Action Research

What is action research?

Action research (AR) can be described as any research into practice undertaken by those involved in that practice, with an aim to change and improve it. It is therefore, a process of enquiry by you as a practitioner into the effectiveness of your own teaching and your students’ learning. AR is about both ‘action’ and ‘research’ and the links between the two. It is quite possible to take action without research or to do research without taking action, but the unique combination of the two is what distinguishes AR from other forms of enquiry (The Open University, 2005).

AR is an iterative inquiry process which follows the cycle of observing, reflecting, planning, implementing (Reason & Bradbury, 2001).

The key features of this approach are:

  • It is an investigation or practice owned by the researcher

  • It is situated in the researchers’ professional context

  • It is emergent, cyclical and participatory

  • It is aimed at solving problems, improving practice & facilitating change

  • It constructs theory from practice through analysis, reflection & evaluation

  • It operates at the level of individuals or groups (Carr & Kemmis, 1986; Cohen, Mannion & Morrision, 2011; Ebbutt, 1985; Koshy, 2005)

Distinguishing Features

AR can be distinguished from the normal practice of teaching in the following way:

  • It is not the usual thinking teachers do when they think about their teaching. AR is more systematic and collaborative in collecting evidence on which to base their group reflection.

  • It is not simply problem solving. Action research involves problem-posing, not just problem-solving. It does not start from a view of ‘problems’ as pathologies. It is motivated by a quest to improve and understand the world by changing it and learning how to improve it from the effects of the changes made.

  • It is not research done on other people. Action research is research by particular people on their own work, to help them improve what they do, including how they work with and for others. (Kemmis and McTaggart,1992, pp.21-22)

Working in collaboration with colleagues

AR can be engaged in by:

  • a single teacher

  • a group of colleagues who share an interest in a common problem

  • the entire faculty of a school

A teacher or group of teachers might also collaborate with professional researchers and facilitators who act as either academic partners or critical friends. However, there is a need for teachers to be aware of possible problems that might arise when working with "outsiders" such as the “hijacking” of the research agenda and a clash of "different cultures". As a minimum, though, the teacher-researcher will need to make findings public by holding the results of the study up for scrutiny by his or her professional peers.

Characteristics of AR

  • AR is initiated “ground up” – the teacher-researcher has facility/ownership of the project

  • There is a focus on “local” issues - therefore, the teacher is the researcher and the professional context, the classroom, is the site of study

  • It is both systematic and rigorous - connections are made with the theory

  • It is done in collaboration with colleagues/professional peers - at a minimum, findings need be "made public"

  • It is an ongoing-continuous process

  • Ethical issues must be considered

  • Practice is improved through action research and new theory generated

What AR typically does not do

  • Set out to prove/disprove an experimental hypothesis

  • Establish control/experimental groups

  • Control variables

  • Set up control and experimental groups

  • Draw on pre-test/post-test methods

  • Emphasise statistical analyses

  • Produce generalisable findings