THE ACCELERATED SCHOOLS INQUIRY PROCESS: TEACHER EMPOWERMENT THROUGH ACTION RESEARCH Jane McCarmiy anp Pinuur Raver Education University of Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada 89154-3005 “The Accelerated Schools Project is an attempt to restructure schools with high concentrations of students in at-risk situations by utilizing school site decision-making guided by action research. The Project deliheratc- ly involves teachers in research and decision making process by engaging the cotire school community in specific dala-gathering sctivi- tics and vision-building efforts. By engaging in this process. teachers build a sense of community anc empowerment. Atthe heart of the Acce!- ‘erated Schools Process is collaborative inquiry which is used to identily challenge arcas and potentially efficient and effective solutions. Inquiry provides accelerated schools with a systematic process for decision- ‘making, The process is data-driven and ongoing and guides all decisions made in the school Introduction Parents and teachers reached an easy con- sensus: school discipline needed improvement. ‘The school’s teachers and parents had formed several sub-groups, or cadres, to examine this and other identified areas of concern. The “dis- cipline cadre” agreed that discipline problems ‘were rampant in the school and that some dras- ticaction needed to be taken. The facilitator of the group had to remind the participants of their charge: to gather information about existing conditions, not to throw solutions at perceived problems. The group went about this task reluc- tantly, “We already know what the problems are. Why can't we just work on solutions?” However, they divided up the fact-finding tasks and agreed to meet back the following week. At this meeting, two teachers reported that they had looked at discipline referral records in the office and that there were over three hun- dred referrals to the office for first semester alone. All agreed that this information vali- dated the initial impression that things were ‘out of control. Others reported on a survey they had administered to all teachers. Results showed that while teachers thought that other teachers had problems with discipline, they themselves felt that their classrooms were well managed. Still another survey administered 10 Parents reported that parents thought discipline was satisfactory at the school and that their children and they knew and supported the school rules. The data pieces didn’t fit, After much discussion, someone suggested that the teachers go back to the schoo! records and find out how many students had actually heen referred to the office first semester and how often they had been referred, ‘The following week, the new information ‘was reported - slightly over thirty children accounted for more than 80% of all discipline referrals. This information created quite a stit. ‘Someone suggested, “Why don't we go back and look at which teachers are referring stu- dents to the office? Maybe we will see a pattem emerging here as well.” ‘The teachers and parents in this school were participants in the Accelerated Schools Project and were engaging in an inquiry process called “taking stock,” a form of action research designed to empower members of the school ‘community to gather data about the school and use it to make collaborative decisions for change. This asticle will describe the inquiry 2232241 Education Vol. 117 No. 2 process and how it is being implemented ia one Accelerated Schools Satellite Center at the University of Nevada-las Vegas. Overview of the Accelerated Schools Project ‘The Accelerated Schools Project is a com- prehensive approach to school change designed to improve schooling for students in at-risk sit- uations so that they may enter the educational mainstream, Accelerated schools are designed to structure schools which build on the strengths of all children and to accelerate their learning by making changes in curriculum, instruction and organization which will facilitate academic and social progress. (For a more complete description of the Accelerated Schools Process, sce Levin, 1986, 1987, 1988 a, b & c, and Hoptenberg, Levin, Meister, & Rogers, 1990, Hopfenberg, Levin, & Associates, 1993.) Collaborative Action Research Collaborative action research has come to be viewed as a too! for staff development and an opportunity for teachers and university researchers to work together to investigate and solve schoo! and classroom challenges (Licber~ man, 1986). Finnan (1992) states that interventions can succeed if they are designed to belp members of the school community (cul- ture) make the changes they have identified as important, Sirouik & Clark (1988) also believe that schools must become centers of inquiry where the personal nature of knowledge is rec- ognized and practitioners are actively engaged in the process, Oakes, Hare & Sirotnik (1986) ddscuss the nature of collaboration between uni- versity and school as a vehicle which has the power to change the nature of research and devel- ‘opment based on the input of the practitioner, (For a current review of the research on collab- orative research efforts, see Henson, 1996.) ‘University and school collaborative action research within the Accelerated Schools Pro- ject is an exciting parmership which enables members of school communities to build on their strengths as they gather data designed to help them make informed