Need of action research in education
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Specifically, to better understand how learning happens at the neural level—and to translate some recent research findings into practice in my classroom. Was about to conduct what is known as action research (ar), although i didn't learn this term until my project was underway. Ar is not a new concept to many teachers, but grand stuff for those of us whose graduate courses in research were, ahem, one or two decades in the is more proactive than reactive. Typical goals of ar include evaluating outcomes, enhancing student achievement, and improving educational gh i'm no expert, i certainly gleaned some valuable lessons from testing the ar is best when it's optional. A definitive research question provides an indispensable focal point for your action plan, and its clarity will rein you in during inevitable an individual, or even a team, to join you. The typical process of ar is cyclical: question, plan, reflect, take action, observe, reflect some more, rethink and re-plan, repeat. Approach them as opportunities to rethink your strategies or to think more deeply before moving s from ar are rarely conclusive, so anticipate the desire to ask more questions, dig deeper or extend your research, and improve your instructional practice in new ways. Results may or may not be immediate, and it can certainly be a challenge to balance instruction with research planning and analysis. Consistent, systematic reflection has provided renewed purpose to my teaching, as i realized how "unaware" i had i have more questions than when i started, which is how ar becomes a delightfully cyclical word "research" used to be daunting to me. Advocacy ion research/ion services /community me education week clicking "register" you are agreeing to the terms of service and privacy popular ng in a mobile-first digital to support non-proficient adolescent reasons you should consider cloud e the promise of student-centered learning actionable data to personalize math of opportunity and the baltimore county public school district. Wikipedia, the free to: navigation, the british charity formerly named action research, see action medical research. Research is either research initiated to solve an immediate problem or a reflective process of progressive problem solving led by individuals working with others in teams or as part of a "community of practice" to improve the way they address issues and solve problems. 6) writes that an action research strategy's purpose is to solve a particular problem and to produce guidelines for best research involves actively participating in a change situation, often via an existing organization, whilst simultaneously conducting research. Action research can also be undertaken by larger organizations or institutions, assisted or guided by professional researchers, with the aim of improving their strategies, practices and knowledge of the environments within which they practice. As designers and stakeholders, researchers work with others to propose a new course of action to help their community improve its work lewin, then a professor at mit, first coined the term "action research" in 1944. In his 1946 paper "action research and minority problems" he described action research as "a comparative research on the conditions and effects of various forms of social action and research leading to social action" that uses "a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action and fact-finding about the result of the action". 5 scholarly research is an interactive inquiry process that balances problem solving actions implemented in a collaborative context with data-driven collaborative analysis or research to understand underlying causes enabling future predictions about personal and organizational change (reason & bradbury, 2001). 2] after six decades of action research development, many methods have evolved that adjust the balance to focus more on the actions taken or more on the research that results from the reflective understanding of the actions. This tension exists who are more driven either by the researcher's agenda or by participants;.
Importance of conducting action research
To 2nd-, to 3rd-person research, that is, my research on my own action, aimed primarily at personal change; our research on our group (family/team), aimed primarily at improving the group; and 'scholarly' research aimed primarily at theoretical generalization or large-scale change. Research challenges traditional social science by moving beyond reflective knowledge created by outside experts sampling variables, to an active moment-to-moment theorizing, data collecting and inquiry occurring in the midst of emergent structure. From this starting point, to question the validity of social knowledge is to question, not how to develop a reflective science about action, but how to develop genuinely well-informed action – how to conduct an action science". 4] in this sense, performing action research is the same as performing an experiment, thus it is an empirical argyris' action science[edit]. Argyris' action science begins with the study of how human beings design their actions in difficult situations. Humans design their actions to achieve intended consequences and are governed by a set of environment variables. How those governing variables are treated in designing actions are the key differences between single-loop and double-loop learning. When actions are designed to achieve the intended consequences and to suppress conflict about the governing variables, a single-loop learning cycle usually the other hand, when actions are taken not only to achieve the intended consequences, but also to openly inquire about conflict and to possibly transform the governing variables, both single- and double-loop learning cycles usually ensue. This is different from experimental research in which environmental variables are controlled and researchers try to find out cause and effect in an isolated heron and peter reason's