Books

Action Research: Improving Schools and Empowering Educators introduces both novice and experienced practicing educators to the process of designing and conducting classroom-based action research in order to make their instructional practices more effective. This practical text focuses on the research methods and procedures that educators can use in their everyday instructional practices, classroom activities, and school procedures. Using over 20 years of teaching experience, author Craig A. Mertler provides insightful coverage of the knowledge and skills needed to design research studies, conduct research, and communicate findings to relevant stakeholders.

This practical text supports readers on their journey to becoming self-reflective practitioner-researchers. It provides the ideas and frameworks necessary to understand action research and expertly guides readers through the practicalities and complexities of doing research in their own context. Inside you will find: An action plan to help you embark on your project Guidance and advice on learning to ask the right questions as you progress A full resource on writing up and communicating your results Inspiration to explain the significance of what you have achieved, so that other people can learn with and from you Accessible and insightful, this is the complete start to finish guide to doing influential action research. It is the ideal companion for students and researcher-practitioners in any research setting, from education and health to business. Available with Perusall—an eBook that makes it easier to prepare for class Perusall is an award-winning eBook platform featuring social annotation tools that allow students and instructors to collaboratively mark up and discuss their SAGE textbook. Backed by research and supported by technological innovations developed at Harvard University, this process of learning through collaborative annotation keeps your students engaged and makes teaching easier and more effective. 

A fully-updated and reworked version of the classic book by Stephen Kemmis and Robin McTaggart, now joined by Rhonda Nixon, The Action Research Planner is a detailed guide to developing and conducting a critical participatory action research project. The authors outline new views on ‘participation’ (based on Jürgen Habermas’s notion of a ‘public sphere’), ‘practice’ (as shaped by practice architectures), and ‘research’ (as research within practice traditions). They provide five extended examples of critical participatory action research studies. The book includes a range of resources for people planning a critical participatory research initiative, providing guidance on how to establish an action research group and identify a shared concern, research ethics, principles of procedure for action researchers, protocols for collaborative work, keeping a journal, gathering evidence, reporting, and choosing academic partners.

Fully revised and updated, this second edition of Participatory Action Research (PAR) provides new theoretical insights and many robust tools that will guide researchers, professionals and students from all disciplines through the process of conducting action research ‘with’ people rather than ‘for’ them or ‘about’ them.

PAR is collective reasoning and evidence-based learning focussed on social action. It has immediate relevance in fields ranging from community development to education, health, public engagement, environmental issues and problem solving in the workplace. This new edition has been extensively revised to create a user-friendly textbook on PAR theory and practice, including:

• updated references and a comprehensive overview of different approaches to PAR (pragmatic, psychosocial, critical);

• more emphasis on the art of process design, especially in complex social settings characterized by uncertainty and the unknown;

• developments in the use of Web2 collaborative tools and digital strategies to support real-time data gathering and processing;

• updated examples and stories from around the world, in a wide range of fields;

• critical commentaries on major issues in the social sciences, including stakeholder theory, systems thinking, causal analysis, monitoring and evaluation, research ethics, risk assessment and social innovation.

This modular textbook provides novel perspectives and ideas in a longstanding tradition that strives to reconnect science and the inquiry process with life in society. It provides coherent and critical treatment of core issues in the ongoing evolution of PAR, making it suitable for a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. It is intended for use by researchers, students and working professionals seeking to improve or rethink their approach to co-creating knowledge and supporting action for the well-being of all.

Responding to the linguistic and cultural diversity of the U.S. K–12 student population and an increasing emphasis on STEM, this book offers a model for professional development that engages teachers in transformative action research projects and explicitly links literacy to mathematics and science curriculum through sociocultural principles. Providing detailed and meaningful demonstrations of participatory action research in the classroom, Razfar and Troiano present an effective, systemic approach that helps preservice teachers support students’ funds of knowledge. By featuring teacher and researcher narratives, this book centers teacher expertise and offers a more holistic and humanistic understanding of authentic and empathetic teaching. Focusing on integrating instructional knowledge from ESL, bilingual, and STEM education, the range of cases and examples will allow readers to implement action research projects in their own classrooms. Chapters include discussion questions and additional resources for students, researchers, and educators.

Fully revised and updated, this second edition of Participatory Action Research (PAR) provides new theoretical insights and many robust tools that will guide researchers, professionals and students from all disciplines through the process of conducting action research ‘with’ people rather than ‘for’ them or ‘about’ them.

