ACTION RESEARCH:

A GUIDE FOR USE ON 
INITIAL TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMMES

by

MOIRA LAIDLAW
copyright Moira J. Laidlaw 1992

WITH A FINAL REPORT

BY

JUSTINE HOCKING
 copyright, Justine Hocking, 1992.

I would like to offer my thanks to:

Jayne Prior, Jonathan Jones and Zac Watkins (1990/91) for their hard work, dedication, and assistance in the compilation of early drafts of this document;

Carol Black, and Alison Blofeld (1990/91) whose comments on the action research process were crucial to my growing understanding of it;

Justin Bryan, Karen Clark, Alison Irwin, Matthew McCollom, Katie Norwood, Bijan Riazi-Farzad, Diane Smith, Stella Southgate, Ione Stansfield, and Richard Stewart, (1991/92) whose dedication and willingness to give it a go remain an inspiration to me for the future;

Justine Hocking (1991/92) whose insights and candid challenges have facilitated a most valuable learning experience for us both this year. Our collaboration has been an inspiration for me, and I acknowledge my indebtedness to a young woman whose enthusiasm, sensitivity, idealism  and perception have enabled me to rediscover my own values ;

and

Jack Whitehead, my supervisor, for his boundless enthusiasm, kind support, friendship, constructive advice, and endless cups of coffee.

THE GUIDE: CONTENTS

PART ONE: GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

Foreword to the Guide		
	
Introduction/Personal Background	1				
1) Aims	2

	Who is it for?	3
	What is it?	4

2) Action or Research	5
                                                 
3) Criteria for Success 	7	                                               
4) Confidentiality  and Ethics                                                                                   10	                                                    
5) Validation Groups	12 	                                               
PART TWO: INDIVIDUAL COMMITMENT

1) Finding the Question	14
	                                             
2) How will I try to improve the quality of my practice?	15	

	Case Study									17			Use of the Planner								19

3) The Critical Friend and the Role of the Observer				20			
	Observation Techniques in the Classroom				21		
	Case Study									25									
4) Collecting Data									27 			
	Video											27			Tape-Recorder									30			Pupils’ Comments								31
	Questionnaire									31
	Colleagues Comments								32
	Outsiders’ Comments 								33
                                                    
5) The Uses and Usefulness of Talk 						34

	Case Study									37
                           
6) The Uses of Writing in Action Research					39
	Journal/Diary									39
	Notes										41
	Report/Making Public								42
	Who are you writing for?							43
	Case Study a)									44      
	Case Study b)									45
PART THREE: COLLABORATION              

1) With Jayne Prior PGCE student 1990/91 					 49          
2) Notes on Collaboration								 59
	Case Study  									 59                                       
3) With Jonathan Jones PGCE student 1990/91					 62
4) Validity and Pupil Learning							 66    
5) Comments from  Final Reports:							
	Carol Black									69
	Diane Smith									70
	Stella Southgate									73
	Ione Stansfield									76
									
6) Questions commonly asked about action research 			77                                                     

Epilogue										81

Further Reading										82
JUSTINE HOCKING: FINAL REPORT

Foreword to the Report by Moira Laidlaw				84		                                  	
Prologue										85
	
Act One:

	Introduction									86				Why write this Special Study?						88

Act Two	

	The Question									89
	Enter Year Ten								90
	What were my Aims?							91
	Learning Pattern								93
	Empathy									94

Act Three

	The Attempt to Answer the Question					97
	Who are Year Ten?								97
	The Strategy									98
	Implementation								98
	What did I do?								100
	Enter Professor Müller							101
	Video										104
	Empathy									105
	Segregation									108
	Reactions									109

Act Four

	Enter Lee									111
	The Re-emergence of Values						112
	Teacher Poem									113

The Interval: Disillusionment						114

	Any Progress?									114

Act Five: A New Direction							119

	Lee’s Work									120
	Farewell to Lee								122

Act Six: Conclusions								122

Epilogue: The Dream Continues						125

Foreword to the Guide

  I work at the School of Education at the University of Bath in a part-time capacity. I come into contact in any given year with about sixty PGCE secondary students, some on teaching practice (with my English teacher hat on) some in a tutorial group based at the university before and after teaching practices, and on the English Elective course. For the last two years I have been working with students as well who have elected to undertake an action enquiry on their second (and final) teaching practice.  I am studying for my M.Phil/Ph.D., and an integral part of my own research is in trying to find ways of helping practically in the students’ own action enquiries, and this final version of the Guide constitutes as well an expression of where I have come to in my own thinking.

 The writing and subsequent evaluation of this Guide constitute one aspect of my own action enquiry, which is focussed on the question: ‘How can I better support action enquiries undertaken on teaching practice by initial teacher education students?’  Through my experiences with students over the last two years I have become increasingly aware of the need for a practical Guide to Action Research. This is it! It has seen many revisions. I have been using versions of it with students over two years and with their help and comments from colleagues I have attempted to refine its practical implications and uses. This year (1991/92) I have been most fortunate in working with a PGCE History student, Justine Hocking, whose Action Enquiry Report forms the second part of this publication. I have attempted in this final version of the Guide to integrate some of our talks, explorations and growing insights into the text,  so that the reader can get a clear sense of the kinds of collaborative work which characterise action enquiries. I would like to state here that without the dedication and purposeful endeavour of Justine, my own research this year would not have been either so challenging or rewarding. It has been an inspiring experience to work with someone whose enthusiasm, critical openness and determination to do her best for her pupils has characterised all her activities. 

  I have also integrated the insights and processes of some other students into the Guide, some from this year, mentioned above, and two from last year as well. I am grateful for their permission to allow me to use transcripts from discussions and writings which I am sure will be useful to the reader.

 At times it has been difficult to know into what sections to integrate the processes of Action Research enquiries as they have been experienced by my students and myself. For example, in the chapters on Talk and Writing, there are case studies which might seem to fit in either section. I have tried to include the material thematically, so that for instance in the Writing chapter there are some pages devoted to a taped conversation about the value of writing in Action Research. It can also be read, however, as an indication of the value of talk in coming to know one’s own practice and reality.