What is Action Research?

Action research is research done by actual practitioners, such as principals and teachers, who are fully in tune with the workings of their particular schools. The researchers determine the problem or wondering and how it affects their everyday working environment and usually has a focus on student achievement or improvement. Action research is a "systematic approach to improvement based on the process of inquiry and use of diagnostic data from multiple sources" (Harris, Edmonson, & Combs, 2010). Part of what makes action research such a valuable research method is that the actual research and questioning is done by those people who the outcomes will affect the most, those people who make a school successful. When the people who need or want the change go through the process to determine the best outcome, they are more likely to implement the change in an active and positive way. Action research can be done by any leadership personnel in a variety of formats. It can be a group of principals from across a district vying for change in a district wide program. It can be managed by a principal and a group of other school and community leaders to help facilitate change in a particular school. Action research could even be done by an individual teacher or team of teachers who want to evaluate a process or subject in their own classrooms. The key of action research is that it hosts elements of reflection and action and can be spiraling, with one research project leading into another to continue growth.

Refrences

Harris, S, Edmonson, S, & Combs, J. (2010). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps from analysis to action. Larchmont, NY: Eye On Education.