PAR is collective reasoning and evidence-based learning focussed on social action. It has immediate relevance in fields ranging from community development to education, health, public engagement, environmental issues and problem solving in the workplace. This new edition has been extensively revised to create a user-friendly textbook on PAR theory and practice, including:

• updated references and a comprehensive overview of different approaches to PAR (pragmatic, psychosocial, critical);

• more emphasis on the art of process design, especially in complex social settings characterized by uncertainty and the unknown;

• developments in the use of Web2 collaborative tools and digital strategies to support real-time data gathering and processing;

• updated examples and stories from around the world, in a wide range of fields;

• critical commentaries on major issues in the social sciences, including stakeholder theory, systems thinking, causal analysis, monitoring and evaluation, research ethics, risk assessment and social innovation.

This modular textbook provides novel perspectives and ideas in a longstanding tradition that strives to reconnect science and the inquiry process with life in society. It provides coherent and critical treatment of core issues in the ongoing evolution of PAR, making it suitable for a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. It is intended for use by researchers, students and working professionals seeking to improve or rethink their approach to co-creating knowledge and supporting action for the well-being of all.

Acclaimed as a text and professional development tool, this user-friendly resource has now been revised and updated, and offers expanded coverage of collaborative action research (CAR) and participatory action research (PAR). Preservice and inservice educators get crucial step-by-step guidance for conducting classroom- and school-based studies to improve their instructional practices. Organized to mirror the full cycle of action research, the book provides balanced coverage of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Vivid vignettes and examples illustrate research approaches for a range of teaching and learning situations, school subjects, and age groups (PreK–12). Readers learn how research approaches are driven by the research question, as well as how to develop data collection strategies; design and/or evaluate assessment tools; interpret, analyze, report, and implement study results; and design a new cycle of research that builds on the previous one.

The brief, practical texts in the Essentials of Qualitative Methods series introduce social science and psychology researchers to key approaches to qualitative methods, offering exciting opportunities to gather in-depth qualitative data and to develop rich and useful findings. In this book, Michelle Fine and Maria Elena Torre provide an introduction to critical participatory action research, an approach that reveals the everyday stories of struggle and survival of the persons being studied, combats social injustice, and leverages social science research for action. Critical participatory action research challenges the narrow ways in which research has traditionally been conducted, and elevates the voices and perspectives of formerly marginalized groups. About the Essentials of Qualitative Methods book series:Even for experienced researchers, selecting and correctly applying the right method can be challenging. In this groundbreaking series, leading experts in qualitative methods provide clear, crisp, and comprehensive descriptions of their approach, including its methodological integrity, and its benefits and limitations. Each book includes numerous examples to enable readers to quickly and thoroughly grasp how to leverage these valuable methods.

You don’t need a tweed jacket to be a researcher—in thousands of schools across North America, practising teachers conduct studies on best practices, alternative approaches, and effective learning strategies. Classroom teachers have experiences and opportunities unavailable to researchers in a university setting, and action research—site-based, teacher-conducted research—can have a valuable impact on the educational community. Yet many teachers don’t see their work as real research, and many other teachers have great ideas for research projects but don’t know where to begin. For these teachers, Engaging in Action Research demystifies the world of educational research and provides support, guidance, and encouragement. From creating a research plan to reporting findings, this book provides step-by-step instructions to help teachers conduct research projects in the classroom, using strategies that work. Get ready to investigate, analyze, and share!

The Fourth Edition of Ernest T. Stringer’s best-selling Action Research offers easy-to-follow, clear guidelines that enable novice practitioner researchers to move comfortably through a process of inquiry and applied research. Featuring real-life examples and providing effective solutions that foster understanding of research procedures in real-life contexts, the book offers a simple but highly effective model for approaching action research: Look: building a picture and gathering information, Think: interpreting and explaining, and Act: resolving issues and problems. Using his own experience as a guide, Stringer encourages readers to grapple with the broader political and ethical challenges that frame each inquiry. The author’s engaging style makes the book especially relevant to those working with children, young adults, or people in community contexts, and is particularly relevant to those dealing with issues of diversity or with marginalized and disenfranchised groups. Clear, concise, and practical, Stringer’s accessible and engaging book is a must for students and professionals in educational, business, health, counseling, and social work settings.

Action Research: Using Strategic Inquiry to Improve Teaching and Learning helps educators use research to guide decision-making and determine the effectiveness of various instructional strategies.  The book leads the reader through the action research process using a model of self-regulation, which focuses on task definition, goal setting and planning, enacting research, and adaption. Written specifically for educators who may not feel prepared to measure the impact of interventions on student learning outcomes, the book provides very practical and useful tools, containing specific examples that are relevant to teachers’ everyday reality.  The text also reinforces how action research can improve the teaching and learning process by reinforcing or changing perceptions about the use of informal data, including anecdotal notes or observations, in the research process.  