cooperative inquiry[edit]. It emphasizes the full involvement in research decisions of all active participants as ative inquiry creates a research cycle among 4 different types of knowledge: propositional (as in contemporary science), practical (the knowledge that comes with actually doing what you propose), experiential (the real-time feedback we get about our interaction with the larger world) and presentational (the artistic rehearsal process through which we craft new practices). At every cycle, the research process includes these four stages, with deepening experience and knowledge of the initial proposition, or of new freire's participatory action research (par)[edit]. Article: participatory action ipatory action research has emerged in recent years as a significant methodology for intervention, development and change within groups and communities. Citation needed][dubious – discuss] par builds on the critical pedagogy put forward by paulo freire as a response to the traditional formal models of education where the "teacher" stands at the front and "imparts" information to the "students" who are passive recipients. This was further developed in "adult education" models throughout latin o fals-borda (1925–2008), colombian sociologist and political activist, was one of the principal promoters of participatory action research (iap in spanish) in latin america. He published a "double history of the coast", book that compares the official "history" and the non-official "story" of the north coast of m barry's living educational theory approach to action research[edit]. Article: living educational m barry (atkins and wallace 2012) defined an approach to action research which focuses on creating ontological weight. 5] he adapted the idea of ontological weight to action research from existential christian philosopher gabriel marcel (1963). Barry was influenced by jean mcniff's and jack whitehead's (2008) phraseology of living theory action research but was diametrically opposed to the validation process advocated by whitehead which demanded video "evidence" of "energy flowing values" and his atheistic ontological position which influenced his conception of values in action research. Explained that living educational theory (let) "[it is] a critical and transformational approach to action research. It confronts the researcher to challenge the status quo of their educational practice and to answer the question, 'how can i improve that i'm doing?
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Researchers who use this approach must be willing to recognize and assume responsibility for being a 'living contradictions' in their professional practice – thinking one way and acting in another. The mission of the let action researcher is to overcome workplace norms and self-behavior which contradict the researcher's values and beliefs. The vision of the let researcher is to make an original contribution to knowledge through generating an educational theory proven to improve the learning of people within a social learning space. The standard of judgment for theory validity is evidence of workplace reform, transformational growth of the researcher, and improved learning by the people researcher claimed to have influenced... French and cecil bell define organization development (od) at one point as "organization improvement through action research". 7] if one idea can be said to summarize od's underlying philosophy, it would be action research as it was conceptualized by kurt lewin and later elaborated and expanded on by other behavioral scientists. Concerned with social change and, more particularly, with effective, permanent social change, lewin believed that the motivation to change was strongly related to action: if people are active in decisions affecting them, they are more likely to adopt new ways. Rational social management", he said, "proceeds in a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action and fact-finding about the result of action". Faced with a dilemma or disconfirmation, the individual or group becomes aware of a need to ng: the situation is diagnosed and new models of behavior are explored and zing: application of new behavior is evaluated, and if reinforcing, 1: systems model of action-research 's description of the process of change involves three steps:[8]. Action research is depicted as a cyclical process of cycle begins with a series of planning actions initiated by the client and the change agent working together. The principal elements of this stage include a preliminary diagnosis, data gathering, feedback of results, and joint action planning. In the language of systems theory, this is the input phase, in which the client system becomes aware of problems as yet unidentified, realizes it may need outside help to effect changes, and shares with the consultant the process of problem second stage of action research is the action, or transformation, phase. This stage includes actions relating to learning processes (perhaps in the form of role analysis) and to planning and executing behavioral changes in the client organization. Included in this stage is action-planning activity carried out jointly by the consultant and members of the client system. Following the workshop or learning sessions, these action steps are carried out on the job as part of the transformation stage. This stage includes actual changes in behavior (if any) resulting from corrective action steps taken following the second stage. The action-research model shown in figure 1 closely follows lewin's repetitive cycle of planning, action, and measuring results. 8] the action stage is a period of changing, that is, trying out new forms of behavior in an effort to understand and cope with the system's problems. Why educational research has been so uneducational: the case for a new model of social science based on collaborative inquiry". How can i improve my life-affirming, need-fulfilling, and performance enhancing capacity to understand and model the meaning of educational quality?
