Action Research Summary

I have learned quite a bit about action research in the last few days. Action research is a term used in education circles. Action research takes place in a school setting and is conducted by the people that work/run the school. It is a process that lets teachers, administrators, and even superintendents solve a problem by coming up with a solution themselves either collectively or individually. Like in any process collaboration is encouraged but not required. What action research does is empower the people that seek a solution by making them knowledge-makers, rather than knowledge- users (Adams, 2006). In this process the practioners come usually come up with great solutions that are grounded in practice versus theoretical. For example, action research is not just about learning more about a topic, it is not a quest for understanding what is wrong, but rather how can we improve it. In the end the people working on a solution not only seek for an answer but also a way to improve a particular issue that could be effecting students in some way. The issues that school personal might interested in solving can range from classroom management to increasing parental involvement.