You and Your Action Research Project is packed full of useful advice to take the reader through the various stages of an action research project. Written for practitioners across professions who are studying on work-based learning programmes and award-bearing courses, this book contains practical strategies for improving project work. Split into the following five sections:

• Thinking about doing a project,

• Getting ready to do a project,

• Planning a project and managing it,

• Doing your project,

• Evaluating your action research project,

the structure is clearly accessible and easy-to-read, encouraging readers of cross-curricular interests from teachers, to nurses and social workers to try new approaches. This fourth edition of the best-seller has been thoroughly updated and improved, with new and up-to-date case study material from a very wide range of disciplines, greater emphasis on the need for dialogical practices, points for reflection, more developed ideas about sorting and analysing data, and a stronger focus on writing as a form of research. With key sections on engaging with the literatures and collaborative practices, whilst also developing ideas about writing and data analysis, this book will be essential reading for those wanting to begin and further develop their action research. Jean McNiff is an independent researcher and writer, Professor of Educational Research at York St John University, and Adjunct Professor at the University of Limerick. She is also the author of key text Action Research: Principles and Practice.

The brief, practical texts in the Essentials of Qualitative Methods series introduce social science and psychology researchers to key approaches to qualitative methods, offering exciting opportunities to gather in-depth qualitative data and to develop rich and useful findings. In this book, Michelle Fine and Maria Elena Torre provide an introduction to critical participatory action research, an approach that reveals the everyday stories of struggle and survival of the persons being studied, combats social injustice, and leverages social science research for action. Critical participatory action research challenges the narrow ways in which research has traditionally been conducted, and elevates the voices and perspectives of formerly marginalized groups. 

About the Essentials of Qualitative Methods book series:Even for experienced researchers, selecting and correctly applying the right method can be challenging. In this groundbreaking series, leading experts in qualitative methods provide clear, crisp, and comprehensive descriptions of their approach, including its methodological integrity, and its benefits and limitations. Each book includes numerous examples to enable readers to quickly and thoroughly grasp how to leverage these valuable methods.

This journal was created because its founders saw a real need for participatory researchers to be able to showcase their methods and processes and to learn from other participatory researchers. Word counts and space limitations in traditional pubications meant that the rich and important details about how the participatory work gets accomplished were not being published or shared. The process is key to participatory research and should be highlighted, expounded upon and shared widely.

About to enter its 4th year of publication, JPRM continues to grow its worldwide reputation and readership. We have authors from around the world doing important participatory work across sectors and disciplines including healthcare, human services, urban design and space planning, agriculture, addiction and recovery, senior care, education and more. We are proud of the growing community of participatory researchers and practitioners who read and use the materials published in this journal.

The International Journal of Critical Pedagogy is committed to publishing original articles that propose innovative understandings and applications of critical pedagogy. The journal covers a wide range of perspectives in areas such as:

- Diversity

- Popular culture

- Media literacy

- Critical praxis

- Experimental methodologies

Action Research Essentials is a practical guide born of the author's own experience working with students in the social sciences and education, providing a step-by-step outline of how to "do" action research--backed by the most extensive theory and research coverage on the market today. The author guides future researcher/practitioners through the action research process via numerous concrete illustrations and a wealth of on-line resources; positioning it as a fundamental component of practice. A key and unique strength of the book is its outreach to a much larger breadth of students than usually found in action research books. This book will illustrate all the steps in action research using examples from education, social work, psychology, sociology, nursing, medicine, and counseling. The structure of the book is intended as the sole textbook for a course devoted to naturalistic inquiry, practitioner research, or beginning qualitative methods, or can complement a general research course.

The Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal is a peer-review journal published in Bogotá, Colombia by Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas for a global audience of professionals in education interested in research and teaching issues in the field of Applied Linguistics for the Teaching of English. It disseminates partial or final results of researches in the field of language teaching.

Becoming a Teacher through Action Research, Third Edition skillfully interweaves the stories of pre-service teaching with the process of action research. This engaging text focuses specifically on the needs of pre-service teachers by providing assistance for all stages of the research experience, including guidance on how to select an area of focus, design a culturally-proficient study, collect and interpret data, and communicate findings.

With an updated introduction and two new chapters, this revised edition fully develops a convincing response to the framing question of the book, "Why pre-service teacher action research?" The new edition continues to focus on elements of trustworthy pre-service teacher action research, and provides a more robust overview of research methodology. Using additional activities, charts, and examples, this book offers support during the steps of writing a critical question, data collection, data analysis and the use of analytic memos.

