Educational Research:

Action Research in Schools

EDU 8603
Educational Research
Richard M. Jacobs, OSA, Ph.D.
 Thequestion of the practical
significance of research findings has
increasingly become an issue in
educational research during the past
two decades
 Althoughresearch may be helpful for
educators in schools to solve the
problems confronting them
most published research does not
speak directly to the real world
needs that educators in schools have

or is difficult to access, understand,

and use
in addition, the focus of most research
is objective and out there rather
than subjective and in my practice
 Focusingupon these needs
educators can conduct, practice-
oriented research to improve their
classroom practice
by collecting data about their daily activities,
problems, and outcomes for the purpose of
improving themselves as teachers and their
students as learners
 action research...
teacher-initiated, school-based
research used to improve the
practitioners practice by doing or
changing something
where the teacher is the researcher
and the teachers practice is the
focus of the research
 The main reason for teachers to
engage in action research is to learn
from and to improve their own
teaching activities
by re-examining their practice and
altering their taken-for-granted beliefs
and understandings
 but,
action research can also be
used to form a more egalitarian
community of professional
educators
as principals, teachers, and other
staff conduct in-school research
used in school improvement efforts
as the research results are applied to
the school and/or its classrooms
Four assumptions underlying action
research
1. teachers should have multiple opportunities to engage in professional growth
and development

2. good teachers have an intrinsic desire to improve their practice and need data to do
so
3. given the opportunity and resources (the most scarce resource being time),
teachers can carry research studies that can inform their practice

4. no matter how conclusive research findings may be, they may not be applicable to
certain classrooms, given their idiosyncratic features
Steps in action research

1. identification of the problem or topic

2. data gathering
3. decision making
4. resulting action
5. assessment/evaluation
1) identification of the problem or topic
derived form a review of actual
practice
is more narrowly-stated than global
leads to the formulation of a
hypothesis
2) data gathering
involves the collection of both
informal, anecdotal data as well as
formal, objective data
provides the foundation for the researcher
to examine, critique, and better understand
the researchers practice
because the focus of action research emphasizes
particular settings (e.g., a classroom), the issue
of generalizability is not accorded priority

at the same time, action research

must be purposeful, systematic, data-
based and evaluative in its conduct
 anecdotal data...
information derived from
recollections about people,
statements, behaviors, interactions
and other observations
 the use of two data sources presents several challenges

the collection of objective data must

be systematized and anonymity
guaranteed
the data must be compared to
something (e.g., a pre-test or
predicted outcomes)
the specific aspects of the
behaviors to be observed must be
identified a priori to their
performance and evaluation
3) decision making
the process of interpreting the data
and making a determination about
how one will respond to the data
in action research, the teacher is the
data interpreter and decision maker
4) resulting action
an action-oriented response directed
toward developing insight into and
improving practice
the outcome is that the researchs
actions, activities, beliefs,
assumptions, and effects are
positively impacted by the findings
5) assessment and evaluation
evaluation
assessment:
assessment making a determination
about improvement based upon a
new standard emerging from the
action research findings
evaluation:
evaluation identifying the practice-
oriented values that the researcher is
now capable of drawing out of
practice
The role of reflection in action
research...

reflectionis an important aspect of

action research
especially formal, tangible evidence
directly related to ones practice
less helpful are post hoc reflections
of little use are momentary, fleeting,
intuitive, and tacit reflections
Validity issues in action research...

The role of the teacher as researcher

and the focus upon the teachers
practice raises issues concerning
validity
and validity should be an essential
feature of any action research
 toenhance validity
have students respond to
questionnaires anonymously
use clear and understandable criteria
to focus the data collection and
analysis
test all claims concerning alleged
improvement in practice through
triangulation
 triangulation...
the utilization of knowledgeable and
expert yet differing perspectives to
corroborate research results and
interpretations
 common threats to validity in action
research
failing to separate descriptions from
explanations
failing to understand the difference
between data and evidence
failing to collect tangible data
failing to define commonly
understood criteria for the aspects of
practice being investigated
presenting raw data rather than
summarized data
failing to differentiate between the
action and the action research
failing to validate the results
Comparing research methods...

quantitative,
qualitative, and action
research methods are research, not
opinions or ad hoc activities
each method involving systematic inquiry
into a problem as well as collecting and
interpreting data to produce results
 while quantitative and qualitative
research methods attempt to verify
or reject a hypothesis and, thus, to
repair the problem indirectly
action research attempts to repair the
problems of practice directly
 whilequantitative and qualitative
research methods are value
neutral
action research reflects the
researchers values
 whilequantitative researchers are
objective and qualitative researchers
are semi-objective in the process of
conducting their research
researchers are subjectively involved
in the process of conducting action
research
Mini-Quiz

True and false

the general purpose of action
research is to improve a
practitioners practice
True
 True and false
in action research, the researcher
is the central focus of the action
research process
True
 True and false
teacher professional development
can be a form of action research
True
 True and false
good action research shares some
qualities of good quantitative and
qualitative research
True
 True and false
because much action research is
value-neutral, this presents a
threat to its validity
False
 True and false
the major difference between action
research and other research methods is that
action research aims at developing a theory
about what works in classrooms

False
 True and false
post hoc reflection provides the
best data for action research
False
 True and false
the data collected in action
research should be tangible
True
 True and false
the topic of action research is
derived from issues arising from
the application of theory to practice
True
 True and false
generalization beyond a particular
classroom is not a primary
concern of most action research
True
 True and false
the Achilles heel of action
research is the reliability of the
findings
False
 True and false
the results of action research can
be used to alter and improve
professional practice
True
 Fill in the blank
teacher-initiated, school-based research
used to improve the practitioners
practice by doing or changing something

action research
 Fill in the blank
information derived from recollections
about people, statements, behaviors,
interactions and other observations

anecdotal data
 Fill in the blank
making a determination about improvement
based upon a new standard emerging from
the action research findings

assessment
 Fill in the blank
identifying the practice-oriented
values that the researcher is now
capable of drawing out of practice
evaluation
 Fill in the blank
the utilization of knowledgeable and expert
yet differing perspectives to corroborate
research results and interpretations

triangulation
This module has focused on...

action research in schools

teacher-initiated, school-based
research used to improve the
practitioners practice by doing
or changing something
The next module will focus on...

descriptive statistics

...the statistical procedures for

describing, synthesizing, analyzing,
and interpreting quantitative data