Ethical dilemmas of youth participatory action research in a democratic setting

ABSTRACT

This article discusses ethical issues involved in facilitating the research of young people on controversial issues. This article considers the potential ethical dilemmas of teachers facilitating a particular form of activism – youth participatory action research (YPAR). We consider how teachers foster school-wide conversations on difficult issues and support students who wish to take a critical stand on issues of race, class and gender. The article also discusses how to scaffold the exploration of topics that require emotional maturity and might lead to shifts in beliefs that run counter to the values of one’s family.     

香港儿童青少年阅读研究与推广

进入21世纪以来,香港儿童青少年阅读能力大幅度提高,在两项重要的国际性教育评价项目PIRLS和PISA中均有突出表现,充分显示了香港在青少年阅读研究与推广方面的实绩与成就。本文从香港特殊的历史文化背景出发,对香港儿童青少年阅读的研究与推广进行考察和分析。     

英语写作课的行动研究

教学行动研究是解决教学与研究相脱节的途径之一，由于它的可操作性与实效性而逐渐受到人们的关注。本文旨在把这种方法运用于英语写作教学，既是一种尝试，同时也有益于改进英语写作教学方法。     

Responsible action research for the pursuit of justice

The pursuit of justice has concerned human beings for centuries and, despite its importance, often remains outside the boundaries of our educational systems. This article reports on a study of an action research seminar for a group of teacher leaders in a position to instigate positive change within their educational context, and make their actions occasions for justice. In order to better understand the textual data generated by the teacher leaders, we devised an analytical lens that draws from modern rabbinical scholarship, eco-political (socio-political) studies, and existentialism. We found at this intersection that, despite the teacher leaders recognizing injustice, and at times protesting against it, their ability to act, formulate solutions, and conduct action research – and even their very concept of justice – was heavily influenced and constrained by the dominant political regime of the US educational system. An explanatory framework emerged that sheds light on the dynamic interplay among justice, politics, and beliefs, while also revealing the constraints to pursuing justice from within a leadership structure. We conclude that for action research to be a means for teachers and teacher leaders to begin to modify their practice so they are sensitive to the voices of the marginalized, to see their actions as opportunities for justice, and to provide collaborative experiences that help other teachers develop their ways of thinking, acting, and interacting in pursuit of justice, those who teach action research must be willing to do the very same.     

The complementarity of formative intervention research,action research and action learning

ABSTRACT

Background

This article focuses on the complementarity between formative interventions research conducted within the framework of cultural historical activity theory, action research and learning, as well as how this complementarity influences the researcher’s role.     

Participatory action research and the public sphere

Some action research today lacks a critical edge. This article identifies five inadequate forms of action research, and argues that action research must be capable of ‘telling unwelcome truths’ against schooling in the interests of education. It reasserts a connection between education and emancipatory ideals that allow educators to address contemporary social challenges. It suggests how educational trends in recent decades may have led to the domestication of educational action research, and concludes with three messages about quality in educational action research. It re‐thinks educational action research initiatives as creating intersubjective spaces for public discourse in public spheres.     

安徽省十二届运动会竞技健美操男单项目难度动作分析

通过现场观看比赛和分析录像对安徽省十二届运动会竞技健美操男单项目出现的难度动作进行分析,以便了解其竞技健美操使用各组难度动作及质量规格的现状.结果发现：以体现爆发力为主的C组（跳与跃）难度选择运用的最多;难度分值以中下等水平为主;总体完成质量不高,成套动作中运动员在难度动作的选择与完成上存在一定的差距.     

The student voice in well-being: a case study of participatory action research in positive education

Positive education blends academic learning and student well-being. Although research and application in positive education is growing, most has involved psychologists and educators applying strategies in schools, with little research that involves student voices in the development and implementation of a school’s positive education strategy. Assumptions are frequently made about what is best for student well-being, with little input from the students themselves. This paper describes a case study of participatory action research (PAR) carried out by students (N = 10) at a publically funded Australian school aiming to implement positive education. PAR is a form of collective inquiry undertaken by the people that the issue directly affects. The PAR group researched the school community regarding well-being during the school year. Mixed methods examined PAR student’s well-being, self-efficacy, autonomy, social and emotional assets, and other competencies before and after the process. Student involvement allowed the school to better understand their students’ well-being, and student-led communication about positive education laid the groundwork for its implementation. Results suggested benefits for the PAR students, particularly in engagement and self-efficacy. This realistically scaled study suggests that involving students using a framework of PAR is a promising, accessible, evidence-based, and developmentally beneficial approach to the implementation of positive education.     

