What is good action research?Reflections on Elliott's – What is Good Action

Research?

By W.P.N Pietrek

The Main features

• Pedagogical aim and ideal to which all participants are committed to realising in practice

• The changing of practice to reflect the pedagogical aim

• Gathering of evidence

• Awareness of inconsistencies between aspiration and practice problematises the assumptions and beliefs which underpin practice in classrooms

• The testing of new approaches to realise aspirations which will in turn reconstruct theories and guide future practice

• Teacher reflexivity

• The essence of good action research is identifying an issue and developing responses to address it in practice.

• A key test of the effectiveness of action research – 'does it improve interaction between teacher and pupil?'

• If there is no evidence that research is bringing about positive changes to practice, then it is dubious that it is effective action research – effective action research should "fuse teaching and research into a singular activity".

Impact on the curriculum

• Effective action research should impact upon the curriculum:• It should examine how content within subjects is best delivered

• Always consider how your subject is best articulated

Where does the data come from?

• Action research needs to be reflexive as well as reflective.

• Data needs to come from a wide range of perspectives:• Teachers' own accounts of their practice

• Students' accounts of their teachers' practice

• Peer observations

• Outsiders' observational accounts of their children's experiences

• Video and audio recordings of interactions between teachers and pupils

Quality indicators to be defined by action research

• Cannot predefine quality indicators. The task of action research is to define them.

• The quest is to qualify what constitutes good practice and the research of this is what will establish the indicators for quality.