VNU Journal of Science, Foreign Languages 25 (2009) 97-106

Why is action research suitable for education?

Tran Thi Thu Hien*

Department of Foreign Languages for Specific Purposes, College of Foreign Languages,
Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Pham Van Dong Street, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam
Received 4 February 2009

Abstract. Action research is actually suitable for any person who wishes to improve his or her
performance; or any group or organization who hopes for doing the same. As a matter of fact,
action research is widely used in education, especially by teachers who use it to improve their
teaching. Teachers from all over the world, from the United States, Australia, New Zealand to
Vietnam, etc have employed action research as a part of their teaching and research. Obviously,
action research well matches with education and benefits both teachers and students in their
teaching and learning since it meets the need of education and enables continuity in research with
its cyclic process. The suitability of action research to education reveals in its nature,
characteristics, “circle within circle” process, etc. In order to find a proper answer for the above
question, this article will look at all aspects concerning action research including definitions,
advantages, steps, etc to see the importance and the benefits of action research to education.

1. Education setting and research* ● The methodology used must be reliable

enough to allow teachers to formulate
Traditionally, research in education intends hypotheses confidently and develop strategies
to bring useful changes to either teachers’ applicable to the classroom situation;
teaching or students’ learning or both.
● The teacher should be committed to the
Educators as teacher researchers often wish to
research problem under study;
carry out research within their classrooms or
schools to improve their teaching, to assess a ● Teachers must follow ethical procedures
newly developed educational theory or to when carrying out research; and
implement and evaluate an educational plan. ● Classroom research where possible
According to Hopkins [1] a basis for the should adopt a perspective where all members
selection of a classroom research by teachers of a school community build and share a
centers around the following criteria: common vision.
● The teacher’s primary role is to teach and In the era of teaching as research, teacher
any research project must not interfere with or researchers have adopted term “action research”
disrupt this commitment; to refer to their particular approach to
● The method of data collection should not classroom research. So far, action research has
be too demanding on the teacher’s time; proved its suitability to education and become
______ more and more important in education
*
Tel.: 84-4-38329045. organizations.
E-mail: [email protected]
97
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2. Definitions of action research improvement in their teaching and at the same

time develop an understanding which informs
Kurt Lewin, a German social psychologist, the change and is an addition to what is known.
has been credited with the development of the Also concerning educational action
idea of action research. He first found that research, Carr and Kemmis [6] put their general
experimental methods, in many cases, were definition of action research into education
inadequate and unsatisfactory. He then tried to setting as “action research is a form of self-
seek for a method that based on people’s real- reflective inquiry that can be utilized by
world experience; from that time on, action teachers in order to improve the rationality and
research has entered the world of researchers. justice of (i) their own practices, (ii) their
According to Kurt Lewin [2], action understanding of these practices and (iii) the
research is “a comparative research on the situations in which these practices are carried
conditions and effects of various forms of social out. Obviously, the role of action research in
action and research leading to social action”; education has been acknowledged for a long
this type of research uses “a spiral step,” each of time when Hutchinson and Whitehouse [7],
which is “composed of a circle of planning, action Lomax [8] claim that action research is a
and fact-finding about the result of the action”. research that “concerns with broader curriculum
Also discussing about action research, Carr issues, and often with the administration and
and Kemmis [3] pay much attention to the management of school and institutional
purposes of action research when they define it change.” Glickman [9] says that action research
as “a form of self-reflective enquiry undertaken in education setting is a study conducted by
by participants in social situations in order to teacher researchers to improve problems in their
improve the rationality and justice of their own classrooms. In addition, Calhoun [10] explains
practices, their understanding of these practices action research as a fancy research when she says
and the situations in which the practices are that “let’s study what’s happening in our school
carried out”. and decide how to make it a better place”.
On the other hand, looking at the nature of In short, it is possible to say that action
action research, O’Brien [4] asserts that research can be looked at as a professional
although action research has been referred to by development tool since it tries to enhance the
different names such as participatory research, capacity of teachers as generator of professional
collaborative inquiry, emancipatory research, knowledge in contrast to enhancing their
action learning or contextural action research, it capacity to apply someone else’s knowledge.
is truly understood as “learning by doing” (Burns [11]).
namely, a group of people encounter a problem;
they do something to resolve it; they then see
how successful their efforts are and if they are 3. Purposes of using action research in
not satisfied with the result they can try it again. education
O’Brien’s view is shared by Dick [5] when
Burns [11] acknowledges action research as
he states that “action research is a natural way
of acting and researching at the same time”. To an influential tool for school and classroom
make it clearer, Dick affirms that action investigation. He claims that purposes of action
research is a true reflection of its names as it is research in education fall broadly into
intended to achieve both action and research at categories that reflect action research as:
the same time. It is critically suitable for ● A means of remedying problems in a
educational situations where teachers wish to specific situations or somewhat improving a
bring about action in the form of change or given set of circumstances.
 T.T.T. Hien / VNU Journal of Science, Foreign Languages 25 (2009) 97-106 99

