The History of Action Research

1. The History of Action Research Who’s Who Epistemology/Philosophical Background

2. Clouded Origins • There is evidence of the use of action research by a number of social reformists such as Collier in 1945, Lippitt and Radke in 1946 and Corey in 1953. • McTaggert cites work from a physician named Moreno who used group participation in 1913 in a community development project for prostitutes. http://www2.fhs.usyd.edu.au/arow/arer/003.htm#Type%201

3. Kurt Lewin • An American psychologist from the mid 1940’s-known as one of the originators of action research. • Lewin constructed a theory of action research that proposed it as “proceeding in a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of planning, action and the evaluation of the result of action” (Kemmis & McTaggert, 1990:8). • Lewin argued that “in order to understand and change certain social practices, social scientists have to include practitioners from the real social world in all phases of inquiry” (McKernan, 1991). http://www2.fhs.usyd.edu.au/arow/arer/003.htm#Type%201

4. Historical and Philosophical Foundations of Action Research • The Science in Education Movement- 19th and early 20th century • The Experimentalist and Progressive Work-John Dewey • The Group Dynamics Movement- 1940’s • Post-War Reconstructionist Curriculum Development Activity

5. Historical and Philosophical Foundations of Action Research Continued • The Teacher-Researcher Movement- 1970’s * all teaching should be based upon research http://www2fhs.usyd.edu.au/arow/arer/003.htm#Type%201

6. Philosophical Perspectives of Action Research • Action research CAN BE defined by one or all of the 3 following epistemological assumptions: *Positivist- test and predict *Interpretive- shared meaning *Critical- emancipatory

7. Action Research The Spectrum of Research: Qualitative or Quantitative?

8. Action Research-Qualitative or Quantitative? • Qualitative Research- was developed in the social sciences to enable researchers to study social and cultural phenomena. Examples of qualitative methods are action research, case study research and ethnography. Qualitative data sources include observation and participant observation (fieldwork), interviews and questionnaires, documents and texts, and the researcher’s impressions and reactions.

9. Action Research-Qualitative or Quantitative Continued? • Quantitative Research- was developed in the natural sciences study natural phenomena. Examples of quantitative methods are used in social sciences using techniques such as survey methods, laboratory experiments, formal methods and numerical methods. http://www.qual.auckland.ac.nz/#Qualitative%20Research%20Methods

10. Why Qualitative? • The motivation to do qualitative research methods is primarily from the observation that the one thing that distinguishes humans from the natural world is our ability to communicate. • The goals of action research is to apply social scientific knowledge, not add to the body of knowledge. http://www.qual.auckland.ac.nz/#Qualitative%20Research%20Methods

11. Why Qualitative Continued? • Qualitative research methods are designed to assist researchers understand people and the social and cultural contexts within which they interact. • Kaplan and Maxwell (1994) believe that the goal of understanding phenomena from the view of the participants and their contexts is largely lost when textual data are quantified. http://www.qual.auckland.ac.nz/#Qualitative%20Research%20Methods

12. What Are The Qualitative Characteristics of Action Research? • 1. Purpose: Understanding • 2. Reality: Dynamic • 3. Viewpoint: Insider • 4. Values: Value bound • 5. Focus: Holistic • 6. Orientation: Discovery • 7. Data: Subjective

13. What Are Qualitative Characteristics of Action Research Continued? • 8. Instrumentation: Human • 9. Conditions: Naturalistic • 10. Results: Valid http://www.okstate.edu/ag/agedcm4h/academic/aged5980a/5980/newpage21.htm

14. Qualitative or Quantitative?Summary • Most action research is qualitative-it is possible to combine qualitative and quantitative methods. • Often, numbers are not easily applied to a particular question of inquiry. • Researchers can be faced with including particular features of interest (qualitative) or omitting important features (quantitative). http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/arp/guide/html

15. Data Collection…Now What? Analysis Techniques in Action Research

16. Qualitative Data Analysis in Action Research (Important Considerations) • Curriculum/assessment matches-do the assessment methods match the teacher’s teaching style? • The context of the data- is it possible to collect the desired data in terms of the classroom environment and routines? • Degree of change over a period of time- will there be enough time during the year to see a difference? • The number of students and variables in the study? • The questions the data are to reflect- too broad/too focused? http://gse.gmu.edu/research/tr/TRanalysis.shtml

17. Qualitative Data Analysis in Educational Action Research • Researchers have determined 13 ways in which teachers can analyze the data collected: *Triangulate *Compare Constantly *Categorize and Sort *Order

18. Qualitative Data Analysis in Educational Action Research Continued *Contrast *Speculate *Restate the Question *Visualize *Abstract and Distill *Talk and Validate *Confer with Students

19. Qualitative Data Analysis in Educational Action Research Continued *Take a Break *State Your Theories http://gse.gmu.edu/research/tr/TRanalysis.shtml