This document provides an overview of action research. It defines action research as a systematic process conducted by teachers and others in educational settings to improve their practices and student learning. The history and key characteristics of action research are described. Practical and participatory types of action research are outlined. The document discusses when action research should be used, important ethical issues, and the typical steps and processes involved in conducting an action research study. Evaluation of action research focuses on addressing practical issues and empowering collaborators through reflection and action planning.

1. Topic: Action Research
Asghar Ali
(Ph.D Scholar)
Department Of Education
The Islamia University of Bahawalpur

3. Outline
 What is action research
 History of Action Research
 Importance of Action Research
 When Do You Use Action Research?
 Types Of Action Research

4.  The Key Characteristics Of Action Research
 Ethical Issues in Action Research
 Steps In Conducting An Action Research Study
 How Do You Evaluate An Action Research Study?
 References

5. What is action research?
 Action research designs are systematic procedures done by teachers (or
other individuals in an educational setting) to gather information about, and
subsequent to improve, the ways their particular educational setting
operates, their teaching and their student learning (Mills, 2011).
 Action research in education is any systematic inquiry conducted by
teachers, principals, school counselors, or other stakeholders in the
teaching– learning environment that involves gathering information about
the ways in which their particular schools operate, the teachers teach, and
the students learn.

6. History of Action Research
 The social-psychologist Kurt Lewin coined the term “action
research” in the 1930s (Mills, 2011 ). Lewin felt that social
conditions in the 1940s—such as the shortage of meat, and the
improvement of intercultural group relations after the war
might be enhanced through the process of group discussions
(Kemmis, 1994). These group processes consisted of four
steps: planning, acting, observing, and reflecting.

7. By focusing on group processes and identifying phases of action,
Lewin’s approach introduced many of the modern ideas of action
research.
Lewin’s ideas were adopted at the Horace-Mann-Lincoln Institute
at Teachers College, Columbia University, and in England at the
Tavistock Institute.

8. Importance of Action Research
Action research:
 Encourages change in the schools
 Fosters a democratic (i.e., involvement of many individuals)
approach to education
 Empowers individuals through collaboration on projects
 Positions teachers and other educators as learners who seek to
narrow the gap
 between practice and their vision of education
 Encourages educators to refl ect on their practices
 Promotes a process of testing new ideas ( Mills, 2011 )

9. When Do You Use Action Research?
 When you have an educational problem to solve
 When educators want to reflect on their own practices
 When you want to address school wide problems
 When teacher want to improve their practices
 When educators want to participate in a research project

10. Types Of Action Research
Practical action research
Teachers seek to research problems in their own classrooms so that they can
improve their students’ learning and their own professional performance.
Participatory action research
PAR has a social and community orientation and an emphasis on research
that contributes to emancipation or change in our society. The purpose of
participatory action research is to improve the quality of people’s
organizations, communities, and family lives ( Stringer, 2007 ).

11. Types Of Action Research
Practical Participatory
• Studying local practices
• Involving individual or team-
based inquiry
• Focusing on teacher
development and student
learning
• Implementing a plan of action
• Leading to the teacher as-
Researcher
• Studying social issues that
constrain individual lives
• Emphasizing “equal”
collaboration
• Focusing on “life-enhancing”
changes
• Resulting in the emancipated
researcher

12. Characteristics Of Action Research
 A practical focus
 The educator–researcher’s own practices
 Collaboration
 A dynamic process
 A plan of action
 Sharing research

13. Ethical Issues in Action Research
 The action researcher needs to conduct the inquiry in a way
that respects the care of the participants.
 Involves them collaboratively in all phases of the research.
 It is also important for participants to have the option to
withdraw from the study.

14. Steps In An Action Research Study
 Determine if Action Research Is the Best Design to Use
 Identify a Problem to Study
 Locate Resources to Help Address the Problem
 Identify Information You Will Need
 Implement the Data Collection
 Analyze the Data
 Develop a Plan for Action
 Implement the Plan and Reflect

15. Action research process

16. Evaluation of An Action Research Study
 Focuses on an issue in practice or an issue in the local community.
 Collects multiple sources of data (often quantitative and qualitative)
to help address the problem.
 Collaborates with others during the study to find the best solutions.
 Shows respect for all collaborators so they are equal partners in the
action research process.
 Advances a plan of action for trying to solve the problem.

17. • Reflects on his/her own development as a professional.
• Helps to enhance the lives of participants by solving a problem,
empowering them, changing them, or providing them with new
understandings.
• Develops a plan recommending changes to practice.
• Reports the research in a way that is understandable and useful
to audiences, including other professionals.

18. References
 Creswell, J. W. (2012). Ethnographic Designs. Educational research:
planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative
research (4th ed., pp. 461-500). Boston: Pearson.
 Gay, L. R., Mills, G. E., & Airasian, P. W. (2009). Educational research:
Competencies for analysis and applications, student value
edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.