How Can Action Research Sustain Systematic and Structured Thinking in Participating Teachers?

Abstract

Action Research has been used worldwide as a professional development tool, especially for teachers. The fundamental premise of this work is that the Action Research Framework (Lewin in J Soc Issues 2:34–46, 1946) of Plan-Act-Observe-Reflect is aligned with systematic and structured thinking, lending itself as it does to enquiry, analysis, hypothesis and problem-solving of organisational issues. It has been legitimated as science by Susman and Evered (Sci Q 23(4):582–603, 1978), and this paper begins from the position that Action Research (AR)—in terms of the thinking that AR demands and generates—calls for a scientific approach that is contextual, and generates relevant knowledge that is located in the experiential field of the action researcher. Since critical thinking and analytical skills are at the heart of a scientific approach, such an approach is important for teachers—regardless of the subject that they teach. As teachers enable their students to develop these skills, it is important to ask—how far do they refine their own thinking, and/or examine it so as to render it more critical, analytical and probing? Do they? And if they do, how does this manifest in their own classroom practices? If they do not, how can they be empowered to do so? Through structured interviews with four teachers (three Mathematics, one Science) who had engaged in AR approximately a year prior to this research, this paper serves to explore possible outcomes of AR by posing questions such as: When teachers have conducted AR to address one or more of their day-to-day practices, does (or how can) their engagement with AR enable teachers to think systematically about and analyse critically any other issues—for a significant period thereafter? Does/how can the engagement with a sequential framework like AR empower them to sustain this structured way of thinking and acting a year or so after their AR is completed? The purpose behind asking these questions is to explore if (and how) AR can serve as a tool to make teachers veer towards greater/deeper observation of their school processes as well as their own thought processes; and enquiry, analysis and verification of their initial hypotheses in classroom processes, especially since (Science, Mathematics and even Social Science) teachers are expected to draw out these skills from their students. A set of recommendations for teacher professional development through AR is finally proposed.