decisions about school change. Action plans, facilitated by uni- versity coaches, but developed by the school sites form the interventions designed to enhance school functioning. Following a mode! similar to that developed by Oja and Srnulyan (1989), participants work together on commonly defined goals and utilize research findings 10 move schools closer to these goals by improv ing practice. Time is taken to develop relationships of trust and norms of working together as colleagues. ‘The Accelerated Schools Process attempts to develop a culture of inguiry which impacts the way all issues are framed and treated. Schools become centers of inquiry in which practice is constantly being evaluated and a professional learning culture is developed in which reflection is the nom, ‘Taking Stock As Collaborative Action Research ‘The Accelerated Schools Process deliber- ately involves teachers actively in research and decision making processes early on by allo- cating time and resources to teachers for feflection on current practice and its effects, During the “taking-stock” process teach- ers avoid “jumping to solutions” but instead decide what kind of information they need t0 have about the entire schoo! community and its operation before they make decisions about what needs to be changed. They brainstorm ideas and then categorize them. Task forces are formed to gather data about each area. As a result, teachers become partners in inguiry and reflection. They begin to work together col- laboratively and share responsibilities. Teachers must gain a clear picture of the school and all its facets during this process. Concurrently, they must build a precarious consensus com- ‘posed of a shared vision and mission statement for the school.Resolving the inevitable “rhetoric-reality’ ap comprises the next stage of development. Areas of discrepancy are identified and prior- ities for action are selected. Teachers examine data and draw tentative inferences. University facilitators may help with the statistical analy- ses, but the conclusions drawn belong to the school community. This process is tedious and is often cathartic as teachers either confirm or disconfirm their previous perceptions. ‘The taking stock process is designed to accomplish several goals: ‘building unity of purpose ‘+ empowering members of the school com- munity “building on the strengths of the members of the school community + collecting meaningful baseline data, Building unity of purpose is accamplished by a second round of action research by involving all school participants in the data gathering and analysis process in specific investigations. Teach- ers, administrators, staff, and parents join together for the purpose of creating a rich picture of the existing school and community situation. ‘The Inquiry Process Collaborative inquiry provides accelerated schools with a systematic process for decision- making. This process is data-driven and ongoing and utilizes an inquiry process where school community members: ‘attempt to understand the nature of their chal- Jenge area by exploring it fully and in all its aspects + scarch for possible solutions inside and out- side the schoo! + synthesize potential solutions + pilot test selected solutions + evaluate the effectiveness of these solutions, In this process, the school community iden- tifies and explores all challenges to the school vision and then implements strategies for poten- ally effective solutions. Critical inquiry guides all decisions made in the school. Action Research. ../ 225 Inquiry in Action Once schoo! communities have undesgone staff development in inquiry and the Acceler- ated Schools philosophy and process, they begin their quest for school improvement by ‘engaging in the “taking stock” process, Every aspect of the school community is analyzed and evaluated. Findings are compared to the school’s vision and priorities for action are developed. This stage is designed to empower all members of the school by engaging them in reflection and data collection. The follow- ing sections desctibe this process asit occurred in seven schools in the Accelerated Schools Project at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. ‘The challenges which emerged as new roles were created and role definitions changed are also detailed. ‘Teachers’ Initial Entry Behaviors As might be expected, teachers enter the taking stock process displaying a variety of attitudes and concems. Teacher directed action research is designed to be empowering and most teachers responded positively. While par- ticipation was voluntary and teachers have “bought into” the process, some can interpret their participation as an indirect requirement for maintaining good standing with the principal and colleagues it the school. Still others may ‘enter the action research activity with the hid- den agenda of documenting the accuracy of Jong held or strongly held beliefs and assump- tions. The issue of time was a concer for many participants. Some parent members could only meet early in the morning and tate in the after- noon, when teachers are not on contract time, and some teachers were not willing to give their time without compensation. Obviously, these behaviors are not the entering behaviors that supporta dedicated research effort. How- ever, it is important to recognize and acknowledge the fact that these attitudes do exist and can be dealt with in an effective way by using the process.