Exploring pedagogies to elevate inquiry: teaching action research in the third space

ABSTRACT

This study chronicles a semester long inquiry focused on the impacts of pedagogical strategies informed by the tenets of third space theory on my own practices and understanding of students’ learning outcomes in an action research course. As I applied new instructional strategies to promote discourse and critical inquiry, I reflexively explored how these approaches enhanced my impacts on students’ learning and praxis of action research. This paper first provides a brief introduction to third space theory and then describes how I infused this framework into my course approach, the different types of data collected and analyzed to gauge the impacts of new pedagogies, and findings that emerged. These are summarized in relation to the conditions that both undergirded and elevated students’ engagement, and directions for further research to advance the praxis of action research across teacher education contexts.     

Using action research and action learning for entrepreneurial network capability development

This paper applies an action research (AR) design and action learning (AL) approach to network capability development in an entrepreneurial context. Recent research suggests that networks are a viable strategy for the entrepreneurial firm to overcome the liabilities associated with newness and smallness. However, a gap emerges as few, if any, studies have examined the process and challenges in developing and using network capability to generate advantage through collaboration with network actors. In recognising that capabilities are developed rather than acquired, this paper address this theoretical gap and contributes to literature by tracing the development of network capability in an entrepreneurial context. A further contribution of the paper is in applying an AR design and AL sets as a method for capability development for the entrepreneurial firm. Findings suggest that, although network capability is of use, to develop the ability to use it requires a change in the market making perceptions of the entrepreneur from an independence mind-set to a more collaborative, interdependent one. Our research also supports the applicability of AL as an intervention strategy to promote action and learning among entrepreneurs for capability development, fitting the learning preferences of the nascent venture. For practitioners, evolving towards an interdependent mind-set facilitates network capability use and has the potential to relieve some of the resource pressure on entrepreneurs by providing them with strategic routes through their existing and potential network ties. For the entrepreneurship literature, a benefit stemming from this study is in introducing AR in its design and AL sets as an invention strategy in addition to developing theory in relation to network capability development.     

Building purposeful action: action methods and action research

Examination of a piece of psychodramatic work indicates there are similarities, as well as differences between action methods (AM) and action research (AR). It appears that connections between AR and AM could be strengthened for mutual benefit. The article builds on this and introduces AM to action researchers and proposes some ways AM could be used in AR. These include AM's focus on building the spontaneity and creativity of groups in the here and now, the systemic portrayal of situations with the ability for efficient and dynamic iterations of the action research cycle, and the integration of the individual within themselves (thoughts, feelings and action), while at the same time engaging with others     

教育行动研究的类型分析

教育行动研究是一个具有多种形态的研究过程,不同形态的行动研究具有不同的性质。从研究水平的角度,教育行动研究可以分为技术的、慎思的和解放的行动研究;从参与者的角度可以分为独立式、支持式和协同式行动研究。     

基于学生发展的校本研究:理念与实践

基于学生发展的校本研究模式是以区县教科所(室)为组织管理单位.中小学校长为第一责任人,教学副校长、德育副校长或主任为负责人,年级组长或教研组长、大队辅导员为召集人,班主任为主持人,由教授同一个班级的所有任课教师组成一个研究团队.各相关人员共同参与(包括学校领导,班干部、家长等),把研究班级、学生发展基础、存在问题、发展需求和潜能作为研究对象,为达到有效促进每一个班级、学生的全面发展,有组织、定期开展研究活动的校本研究.实践证明,这种校本研究模式的建立可以从制度上打破学科限制,形成教同一个班级的任课教师协同合作机制,保障教师集体研究学生,落实差异教育,共同促进有特殊需求班级、学生的健康发展.     

Understanding the complexity of teacher reflection in action research

Reflection in action research is a complex matter, as is action research itself. In recent years, complexity science has regularly been called upon in order to more thoroughly understand the complexity of action research. The present article investigates the benefits that complexity science may yield for reflection in action research. This article begins by explicating the sense in which the complexity of reflection in action research involves the role of values and existential knowledge in education. The gap between theory and practice is also explored. On the basis of a number of common features of complex systems (heterogeneous, open, dynamic, non-linear, adaptive, and co-adaptive), the sense in which reflection can be regarded as a complex system is discussed. To this end, the features of complex systems are translated into features of reflection in action research, which, in turn, are illustrated with examples from recent publications on reflection in action research. The aim of this analysis is to make reflection in action research more understandable and manageable. In line with this, it is argued that room for insecurity and unpredictability, combined with an explicit consideration of reflection as a complex system, contributes to the use of complexity as a stimulus for new learning.     

