行动研究概念2

Professor Anne Burns

What is the difference between the other types of research we are talking about?

what is action research?

AR involves a self-reflective, systematic and critical approach to enquiry by participants who are at the same time members of the research community.

AR is about being there in the classroom, working with your students, but also investigating and examining very carefully and very deeply.

what is action research?

the aim is to identify problemtic situations or issues considered by participants to be worthy of investigation in order to bring about critically informed changed in practice. action research is underpinned by democratic principles in that the ownership of change is invested in those who conduct the research.

-Burns, cited in Cornwell,199,p.5

AR and other types of research 

Quantitative(positivist)         Qualitative(constructivist)       Action Research(intervetionist)

Theory-driven(theory determines data)  data-driven(data to theory construction) praxis-driven (practice to theory to practice)

numerical data (hypothesis-testing) narrative data (hypoth.-generating) eclectic data (quan and qual)

statistical analysis (patterns) thematic analysis (patterns) pedagogical analysis (patterns for enhanced practice) dynamic

"Objective" knowledge (no intervention) "Subjective" knowledge (possible intervention) emergent knowledge (total intervention)

Universal laws (general application) localised theories (local interpretation) contextual meanings (contextual change)

How does AR differ from other research?

-It is research with people not on people

-The researcher is a direct participant in the research

-It deliberately intervenes in the research setting to develop classroom practice and understanding.

- It is "subjective" rather than "objective"

-The goal is teachers' "theories for practice" (Burns, 1996) rather than generalisable findings