New Features in the Third Edition include:

• New chapters on ongoing data analysis and final data interpretation, which include practice scenarios and examples to give readers a deeper understanding of doing the work of action research processes;

• An expanded chapter on action research methodology, which includes scaffolds for making methodological decisions, additional practice scenarios, and a revised action research design template;

• New end-of-chapter Content and Process Questions to encourage deeper understanding;

• New examples throughout, expanded additional glossary terms, enhanced literature review guidance, and updated templates to support action research projects;

• An updated companion website with downloadable templates and additional instructor resources;

• A revised interior text design to increase the accessibility of the text.

This one-of-a-kind guide continues to offer invaluable support for teacher-education students during a critical phase of their professional―and personal―lives.

In Cher Hendricks’s Improving Schools Through Action Research, educators learn what they need to know about the action research cycle and get practical help for working through each step of the cycle–from choosing a topic and generating research questions to analyzing data and reporting results and conclusions. In a clear, concise, user-friendly approach, the author helps readers through the entire process with specific, practical information that incorporates some of the latest online and professional resources, a more detailed explanation of how to analyze and interpret qualitative data, and instructions on formatting the research paper using the latest APA guidelines. The Enhanced Pearson eText features embedded videos and tutorials.

Written in a lively and accessible style, this is the essential step-by-step guide to conducting your own action research project. The book introduces and evaluates different approaches to action research and explores how they can be applied in early childhood settings to create positive change and to improve practice.

Using varied illustrations and case studies of contemporary projects in diverse early childhood contexts, the book addresses specific issues and challenges that you might face when conducting action research in such settings.

Each chapter offers gentle guidance and support at a specific stage of the research process, from choosing your initial topic to formulating your research question, through to sharing the lessons of your project.

The book's key features include:

• 16 'Steps' that walk you through the process of conducting your action research project

• References to real life research projects to illustrate key ideas, themes, practices and debates

• Advice on creating an action research journal, with sample extracts

• 'Thinking Boxes' in each chapter to encourage you to review and reflect on the chapter's contents as you plan your research project

• Checklists in each chapter of key concepts, processes and themes, together with further resources The authors explore some difficult issues associated with action research, including ethics, rigour, validity, critical reflection, and social and professional change. They show that there is more than one 'right' way to perform an action research project and advise you how to choose an approach that is appropriate for your particular interests and circumstances.
  Doing Action Research in Early Childhood Studies is an essential resource for students and practitioners of early childhood studies.

Doing Youth Participatory Action Research offers an unprecedented, in-depth exploration of the pragmatics and possibilities of youth-driven research. Drawing upon multiple years of experience engaging youth in rigorous, critical inquiry about the conditions impacting their lives, the authors examine how YPAR encourages the educational community to re-imagine the capabilities of young people and the purposes of teaching, learning, and research itself. Much more than a "how-to" guide for those interested in creating their own YPAR projects, this book draws upon the voices of students and educators, as well as the multiple historical traditions of critical research, to describe how youth inquiry transforms each step of the traditional research process. From identifying research questions to collecting data and disseminating findings, each chapter details how YPAR revolutionizes traditional conceptions of who produces knowledge, how it is produced, and for what purposes. The book weaves together research, policy, and practice to offer YPAR as a practice with the power to challenge entrenched social and educational inequalities, empower critically aware youth, and revolutionize pedagogy in classrooms and communities. For researchers, educators, community members, and youth who want to connect, question, and transform the world collectively, Doing Youth Participatory Action Research is a rich source of both pragmatic methodological guidance and inspiration.

This hands-on, practical guide for ESL/EFL teachers and teacher educators outlines, for those who are new to doing action research, what it is and how it works. Straightforward and reader friendly, it introduces the concepts and offers a step-by-step guide to going through an action research process, including illustrations drawn widely from international contexts. Specifically, the text addresses:

• action research and how it differs from other forms of research

• the steps involved in developing an action research project

• ways of developing a research focus

• methods of data collection

• approaches to data analysis

• making sense of action research for further classroom action.

Each chapter includes a variety of pedagogical activities:

• Pre-Reading questions ask readers to consider what they already know about the topic

• Reflection Points invite readers to think about/discuss what they have read

• action points ask readers to carry out action-research tasks based on what they have read

• Classroom Voices illustrate aspects of action research from teachers internationally

• Summary Points provide a synopsis of the main points in the chapter

Bringing the 'how-to' and the 'what' together, Doing Action Research in English Language Teaching is the perfect text for BATESOL and MATESOL courses in which action research is the focus or a required component.

Principles and Methods of Transformative Action Research delves into both general principles and specific methods for basic steps in the action research process―asking questions, gathering and analyzing data, communicating findings, and pursuing action.