行动研究学在商务英语教学中的应用

随着我国经济的发展,商务英语人才需求越来越大,本文从介绍行动研究的定义出发,结合商务英语教学研究,旨在建立一种互动的、以发展学生语言能力为宗旨的现代化教学模式。教学行动研究是解决教学与研究领域脱节问题的手段之一,它能使教师在教学实践中及教学研究过程中,不断发现问题、解决问题、反思问题,从而制订有效的教学方案,以解决教学中的实际问题。     

Deliberation,capability and action research: knowledge and becoming

In this short paper I examine whether obtaining the capability to change practice can be solely achieved through reflective action research, and how. I take as our framework of analysis that offered by Aristotelian thought, especially in the discussion of powers and potential. I conclude that action research as a way of changing practice cannot be only deliberative, but must be based on learning new, propositional knowledge. This is needed so that reflecting, as understanding, on existing practices can be better realised and, importantly, augmented by new capabilities. This may support the idea of continued professional learning taking priority over reflective practice in reaching and maintaining professional mastery.     

Teachers in action research: assumptions and potentials

Research literature has long indicated that action research may stimulate practitioners themselves to actively evaluate the quality of their practice. This study is designed to report the use of action research for the development of early years professional practice by analyzing the pre‐project and the post‐project video‐filmed teaching events. The finding was that action research might support knowledge development in the teacher profession. However, the teacher's ability to accommodate outside knowledge might be limited by one's inside knowledge. The study helps to clarify the assumptions and potentials of action research for teachers learning to teach.     

Collaborative action research for middle grades improvement

Technology’s rapid evolution applies constant pressure to educational organizations, suggesting a need to continually re-envision schools for the digital age. Yet educators often struggle to understand the growing chasm between students’ out-of-school and in-school technology lives. This gap is particularly noticeable during the middle grades years, when home technology use increases dramatically. The purpose of this research was to examine the experiences of teachers and students engaged in collaborative action research for middle school improvement in technology-rich settings. We begin by outlining our theoretical framework, emphasizing Fletcher’s Ladder of Student Involvement. We then describe our case-study design and methods. Findings are organized by action research components and a discussion of key themes follows. Finally, we consider the implications of this study for action research as a means of student involvement and teacher learning.     

Emerging communities of practice: collaboration and communication in action research

This article chronicles the experiences of Dialogues in Methods of Education (DIME), a group of school and university faculty. Over the past 22 years, DIME members have studied together how to improve their own teaching practices through research, the sharing of ideas and mutual support. They have also engaged in critical analysis of the disciplinary and institutional forces shaping their work. The history of DIME shows the importance of accommodating difference as well as providing mutual support for long-term collaborations.     

Participatory action research in culturally complex societies: opportunities and challenges

One of the aims of participatory action research (PAR) is to bring realities of lives closer together through dialogue and ‘conscientization’, raising critical awareness among participants from all backgrounds. Promoting participation often assumes a power shift from the decision-makers to the majority of society, who can be the end-receivers of decisions made. Once some kind of awareness is achieved, the participants should be able to challenge the causes of their perceived oppression, or resolve the suffering that is endured, if that is what they hope to achieve. However, the situation is more complex in many contemporary societies, in which there are not only differing cultural beliefs related to religion, but different ontologies about being and living in the world. There is much contemporary debate about the possibilities of critique that take on board divergent sociomaterial realities within the same classroom. Practical and structural differences can pose challenges to conducting PAR research. In this article, we address the distinctive nature of PAR in relation to a culturally diverse group of participants. We argue that research using a PAR framework can result in subtle ethical challenges, which also provide insights for opportunities and strategies. Drawing from the authors’ experiences in multicultural education and working with culturally diverse youth and postgraduate students, opportunities and challenges of applying a PAR approach are discussed. We conclude with the suggestion that PAR remains consistent with its original transformative goals, but also remain open to further explorations of activism that address pressing contemporary concerns within culturally complex societies.