Isbn n & torbert, transforming social inquiry, transforming social action: new paradigms for crossing the theory/practice divide in universities and communities. The role of citizen participation and action research principles in main street revitalization: an analysis of a local planning project," action research 6(1): er, e. This is my truth, tell me yours: some aspects of action research quality in the light of truth theories. Undertaking action research: negotiating the road ahead, social research update, issue 34, philosophical sources of action research[edit]. Action research and action learning ional action ational journal for transformative l of applied behavioral l of organizational change ic practice and action article's use of external links may not follow wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Has learning resources about action ote has quotations related to: action for collaborative action oks: contemporary educational psychology/chapter 13: the reflective ries: social science methodologyhidden categories: articles needing additional references from january 2014all articles needing additional referencesall articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from june 2013all accuracy disputesarticles with disputed statements from june 2013wikipedia external links cleanup from march 2012wikipedia spam cleanup from march logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia out wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this a bookdownload as pdfprintable dia commonswikiquote. Of the recurring themes within information science is the application of research results to professional practice. In calling for research proposals, practitioners often seem to demand something which will show usable results quickly, since they perceive their problems as essentially practical. They sometimes find it difficult to grasp that if the research is intended to be fundamental it often cannot be carried out quickly and may not necessarily have practical difficulty that arises for the researcher is that, on the one hand, the practitioner wants applicable results, and, on the other hand, research funders generally want 'sound research'. At times the researcher is caught in the middle, trying to produce proposals to satisfy both. When research results fail to make any significant impact on the world of practice the response of funding agencies (not only in our field but in others too) is to stress the need for 'more effective dissemination'. Of proposition that dissemination of research results will increase the probability of application sounds reasonable. However, the process appears to be ill-defined and uncertain and the proposition can be doubted where the aims of research are basic rather than applied. It seems to us that there is confusion between the application of research results in science and their application in practice. We will explore this distinction further by reference to figures 1 to figure 1 we have tried to illustrate the processes which are assumed to occur in disseminating research results using 'the scientific method model'. The key fact to bear in mind here is that, initially at least, the results of scientific research are applied in science itself rather than in any other field of practice. The use of science in technology or engineering may come rather later: witness, for example, the discovery of the properties of semiconductors in the 1920s and their application in the development of the transistor in 1 also suggests that, because scientific research finds its application within science, there will be a high probability that virtually continuous attention will be given to the same issues over long periods of 1: the scientific research dissemination information science, however, the research we are involved in is usually applied research: that is, it is related to problem-solving in the real world. Almost always, too, our research is carried out in a real organizational world in which the application of research results necessarily involves some degree of organizational we assume that dissemination alone can bring about the necessary degree of organizational change then presumably we have in mind a process something like that outlined in figure 2. The force of a research finding would have to be so overwhelming that not only would the need for change be recognised but the will to change would be 2: organizational implementation of research - an alternative to we reject the notion that dissemination of results can work in this miracle way what is the alternative? One possibility which has been widely applied in many fields over recent years goes under the rather dramatic name of 'action research'.
This figure is rather more complex partly because the process is probably really more complex but also because it is rather better defined than the 'dissemination' 3: the action research fundamental differences between 'basic' research on the scientific method model and 'action research' can be seen clearly in this diagram. Secondly, the research is problem-focussed (although the data may be relevant to basic research issues); and thirdly, the process has application and evaluation built in through the experimental innovation lly, action research is presented as a form of organizational problem-solving in which the external researcher plays the role of consultant. Clearly, however, this is not the only possibility and in the first project we shall describe, the process was what we shall call 'researcher-led'. By this we mean that the researchers were convinced that communication (and information) problems existed in the organizations concerned but that, in general, they would not be recognised as such by members of the organizations. This led the researchers to find settings in which to carry out action research and in doing so to demonstrate that their initial assumption about the existence of communication problems was last point has a bearing on the difficulties likely to be faced by a researcher trying to negotiate entry to an organization to carry out action research. Problem postulated by the researcher may not exist, or it may be the surface effect of more deeply-rooted problems. If this is not detected before the work commences, the researcher may be faced with issues and difficulties for which s/he is totally unprepared;. Researcher may believe that the source of the problem lies in the organization but management may think that it lies in the environment or in some controlling body;. Concern of the researcher, in presenting his perception of organizational problems, may be in research as an academic activity: it may be difficult to negotiate, therefore, if s/he fails to realize that the manager may be more concerned with organizational survival and growth;. Of the researcher's ideas may be a management ploy, a move in a personal power-game, etc. Research and project t iniss was planned as an action research project from the beginning and three stages were envisaged:A period of data-collection through structured observation in social