The role of collaboration is emphasized, with strategies of value to experts and engaged citizens in doing participatory research and community-based knowledge-building. Detailed attention is given to specific strategies of interviewing, participant observation, and judging and weighing evidence. The book draws on creative and critically minded elements of scientific traditions, such as transparency in telling the "story" of one’s inquiry, identifying data that are "exceptions to the rule," and the value of non-formulaic, improvisational designs. Quite distinctively, the book addresses how to write in one’s own voice, how to integrate action-and-inquiry into one’s everyday life, issues of ethics and social responsibility, and how to consider both immediate, practical needs and "bigger picture," systemic challenges.

This book can serve as an undergraduate or graduate social sciences text on research methods. It is also a guidebook for action-oriented research by academics, professionals, and lay people, alike in community agencies, schools, and grassroots organizations, and for socially relevant academic research concerned with social justice, multiculturalism, and inclusiveness.

Cases and Stories of Transformative Action Research builds on its companion book, Principles and Methods of Transformative Action Research, by describing and analyzing dozens of examples of successful action research efforts pursued in the past five decades by students and faculty of the Western Institute for Social Research. Some projects are large-scale, and some are modest interventions in the everyday lives of those participating. Some are formal organizational efforts; others are the results of individual or small group initiatives. Included are chapters on community needs assessments and innovative grassroots approaches to program evaluation; the challenges of improving our decision-making during the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic; strategies of intellectual activism in addressing the growing problem of workplace bullying; action research to preserve and share the history of the Omaha tribe; and plans for an innovative school-based project based on collaborative action-and-inquiry between students and Artificial Intelligence. In addition, there are a number of detailed stories about the use of transformative action research in such areas as somatic and trauma counseling, ethnic studies, health disparities, gender differences, grassroots popular education, and the improvement of statewide steps for preventing child abuse, among many others. This book can serve as an undergraduate or graduate social sciences text on research methods. It is also a guidebook for action-oriented research by academics, professionals, and lay people alike.

The leading text in the field of action research, Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher is known for its practical, step-by-step guidance for teachers on how to do research in classrooms. Drawing on his extensive experience working directly with teachers and principals to help them learn how to conduct action research studies, the author guides future educators through the action research process via numerous concrete illustrations. The text positions action research as a fundamental component of teaching and helps it's readers not only acquire the skills to conduct quality studies, but also how to make it a part of everyday teaching practice. 

This popular text describes the processes of doing teacher action research. But it is much more than a dry presentation of "methods." Filled with examples of teacher action research projects, provided by teachers themselves, the book places teachers at the heart of the action research process. Teachers' own writing about their work and research questions is featured in 11 examples of teacher action research conducted in a range of settings, grade levels, and content areas. The second edition of Teachers Doing Research is fully updated and substantially reorganized and revised, including four totally new chapters and six new teacher stories. 

Qualitative research is a key form of research in education; the findings of such projects frequently play a central role in shaping policy and practice. First time qualitative researchers require clear and practical guidance from the outset. However, given the diversity of both subject matter and methodological approaches encompassed by qualitative research, such guidance is not always easily come by.

Qualitative Educational Research in Action: Doing and Reflecting is a collection of ten first-hand accounts by educational researchers of qualitative inquiries they carried out. The subjects are diverse, taking in school restructuring, policy analysis, critical literacy, phenomenology and the student teacher relationship. Each chapter outlines the research question investigated and provides an overview of the project's findings, before going on to describe how each researcher approached the challenges of their particular inquiry. The researchers reflect upon the unexpected turns qualitative research can take and the way such projects can move through different theoretical and methodological positions, often ending up significantly removed from the original premise, but all the more valuable for that.

Anyone conducting qualitative research in education will be heartened and inspired by this collection, and will also find in it invaluable guidance on dealing effectively with the idiosyncrasies and pitfalls of qualitative research - guidance that is all the more valuable for coming from those who have themselves navigated similar difficulties.

This Third Edition of Doing Research with Children is practical introduction to the process of designing, doing and writing up research with children and young people. At the centre is a commitment to engaging with children and young people as active research participants rather than as passive subjects. In the new edition, you′ll find up to date information on the fast-changing political and ethical debates around research with children and young people as well as guidance on how to carry out research yourself.

Divided into three sections, the new edition covers:

-the main theories and approaches of research with children and young people

-expanded guidance on research ethics

-techniques for conducting both qualitative and quantitative research

-more on analysing your research

-a brand new chapter on communicating your research findings.

This is a must-have guide for students and practitioners who are engaging in research with children and young people.

With the Handbook of Action Research hailed as a turning point in how action research is framed and understood by scholars, this paperback edition of the First Edition has been structured to provide an easy inroad into the field for researchers and students. It includes concise chapter summaries and an informative introduction that draws together the different strands of action research and reveals their diverse applications as well as their interrelations. 

