Application of Action Research

In the assigned reading from the Dana text demonstrated the use of action research in 9 different areas of educational leadership:

Staff development
Curriculum development
Individual teacher(s)
Individual student(s)
School culture and community
Leadership
Management
School performance
Social justice or equity issues

The interviews for this week gave practical advice for the use of action research in education from the classroom setting, all the way to the district level. Anyone can, and should, participate in action research when there is a need or and area of improvement. It is a very useful tool which only requires a small amount of time to look at data. The data can be quantitative (numbers) or qualitative (surveys, observations, interviews, focus groups, etc.). Using action research, the information gathered can then be translated to a slightly different need area on the researcher's campus. This saves a great deal of trial and error learning, and increases the potential for success and improvement because the researcher is using a method that has been used successfully before. This method allows the researcher to select the areas of improvement that are important to them or their campus/district and find methods to achieve success.

This has proven to be a valuable lesson in the practical application of action research. It is a tool that I will put to use as I become an educational administrator. It has shown me that I do not have to reinvent the wheel or come up with my own unique solution to a situation. Someone, somewhere, has probably experience a similar situation and successfully addressed it. All I need to do is take their idea, and tweak it to fit my situation. Action research could save countless hours of stress, and frustration I might otherwise encounter by trying several different ideas before finally coming up with something that works.