services departments, which would give the researchers insights into the day-to-day functioning of the organization, as well as allowing the development of research hypotheses (see wilson and streatfield, 1977);. Stage of structured interviews to allow for the collection of a greater amount of data to test research hypotheses (see wilson, streatfield, and mullings, 1979);. Spite of a short gap in the duration of the project, which was the result in a change in funding organization after the interviewing phase (from british library research and development to department of health and social security), the three phases detailed above were followed and the process followed the model in figure 3, allowing for the fact that the whole project was 'research-led'. Of monograph literature, supplied to area offices either by the local county library service or the department's own research library service (see streatfield and pritchard, 1981);. With the evaluation of a staff information bulletin; provision of background papers for in-service training y, there is rather more work involved here than can be presented in detail in a paper such as this and we will concentrate on our general conclusions as they related to the usefulness of the action research mode. In one particular application it was clear that the area officer developed an 'instant enthusiasm' for organising information collections which was not recognised as a passing phase by the higher management or the researchers. Genuine collaboration in defining the research problem is also important even with a 'researcher-led' programme. For example, the research team had originally intended to explore methods of providing information support for problem-solving groups such as internal working parties. This idea was transformed at the initiative of the host department (with the full agreement of the researchers) into broader support for in-service training courses). It is possible to bring about sufficient organization change through action research to enable innovations to be adopted (or for other innovations to be adopted on the basis of lessons learned), after the experimental period.
A research officer reported that the abstract bulletin innovation had been virtually the only information service to survive drastic cuts in his budget. More aware of the need to be conscientious in passing on information to their subordinates;. Second project described here came about in a different way and the role of the external researchers is likely to change between that of consultant, as usually envisaged in action research, and direct initiator of services. An element of speculation is inevitable in this case because this project has run only nine months of a four year programme and the final results of the continuing collaboration with participants cannot be this example, the initiative to set up the education management information exchange (emie) as an experimental service came from the likely participants. This came through the society of education officers which is the professional body for senior administrators in local government education departments in england and wales. Joint sponsorship for the research project in which emie is based is being provided by the society, by the central government department of education and science and by the national foundation for educational will not be surprised to learn that we aren't yet ready to set out conclusions about this project! For this reason we will be seeking practitioners' reactions to the problems encountered, desirable services and practical will do this through individual or group interviews and possibly through questionnaires. Specifically, this interchange should provide a chance to tell the project participants where they are going wrong and give them a chance to put it an informal level the project staff are already making heavy use of the society of education officers as a point of access to education will be obvious that much of what has been expounded in this account is based on project iniss experience. One weakness in the project programme is that the amount of observation and interviewing we are able to carry out is not large enough to ensure equal partnership between the researchers and practitioners at the next stage of involvement. The 'outsiders picture' of their work which the researchers presented to practitioners was a strong stimulus towards change in the social services project. Fortunately, we will also be able to offer a comparative picture from the social services project and as the approach gains wider acceptance the results of comparative studies will increasingly become available to illuminate later 6: setting up the emie next step will be to spend six months with link people and other staff from 30 of the 104 education authorities in england and wales to test out some of our (and their) preliminary ideas for specific services. We are aiming to open the full scale service next march and are looking forward to finding out what we will be doing have discussed some issues in applying action research methods to information science and looked at two examples. Similarly, the 'scientific research organisation' model of information service is appropriate when the users can readily define their subject interests and are interested in everything published on their specialisms and when bibliographical control of the literature is comprehensive, particularly if there is also a strong incentive to publish the results of proposition underlying our work and the one which led us to adopt an action research approach is that these two 'service- based' models of information provision work much less well when applied to other user groups, such as local government practitioners. The action research process is heavily dependant upon adequate evaluation by the participants in all the phases of the action, including evaluation of the evaluation process itself. Action research approach to information service development may be difficult to 'sell' to sponsors because it is possible to go ahead and apply variations on the two models just outlined and be seen to be busy doing something, however peripheral to the main communication problems of the organization. However, an action research approach offers a number of advantages:It enables the information specialists to learn more about the real communication problems of potential service users;. Helps generate the conditions in which organizational change can be short, action research provides the means to redefine the relationship between the information specialist and the potential information , p. 1979) information needs in local authority social services departments : a second report on project iniss, journal of documentation, 35, , t. These initials stood for two titles over the life of the project; 'information needs and information services in local authority social services departments' and 'information innovations in social services'. It was published in the conference proceedings [the 4th international research forum in information science.