With the Handbook of Action Research hailed as a turning point in how action research is framed and understood by scholars, this paperback edition of the First Edition has been structured to provide an easy inroad into the field for researchers and students. It includes concise chapter summaries and an informative introduction that draws together the different strands of action research and reveals their diverse applications as well as their interrelations. 

The third edition of The SAGE Handbook of Action Research presents an updated version of the bestselling text, including new chapters covering emerging areas in healthcare, social work, education and international development, as well as an expanded ‘skills’ section which includes new consultant-relevant materials.

Building on the strength of the previous landmark editions, Hilary Bradbury has carefully developed this edition to ensure it follows in their footsteps by mapping the current state of the discipline, as well as looking to the future of the field and exploring the issues at the cutting edge of the action research paradigm today.

This volume is an essential resource for scholars and professionals engaged in social and political inquiry, healthcare, international development, new media, organizational research and education.

Practical and down-to-earth, the second edition of Action Research in Teaching and Learning is an ideal introduction to the subject, offering a distinctive blend of the theoretical and the practical, grounded firmly in the global higher education landscape. Written in an accessible style to build confidence, it provides easily adaptable, practical frameworks, guidelines and advice on research practice within a higher education context.

This book details a five-step process to create a positive climate for school restructuring by conducting collaborative action research, shows eight ways to gather valid and reliable data, explains techniques for identifying and understanding problems, and illustrates four basic strategies for managing conflict and changing the status quo.

Action Research is an invaluable guide to both novice and experienced researchers from a diversity of disciplines, backgrounds, and levels of study for understanding how action research works in real-life contexts. The Fifth Edition builds on the experiences of the authors by acknowledging the dramatic changes taking place in our everyday lives, including developments of social and digital media that have become central to modern life. Author Ernest T. Stringer and new co-author Alfredo Ortiz Aragón aim to provide a meaningful methodology arising from their extensive field experience for both students and practitioners.  Presenting research that produces practical, effective, and sustainable outcomes to real-world problems, Action Research helps students see the value of their research in a broader context, beyond academia, to effecting change on a larger scale.

This book guides the learner through comprehension and interpretation of both qualitative and quantitative techniques in action research methods and then describes all phases of the process, including selecting a topic; collecting, analyzing, and reporting data; reviewing the literature; and presenting the report.

Think of yourself as an educational architect

By tapping into the power of action research, you can improve overall student performance, eliminate achievement gaps, and enhance your own efficacy and morale. In the third edition of this bestselling guidebook, you’ll find:

• New insights on how to use reflective practice, qualitative and quantitative methods, and culturally responsive teaching to improve the success of all students

• A field-tested, four-stage action research process to lead you from brainstorming to breakthrough

• Illustrative examples, charts, handouts, worksheets, and sample action research reports to demystify and simplify the action research process

Participatory Action Research (PAR) privileges the involvement of participants as co-researchers to generate new knowledge and act on findings to effect social change. In PAR projects, academic researchers collaborate closely with co-researchers, working from the idea that these individuals, especially those who are usually marginalized from institutions, can be engaged in meaningful research activities to achieve social justice outcomes in addition to answering research questions. When deployed ethically in collaboration with co-researchers, PAR's participatory element facilitates a 'bottom-up' approach where knowledge is co-created through grassroots or community-based activities.This book goes beyond a PAR 'how to' manual on the methodology. Rather it synthesizes key learnings in contemporary research, with a distinct focus on the challenging aspects of undertaking PAR in practice and strategies to address these. It provides a clear and user-friendly collection of practical and contextual examples and presents key pointers on the implications of PAR methods, their strengths and weaknesses, and strategies for the field. These examples will be useful for critical class discussions, as well as to anticipate fieldwork pitfalls and pre-empt challenges through collaborative approaches.

Community-Based Participatory Action Research: It’s All About the Community is deeply grounded in the belief that social sciences research should have a direct connection to helping people and improving communities. This text explores how to achieve community engagement and community involvement to bring about positive change through research and action. The opening chapter introduces participatory action research, an inclusive process that involves researchers as well as subjects, leverages the strengths of all involved, and features strong social justice tenets that lead to a positive change outcome. Additional chapters provide an historical overview of community-based participatory research and its development, as well as models for defining and mapping communities. Readers explore the unique research processes and distinctions of participatory action research and community-based participatory action research (CBPAR). They are provided with a step-by-step guide to conducting CBPAR, grow to understand its transformative nature, and are encouraged to think through ethical considerations. An accessible and concise guide, Community-Based Participatory Action Research is an outstanding supplementary resource for courses with focus in social sciences research.

