Compared to quantitative research, action research in education is a type of qualitative research that is designed for the enhancement and improvement of current practice in a classroom or school. Action research means that researchers would like to solve a problem or find some ways to enhance their own teaching, learning, or both. Consequently, action research means helping the researchers enhance their professional skills and knowledge and improve students’ outcomes.
This article discusses action research: 4 stages, 7 steps, and ethical considerations.
Types of action research
On a broad basis, action research has two major types: critical action research and practical action research.
Critical action research:
The critical action researchers believe that research should aim at enhancing the lives of specially marginalized people. These researchers believe that research must be democratic and impartial. They believe that there should be collaboration between the researcher and the members of the community. Finally, they are of the opinion that action should have a linkage with the values held by the concerned persons.
Practical action research
The aim of this type of action research in education is to improve people’s lives through education. This type of research is based on the everyday experiences of people. Their focus is on bringing about small changes at the local level.
Action research: 4 stages
The different stages of action research are discussed below.
- Planning
- Acting
- Observing
- Reflecting
Stage 1: Planning
It means that to proceed well, it needs planning on the part of the researcher. The first step is the development of an action plan once the research topic or research question is decided. The plan has the aim of answering the research question.
Stage 2: Acting
The second step is the implementation plan and gathering data. Here, the researcher must decide about the process of collecting and organizing research data. A decision about the tools and equipment is taken before data collection, and it is ensured that the data collection tools are relevant, valid, and comprehensive.
Stage 3: Observing
Observation is the vital and final step before taking any action or drawing conclusions. There is a need on the part of the researcher to review the goals and expectations of the research project. This review involves the representation of data through graphs and charts. This step means that it helps to make judgments or progress to the next stage of observation.
Stage 4: Reflecting
In the contemplative sense, action-research reflection is seen as minding, which means paying attention to and being aware of what happens. It is a mental process by which a teacher thinks about things by going over them again and again; it is a method of becoming aware of key assumptions and ideas. As a result, reflection is a method for tracing the good in one’s own practice. Reflection is seen as having consequences for practice in the more active sense of action research. It is then viewed as, for example, how theory and practice are brought together. This more active interpretation of the role of reflection in action research can be linked to the role of values in education.
Steps in conducting action research
The following steps are involved in conducting action research:
Step 1: Reflect and Identify a Problem
The first step is the identification of a problem or something that a researcher wants to change. There may be some unpleasing observations in the classroom. The researcher spends more time reflecting on those observations. The researcher engages in self-reflection or discusses it with a “critical colleague.”
Step 2: Gather Data
To further precisely understand the nature of the problem, the researcher collects data from the examination of archival data or writing entries in a journal. The researcher might rely on observations or interviews with participants.
Step 3: Review of related literature
Here, the researcher conducts a review for the identification of relevant theories, research, and strategies. The review of literature helps the researchers discover practices or reframe their explanations in their own settings. This review process continues throughout the data collection and analysis process. This process ultimately helps build up existing professional knowledge.
Step 4: identification of collaborators and creation of plan of action
The other democratic process is the identification of collaborators. These collaborators may be the researcher’s colleagues at his or her own school or those of another school sharing similar interests. So help from collaborators is sought in reflection, data collection, and analysis. Action research has the quality of flexibility like qualitative research.
In this research, the researcher decides about the factors needed for improvement of their practices. The improvement of factors may include modifications to lesson plans, the development of new programs or instructional strategies, or changing school policies. To maintain the integrity of action research, systematic data collection is necessary.
Step 5: Carry out action plan
Here, the action plans are carried out, and the researchers regularly collect the data to monitor the improvement or decline in the students’ learning. In this action plan, new strategies are identified through the processes of reflection, collaboration, and literature review. Both processes and involved processes should be examined in data collection methods.
Step 6: Analyze data
The researchers continuously analyze the data. This data is analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative method includes identification of themes and patterns, while the quantitative methods includes descriptive statistics such as means, standard deviation, etc.
Step 7: formation of tentative conclusions
Although it is difficult to know about the completion of a cycle, a tentative conclusion is drawn on the basis of data analysis. The conclusion may
Action research has certain characteristics.
Characteristics of action research
1. Action research in education is conducted in the researcher’s educational setting, such as a classroom, school, or community program. Action research in education makes sure that the everyday reality of educational practices is highlighted.
2. Action research includes planning, reflection and procedures during all phases of study
Reflection includes initially posing a question, evaluating assumptions, selecting strategies, and collecting and analyzing data. As action research examples, planning of research studies, pre-tests and post-tests, brief surveys, or qualitative interviews may be conducted. Similarly, principles of designing good instruments and validity and credibility issues are addressed in action research.
3. Collaboration with stakeholders
Action research in education includes collaborations with the stakeholders who are involved in the process of education. Collaboration is an important element of reflection, as evidenced by action research. The ideas are critically discussed by the stakeholders. The biggest benefit of discussion in action research is that it reduces the chances of distortion of findings. Along with this, the discussion promotes the democratic attitude of researchers towards research. Similarly, community members, parents, and students are actively involved in action research.
4. Improvement of educational practices is the focus
Since action research involves action, which may take a simple form, such as changing assignments, or may be a complex one, which may consider changing the process of student grading, Its purpose is to improve educational practices.
5. Several waves of data collection, reflection and action
Since action researchers are educators and are dealing with educational problems, they go beyond the initial cycle of data collection and analysis.
Ethical Issues in Action Research
The aim of action research is the improvement of education, so some ethical concerns might be involved. There are two entangled goals of action research: improving practice and advancing educational knowledge. But at times, there might be conflict between these two goals of action research. The ethical issues are discussed below.
- Consultation with the relevant stakeholders must be ensured.
- Every participant must be allowed to have an influence on the research work. Furthermore, if anyone is not interested in the study, he or she will be allowed to withdraw.
- The suggestions of others will be welcomed during the development of the research work.
- It is important to get permission before making observations and examining the documents.
- Before being published, descriptions of other’s work and points of view must be negotiated with the concerned
- The researcher is required to convey to the participants that the collected data will be kept confidential.
- The participants can stop participating in the research process without mentioning any reason.
- The researchers must carefully address the cultural issues and must not hurt the cultural sentiments of participants.
- It is important for the researchers to clarify the extent to which the findings are valid, reliable, and generalizable.
- Since action research is an activity of collaboration, it is important for the researchers to acknowledge the contribution of co-teachers or collaborators.
- Since the researcher can influence the subjects in action research as it is conducted in his or her own classroom, So it is important for the researcher to remain unbiased, honest, and adopt an objective approach when conducting this type of research.
- Voluntary participation is also important. This means that there is freedom of participation to every research subject without any pressure. These subjects have the freedom to withdraw or leave the study at any time without giving any reason. So it should be clearly conveyed to the participants that their refusal to participate in the study has no negative consequences, and therefore, the researchers should respect their decision.
- It refers to the situation where all participants understand the information, such as the study’s benefits, funding, and institutional approval, regarding their desire or otherwise to participate in the study. Furthermore, the participants will be provided with a form to read and ask if there are any questions. If agreed upon, they will sign the consent form to participate. If children are participating in research, consent from their parents or guardians will be required. In the case of low-literate participants, the researcher will be required to verbally explain the form to them, or if required, the form will be translated for them.