Succinct definition of action research appears in the workshop materials we use at the institute for the study of inquiry in education. That definition states that action research is a disciplined process of inquiry conducted by and for those taking the action. The primary reason for engaging in action research is to assist the “actor” in improving and/or refining his or her tioners who engage in action research inevitably find it to be an empowering experience. Relevance is guaranteed because the focus of each research project is determined by the researchers, who are also the primary consumers of the s even more important is the fact that action research helps educators be more effective at what they care most about—their teaching and the development of their students. When teachers have convincing evidence that their work has made a real difference in their students' lives, the countless hours and endless efforts of teaching seem action research ional action research can be engaged in by a single teacher, by a group of colleagues who share an interest in a common problem, or by the entire faculty of a school. These seven steps, which become an endless cycle for the inquiring teacher, are the following:Identifying research informed 1—selecting a action research process begins with serious reflection directed toward identifying a topic or topics worthy of a busy teacher's time. Selecting a focus begins with the teacher researcher or the team of action researchers asking: what element(s) of our practice or what aspect of student learning do we wish to investigate? 2—clarifying second step involves identifying the values, beliefs, and theoretical perspectives the researchers hold relating to their focus. For example, if teachers are concerned about increasing responsible classroom behavior, it will be helpful for them to begin by clarifying which approach—using punishments and rewards, allowing students to experience the natural consequences of their behaviors, or some other strategy—they feel will work best in helping students acquire responsible classroom behavior 3—identifying research a focus area has been selected and the researcher's perspectives and beliefs about that focus have been clarified, the next step is to generate a set of personally meaningful research questions to guide the 4—collecting sional educators always want their instructional decisions to be based on the best possible data. Action researchers can accomplish this by making sure that the data used to justify their actions are valid (meaning the information represents what the researchers say it does) and reliable (meaning the researchers are confident about the accuracy of their data). Lastly, before data are used to make teaching decisions, teachers must be confident that the lessons drawn from the data align with any unique characteristics of their classroom or ensure reasonable validity and reliability, action researchers should avoid relying on any single source of data. Most teacher researchers use a process called triangulation to enhance the validity and reliability of their findings. Observing a phenomenon through multiple “windows” can help a single researcher compare and contrast what is being seen through a variety of planning instruction, teachers want the techniques they choose to be appropriate for the unique qualities of their students. All teachers have had the experience of implementing a “research-proven” strategy only to have it fail with their students. The ability of the action research process to satisfy an educator's need for “fit” may be its most powerful attribute. Because the data being collected come from the very students and teachers who are engaged with the treatment, the relevance of the findings is the harried and overworked teacher, “data collection” can appear to be the most intimidating aspect of the entire seven-step action research process. The key to managing triangulated data collection is, first, to be effective and efficient in collecting the material that is already swirling around the classroom, and, second, to identify other sources of data that might be effectively surfaced with tests, classroom discussions, or 5—analyzing gh data analysis often brings to mind the use of complex statistical calculations, this is rarely the case for the action researcher. A number of relatively user-friendly procedures can help a practitioner identify the trends and patterns in action research data. During this portion of the seven-step process, teacher researchers will methodically sort, sift, rank, and examine their data to answer two generic questions:What is the story told by these data? Answering these two questions, the teacher researcher can acquire a better understanding of the phenomenon under investigation and as a result can end up producing grounded theory regarding what might be done to improve the 6—reporting is often said that teaching is a lonely endeavor.