Action research is a popular part of many teacher training courses but understanding how to do it well is not always straightforward. Previously known as Action Research for New Teachers, this book will guide trainee teachers through each step of the process, from initial stages of planning and research, through to how to analyse data and write up a research project.

This second edition includes:

A new ‘Critical task’ feature, with suggested responses

Discussion of where action research ‘fits’ in the word of education research

Exploration of the skills and attributes needed for undertaking action research

Guidance on how to write with clarity and purpose.

Mixed Methods Applications in Action Research is a first-of-its-kind book that provides readers with the information they need to design and conduct a mixed methods action research (MMAR) study in a practical and pragmatic manner. Using a multidisciplinary focus, author Nataliya V. Ivankova provides a scholarly and applied orientation to meet the varied epistemological and professional needs of scholar practitioners. The book is applicable to broad audiences with different levels of research skills, including students learning how to conduct research in practical settings, practitioners faced with the need to address pertinent issues in their professional practices, community leaders seeking to inform policy changes, and college faculty who teach research methods and conduct funded research in collaboration with practitioner-researchers and community stakeholders. A wide variety of pedagogical features make it appropriate for use as an instructional text aimed at developing skills in designing, conducting, implementing, and reporting an action research study that integrates mixed methods.

Action research is a popular part of many teacher training courses but understanding how to do it well is not always straightforward. Previously known as Action Research for New Teachers, this book will guide trainee teachers through each step of the process, from initial stages of planning and research, through to how to analyse data and write up a research project.

This second edition includes:

A new ‘Critical task’ feature, with suggested responses

Discussion of where action research ‘fits’ in the word of education research

Exploration of the skills and attributes needed for undertaking action research

Guidance on how to write with clarity and purpose.

100 Questions (and Answers) About Action Research identifies and answers the essential questions on the process of systematically approaching your practice from an inquiry-oriented perspective, with a focus on improving that practice. This unique text offers progressive instructors an alternative to the research status quo and serves as a reference for readers to improve their practice as advocates for those they serve. The Question and Answer format makes this an ideal supplementary text for traditional research methods courses, and also a helpful guide for practitioners in education, social work, criminal justice, health, business, and other applied disciplines.

The use of data-based decision making is critical in any classroom, but especially in special education settings. The Teacher’s Guide to Action Research for Special Education in PK-12 Classrooms describes the basic concepts of action research and how this process can support student success in the classroom and beyond. This practical, approachable, and concise guide provides case studies, vignettes, student learning objectives, and review exercises to help teachers understand how to effectively use the action research process to identify and evaluate evidence-based interventions, with explicit connections to legally mandated IEP planning, implementation, and evaluation processes.

This handbook presents and critiques predominant and emergent traditions of Educational Action Research internationally. Now a prominent methodology, Educational Action Research is well suited to exploring, developing and sustaining change processes both in classrooms and whole organisations such as schools, Departments of Education, and many segments of universities. The handbook contains theoretical and practical based chapters by highly respected scholars whose work has been seminal in building knowledge and expertise in the field. It also contains chapters exemplifying the work of prominent practitioner and community groups working outside universities.

The Editors provide an introduction and conclusion, as well as an opening chapter which charts the historical development of action research and provides an analysis of its underlying theories. The handbook is organized into four sections, each beginning with a short introduction:

Action research methodology: diversity of rationales and practices

Professional: Knowledge production, staff development, and the status of educators

Personal: Self-awareness, development and identity

Political: Popular knowledge, difference, and frameworks for change

This is a key resource for scholars and graduate students at doctors and masters levels, as well as school leaders and administrators.

Offering preservice and inservice teachers a guide to navigate the rapidly changing landscape of English Language Arts education, this book provides a fresh perspective on what it means to be a teacher researcher in ELA contexts. Inviting teachers to view inquiry and reflection as intrinsic to their identity and mission, Buckelew and Ewing walk readers through the inquiry process from developing an actionable focus, to data collection and analysis to publication and the exploration of ongoing questions. Providing thoughtful and relevant protocols and models for teacher inquiry, this book establishes a theoretical foundation and offers practical, ready-to-use tools and strategies for engaging in the inquiry process in the context of teachers’ communities. Action Research for English Language Arts Teachers: Invitation to Inquiry includes a variety of examples and scenarios of ELA teachers in diverse contexts, ensuring that this volume is relevant and accessible to all educators.

This volume sets out to provide experience-based tools for those needing to assess and improve teaching and learning quality. It presents a detailed framework explaining what action learning and research is with information on how to carry out an action learning project.

