What I've Learned About Action Research

Having read the first chapter of Nancy Dana’s book, Leading with Passion and Knowledge, I have a better grasp for what action research is and how it is conducted in educational settings. Researchers throughout the years have used a number of terms synonymously when referring to the concept of action research, such as practitioner inquiry and classroom research, just to name a few. While these terms do have slightly different meanings, at their heart is the same concept, a process an individual employs locally, intentionally, and methodically while studying educational practices with an end result being proactive change to improve student performance. From an administrator’s perspective, action research is a tool, when utilized properly that offers deeper insight into the impact that leadership practices play in school improvement efforts.

Traditionally, educational research has been primarily a linear activity applied by principals and teachers based on the finding of experts outside of the school environment (Dana, pg 4). This has resulting through the years in a top-down approach that often creates a professional development culture based on the rigid implementation of new foreign initiatives that fail to account for everyday events in public schools. In contrast, action research aims to reverse traditional approaches by grounding research in the realities of local campus practice, incorporating administrators and teachers as collaborators in the research process, all of which helps to generate a bottom-up approach. This facilitates greater campus change because both administrators and teachers are more likely to embrace change that is based on the information they themselves have collected and interpreted.


Reference:

Dana, Nancy Fichman (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as Action Researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.