The loneliness of teaching is unfortunate not only because of its inefficiency, but also because when dealing with complex problems the wisdom of several minds is inevitably better than sad history of teacher isolation may explain why the very act of reporting on their action research has proven so powerful for both the researchers and their colleagues. The reporting of action research most often occurs in informal settings that are far less intimidating than the venues where scholarly research has traditionally been shared. Faculty meetings, brown bag lunch seminars, and teacher conferences are among the most common venues for sharing action research with peers. However, each year more and more teacher researchers are writing up their work for publication or to help fulfill requirements in graduate programs. Regardless of which venue or technique educators select for reporting on research, the simple knowledge that they are making a contribution to a collective knowledge base regarding teaching and learning frequently proves to be among the most rewarding aspects of this 7—taking informed informed action, or “action planning,” the last step in the action research process, is very familiar to most teachers. When teachers write lesson plans or develop academic programs, they are engaged in the action planning process. What makes action planning particularly satisfying for the teacher researcher is that with each piece of data uncovered (about teaching or student learning) the educator will feel greater confidence in the wisdom of the next steps. Although all teaching can be classified as trial and error, action researchers find that the research process liberates them from continuously repeating their past mistakes. More important, with each refinement of practice, action researchers gain valid and reliable data on their developing purposes for action stated earlier, action research can be engaged in by an individual teacher, a collaborative group of colleagues sharing a common concern, or an entire school faculty. These three different approaches to organizing for research serve three compatible, yet distinct, purposes:Building the reflective progress on schoolwide ng professional ng the reflective individual teachers make a personal commitment to systematically collect data on their work, they are embarking on a process that will foster continuous growth and development. In this way, the individual teachers conducting action research are making continuous progress in developing their strengths as reflective progress on schoolwide singly, schools are focusing on strengthening themselves and their programs through the development of common focuses and a strong sense of esprit de corps. As a result, when a faculty chooses to focus on one issue and all the teachers elect to enthusiastically participate in action research on that issue, significant progress on the schoolwide priorities cannot help but ng professional an entire faculty will share a commitment to student development, yet the group finds itself unable to adopt a single common focus for action research. However, like the doctors at the medical center, the teachers in a “quality” school may well differ on which specific aspects of the shared vision they are most motivated to pursue at any point in s whose faculties cannot agree on a single research focus can still use action research as a tool to help transform themselves into a learning organization. It is common practice in a quality medical center for physicians to engage in independent, even idiosyncratic, research agendas. However, it is also common for medical researchers to share the findings obtained from their research with colleagues (even those engaged in other specialties). In these schools, multiple action research inquiries occur simultaneously, and no one is held captive to another's priority, yet everyone knows that all the work ultimately will be shared and will consequently contribute to organizational action research now? Ever there were a time and a strategy that were right for each other, the time is now and the strategy is action research! This is true for a host of reasons, with none more important than the need to accomplish the following:Professionalize e the motivation and efficacy of a weary the needs of an increasingly diverse student e success with “standards-based” sionalizing ng in north america has evolved in a manner that makes it more like blue-collar work than a professional undertaking. With the exploding knowledge base on teaching and learning and the heightened demands on teachers to help all children achieve mastery of meaningful objectives, the inadequacy of the blue-collar model for teaching is becoming much the teachers in a school begin conducting action research, their workplace begins to take on more of the flavor of the workplaces of other professionals. Worse still, the respect that society had traditionally placed upon public school teachers is eroding, as teacher bashing and attacks on the very value of a public education are becoming a regular part of the political landscape.
For both teachers and athletes, the continuous presence of compelling data that their hard work is paying off becomes, in itself, a vitally energizing g the needs of a diverse student a homogeneous society in which all students come to school looking alike, it might be wise to seek the one right answer to questions of pedagogy. Nevertheless, great personal satisfaction comes from playing a role in creating successful solutions to continually changing puzzles. Specifically, most education departments and ministries have declared that they expect the standards to be rigorous and meaningful, and that they expect all students to meet the standards at the mastery stakes in the standards movement are high. If we accept the truth of that statement, then we need to acknowledge the fact that achieving the goal of universal student mastery will not be easy. For this reason, it is imperative that these 21st century pioneers, our classroom teachers, conduct the research on “standards attainment” the time is right for action research. The teachers, schools, and school systems that seize this opportunity and begin investing in the power of inquiry will find that they are re-creating the professional practice of education in their locale as a meaningful and rewarding pursuit.
