Educational Research
Chapter 20
Action Research
Gay, Mills, and Airasian
Topics Discussed in this Chapter
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The definition and purpose of action
research
The action research process
The four steps in conducting action
research
Key characteristics of action research
Action research data collection
techniques
Definition and Purpose
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Definition
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Any systematic inquiry conducted by
teacher researchers, principals, school
counselors, or other stakeholders in the
teaching/learning environment to gather
information about the ways that their
particular schools operate, how they teach,
and how their students learn.
Objective 1.1
Definition and Purpose
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Three purposes
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To provide teacher researchers with a method for
solving everyday problems in schools to improve
both student learning and teacher effectiveness
To develop the professional disposition of teachers
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Encourage teachers to be life-long learners
To incorporate into a teacher’s daily routine a
reflective stance
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The willingness to look critically at teaching so it can be
improved
Objective 2.1
The Action Research Process
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The Dialectic Action Research Spiral
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A model that provides teacher researchers with a
practical guide and illustrates how to proceed with
inquiries.
Four steps
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Identifying an area of focus
Data collection
Data analysis and interpretation
Action Planning
See Figure 20.1
Objectives 3.1 and 4.1
Key Characteristics of Action Research
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Two types of action research
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Critical action research
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Known as emancipatory action research
The goal is to liberate individuals through the gathering
of knowledge
Five guiding values
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Socially responsive
Democratic – enabling participation of people
Equitable – acknowledging people’s equality of worth
Liberating – providing freedom from oppressive debilitating
conditions
Enhancing – enabling the expression of people’s full
human potential
Objective 5.1
Key Characteristics of Action Research
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Two types of action research (cont.)
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Practical action research
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Five key concepts
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Individual teachers have decision-making authority
Teacher researchers are committed to continued
professional development and school improvement
Teacher researchers want to reflect on their practice
Teacher researchers will use a systematic approach for
reflecting on their practice
Teacher researchers follow the Dialectic Action Research
Spiral
More applied and less philosophical than critical action
research
Objective 5.1
Key Characteristics of Action Research
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Three levels
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Individual teacher research
Small teacher groups or teams in a single
school
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Departments
Common content areas
School-wide research
Objective 5.2
Key Characteristics of Action Research
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Five characteristics
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Persuasive and authoritative
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Relevant
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Teachers develop solutions to their own problems
The focus is on issues of concern to teachers, not
educational researchers
Accessible
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Teachers’ willingness to reflect on and change their
thinking about teaching leads them to become more
successful and productive members of the professional
community
Objective 5.3
Key Characteristics of Action Research
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Five characteristics (continued)
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Challenges the reform of the educational
system
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Offers an opportunity to embrace a problemsolving philosophy and practice as an integral
part of the culture of teachers’ schools
Not a fad
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Good teachers have always systematically
looked at the effects of their teaching on
student learning
Objective 5.3
Action Research Techniques
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Take time to identify a meaningful, engaging
problem
Four criteria
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The focus should involve teaching and learning and should
be related to the teacher’s own practice
The focus is something within the teacher’s locus of control
The focus is something about which the teacher feels
passionate
The focus is something the teacher would like to change or
improve
Objective 6.1
Action Research Techniques
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Data collection
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Reconnaissance
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Generally thought of as preliminary data
gathering
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Reflecting on your own beliefs
Understanding the nature and context of your
general idea
Objective 6.1
Action Research Techniques
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Reconnaissance (continued)
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Three forms
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Gaining insight through self-reflection
 Theories that impact your practice
 Your educational values
 How your work fits into the larger context of
schooling and society
 Historical contexts of your school and schooling
 Historical contexts of your beliefs about teaching
and learning
Objective 6.1
Action Research Techniques
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Reconnaissance (continued)
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Three forms (continued)
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Gaining insight through descriptive activities
 Focusing on who, what, when, and where
 Provide evidence that your problem is, in fact, a
problem
 Identify students who are struggling with tasks
related to your problem
 Identify current methods for dealing with your
problem
 Identify the frequency with which your problem
arises
Objective 6.1
Action Research Techniques
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Reconnaissance (continued)
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Three forms (continued)
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Gaining insight through explanatory activities
 Focus on why
 Account for critical factors that have an impact on
your problem
 Develop a hypothesis stating the expected
relationships between variables in your study
Clarifies what the teacher believes about the
relationships of factors, variables, and contexts that
make up their work
Identifies what the teacher believes can improve the
situation
Objective 6.1
Action Research Techniques
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Data collection
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Largely determined by the nature of the
problem
Idiosyncratic based on the teacher,
problem, context, and accessibility
Dominated by qualitative techniques
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If quantitative data is collected it tends to
remain on a descriptive level
Objective 6.1
Action Research Techniques
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Sharing the results
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Communicating the results to others in
formal and informal settings
Several commonly used forms
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Conversations
Presentations
Papers
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Can lead to further analysis and understanding
Creates a permanent record of the research
Objective 6.1
Action Research Techniques
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Taking action
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Deciding what steps need to be taken and
how to take them in order to alter or
improve practice
This is the action in action research
Objective 6.1