Resources
Below you will find a collection of research resources that can can be helpful in scoping, planning, or creating appropriate methodologies for action research.
Lifescaping Project: Action Research and Appreciative Inquiry in Bay Area Schools
At its heart, the Lifescaping Project is a performative and results-based direct action advocacy endeavor designed to help education professionals bring about the world they want to build with others. The Lifescaping Project was founded to help share the action research (AR) guided by the participatory inquiry process (PIP) and appreciative inquiry (AI).
We are dedicated to bringing about a possible world via local action research projects in the schools. The lifescaping construct is informed by Ken Gergen’s notion of “world forming” via action research. But lifescaping moves the “world forming” metaphor toward showing how such practices are ongoing and continuous works designed to bring about a more desirable world or local community. Like landscaping and gardening, lifescaping is a continuous and never-ending process of being actively engaged in bringing about the beauty you want to see come to life.
The Lifescaping Project emerged from conversations within the College of Education and Allied Studies (CEAS) at California State University, East Bay (CSUEB). Rolla E. Lewis and Peg Winkelman (2017) Lifescaping Practices in School Communities: Implementing Action Research and Appreciative Inquiry spell out the how-to-conduct action research in the schools, complete with examples of the research graduate students have completed in public schools.
Action Research Bibliography
Below you will find a bibliography documented prepared by Dr. Lonnie Rowell in 2014. These are articles that are interesting or helpful in designing or executing practitioner research in education.
Other Action Research Web Resources
There are many excellent web sites for action research. A recommended reading can be found at the following web link: http://www.infed.org/research/b-actres.htm. Also on the “infed” site is a search function that leads to several valuable readings about action research. Enter “action research” in the search window to access a list of topics: each topic is linked to the relevant section of infed.
A third site is maintained by the Action Research group within the American Educational Research Association (AERA). You can access this site through the following link: http://sites.google.com/site/aeraarsig.
A web site showing the intersection of community activism and youth participatory action research is located at: http://www.publicscienceproject.org/.