The Editors provide an introduction and conclusion, as well as an opening chapter which charts the historical development of action research and provides an analysis of its underlying theories. The handbook is organized into four sections, each beginning with a short introduction:

Action research methodology: diversity of rationales and practices

Professional: Knowledge production, staff development, and the status of educators

Personal: Self-awareness, development and identity

Political: Popular knowledge, difference, and frameworks for change

This is a key resource for scholars and graduate students at doctors and masters levels, as well as school leaders and administrators.

A handbook of research techniques for teachers, this book documents the historical development and changing nature of action research in the curriculum and aims to encourage teacher development through curriculum inquiry. It describes 57 action research tools, ten of which are new.

Many practice-based researchers have expert knowledge of doing research but often experience difficulties when writing it up and communicating the significance of what they have done. This book aims to help bridge the gap. Packed with practical advice and strong theoretical resources it takes you through the basics of designing and producing your text so that it will meet established standards and high quality assurance expectations.

Divided into 3 distinctive parts, key points include:

• understanding writing practices

• engaging with the literatures

• how to write up a project report or dissertation

• how writing is judged in terms of professional and academic writing practices

• developing ideas for further study and publication

Writing up Your Action Research Project is an essential text for practitioners on professional education and undergraduate courses across disciplines who want their writing to reflect the excellence of their research. It is the ideal companion to the author’s You and Your Action Research Project, now in its fourth edition.

This book presents and discusses an approach to action research to help reverse discriminatory and exclusionary practices in education. Insider accounts of action research will help challenge assumptions about the limits of inclusive education, and offer examples of how change can be realistically achieved through processes of collaboration and participation.

Written by a team of practitioner researchers drawn from a wide range of schools and services, this book addresses a wide range of real-life situations by exploring ways in which teachers have tackled inequalities in the school environment through action research based on principles of equality and democracy. These include:

* the co-ordination of services for minority ethnic groups, including refugee and asylum seeking children

* young children with autism working with peers in the literacy hour

* action research and the inclusion of gay students

* developing the role of learning support assistants in inclusion

* reducing exclusion of children with challenging behaviour

* listening to the voices of young people with  severe learning difficulties

* developing links between special and mainstream schools

* challenging marginalising practices in Further Education.

This book is a practical guide for English language teachers and teacher educators seeking to carry out and promote teacher action research within their institutional context. Based on contemporary theory and a reflexive and social approach to teacher professional development and learning, it offers readers structured methodologies and concepts, wide-ranging hands-on activity sets, and focused suggestions for appropriate and sustainable ways to implement action research across an institution. Experts Anne Burns, Emily Edwards and Neville John Ellis close the book by presenting ideas for conducting teacher research through reflective practice, exploratory practice and action research.

First Published in 2000. Based on the real-life experiences of teachers and student teachers using action research for the first time, this introductory text demystifies the issues commonly faced by the novice researcher. In an accessible and user-friendly style, the author explains how: the principles of action research can be effectively applied; small scale classroom research can discover important cues to aid learning; to implement action research in different curricular areas, individually or in groups, and with children of different abilities; the whole endeavour can be structured to form an undergraduate or postgraduate thesis. This book, which is suitable for use in nursery, primary and secondary schools, will be invaluable to any education professional wishing to progress from observing what happens in the classroom, to actually explaining why.

While many educators acknowledge the challenges of a curriculum shaped by test preparation, implementing meaningful new teaching strategies can be difficult. Active Learning presents an examination of innovative, interactive teaching strategies that were successful in engaging urban students who struggled with classroom learning. Drawing on rich ethnographic data, the book proposes participatory action research as a viable approach to teaching and learning that supports the development of multiple literacies in writing, reading, research and oral communication. As Wright argues, in connecting learning to authentic purposes and real world consequences, participatory action research can serve as a model for meaningful urban school reform.

Originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, this volume explores how researchers, educators, artists, and scholars can collaborate with, and engage young people in art, creative practice, and research to work towards social justice and political engagement. 

By critically interrogating the dominant discourses, cultural, and structural obstacles that we all face today, this volume explores the potential of critical arts pedagogies and community-based research projects to empower young people as agents of social change. Chapters offer nuanced analyses of the limits of arts-based social justice collaborations, and grapple with key ethical, practical, and methodological issues that can arise in creative approaches to youth participatory action research. Theoretical contributions are enhanced by Notes from the Field, which highlight prime examples of arts-based youth work occurring across North America. As a whole, the volume powerfully advocates for collaborative creative practices that facilitate young people to build power, hope, agency, and skills through creative social engagement. 

This volume will be of interest to scholars, researchers, postgraduate students, and scholar-practitioners involved in community- and arts-based research and education, as well as those working with marginalized youth to improve their opportunities and access to a quality education and to deepen their political participation and engagement in intergenerational partnerships aiming to increase the conditions for social justice.