middle-sized primary school's attempt to understand the nature of and need for a variety of forms of curriculum leadership by engaging in a facilitated action research project. Both theory and current school practice in New Zealand related to school structure and distribution of curriculum leadership were investigated. The senior management team, acting as an action research group, set out to analyse an ill-defined problem and then designed and implemented change strategies that incrementally involved all staff. The outcomes of the project for the school were context specific and immediate and are made public with the intention of offering insights into the research process and results to a wider audience who can consider the transferability of ideas in this account to their own settings. Leading change from within by embarking on action research is a challenge and a commitment for practitioners. Whilst the demands of this project are acknowledged by the practitioners themselves, they also confirm the benefits of a systematic, considered process and the opportunities for team learning implicit in this critical, constructive and collaborative approach to improving management practice.

Being your own role model for improving self‐efficacy: An elementary teacher self‐actualizes through drama‐based science teaching

Abstract: Many teachers in elementary schools lack school science self‐efficacy, largely because of their inexperience with the subject. This frequently leads them to avoid teaching science or to teach it in ways that compromise the development of aspects of students’ scientific literacy. This paper describes how one teacher was able to improve her school science self‐efficacy through facilitated action research. In response to becoming aware of a discrepancy between her school science practices and her fundamental educational beliefs, Lisa developed a drama‐based, integrated science unit that she judged successful in helping students to achieve relevant learning goals. This experience led Lisa and her students to feel much more positive about teaching and learning in school science. Rather than learning from another, however, “Lisa, the science teacher” learned— to a great extent—from “Lisa, the drama‐based educator.” This finding has implications for science‐phobic teachers and for facilitators of their...

Gathering and applying evidence of the impact of UK university libraries on student learning and research: A facilitated action research approach

This paper describes the process model used in the Impact Implementation Initiative and its origins in earlier research and development conducted in further education colleges. The choice of an action research methodology is discussed. The facilitation process undertaken through the first annual cycle of the Initiative programme is described and various lessons learnt are reported. Conclusions are offered on the success of the Initiative so far and on some factors likely to influence success if this model is adopted elsewhere.