● A means of in-service training by ● It aims at changing things.

equipping the teachers with new skills and Especially, they stress that the momentum for
methods, sharpening analytical powers and carrying out an action research is to change the
heightening self-awareness. system. This assertion is different from Cohen and
● A means of injecting additional or Manion [14] when they identify collaboration as
innovatory approaches to teaching and learning an important feature of action research.
into an ongoing system which normally inhibits Relatively different, Borgia and Schuler
innovation and change. [15] describe components of action research as
● A means of improving the normally poor the “Five C’s”:
communications between the practising ● Commitment: Time commitment should
teachers and the academic researchers and of be carefully considered by participants of action
remedying the failure of traditional research to research since it takes them time to get
give clear prescriptions. acquaintance with other participants, think
● A means of providing a preferable about change, try new approach, collect data,
alternative to the more subjective, interpret results, etc.
impressionistic approach to problem-solving in ● Collaboration: In an action research all
the classroom. participants are equal to each others in terms of
giving ideas, suggestions or anything that leads
to success of the change.
4. Characteristics of action research
● Concern: In the research process,
Hitherto, many scholars have attempted to participants will build up a group of “critical
characterize action research in terms of a friends” who trust each other and the value of
school-based research. From Carr and the project.
Kemmis’s [3] definition, McDonough [12] ● Consideration: As it is mentioned above,
proposes four characteristics of ‘pure’ action reflective practice is a mindful review of a
research as follows: professional research like action research. It
● It is participant-driven and reflective; demands concentration and careful
● It is collaborative; consideration as one seeks patterns and
relationships that will create meaning within the
● It leads to change and the improvement of investigation.
practice not just knowledge in itself; and
● Change: For humans, especially teachers,
● It is context-specific.
change is continuing and it is a significant
This is because an action research is usually element in remaining their effectiveness.
implemented in a specific classroom by a Briefly speaking, Creswell [16] proposes
particular teacher or group of teachers who six key characteristics of action research as:
work together (and in collaboration with
students) to pursue a change or improvement in ● A practical focus;
their teaching and learning issues. ● The educator-researcher’s own practices;
Kemmis and Mc Taggart [13] argue that the ● Collaboration;
three defining characteristics of action research are: ● A dynamic process;
● It is carried out by practitioners ● A plan of action and; and
(classroom teachers) rather than outside ● Sharing research.
researchers;
Creswell asserts that understanding the
● It is collaborative; and above characteristics will help teachers better
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design their own study to read, evaluate and use paper finds that change is a key feature of
an action research study published in literature. action research since action research is used in
Particularly, action research aims at addressing real educational situations focusing on solving
an actual problem in a specific education setting real problems in education and at the end of
namely the teacher researchers are studying a each study; change must take place quickly or
practical issue that will benefit education. holistically.
Besides, teacher researchers engage in action
research first and foremost because of their own
situation rather than someone else’s practice. In 5. “Circle within circle” process of an action
this sense, they engage in “participatory” or research
“self-reflective teaching”; namely, they reflect
Steps in action research vary from different
on what they have learnt and what they can do
points of view as Creswell [16] asserts that
to improve their own educational situation.
“action research is a dynamic, flexible process”
Moreover, in the research development,
and there is “no blueprint exists for how to
researchers collaborate with one another and all proceed.” Hence, it is really impossible to assert
co-participants in an action research is referred this or that researcher is right with exact four,
to as collaborative team including teachers, five, six, seven or eight steps in their action
students, administrators and even parents and research. Sometimes, it is hard to define a clear
stakeholders. All of them involve in a dynamic cut between the steps and the number of steps
process or exactly a “spiral of activities” in in action research may vary depending on
which they go back and forth between different points of view held by researchers.
reflection about a problem, data collection and
Traditionally, Lewin’s [2] model of action
action. Creswell also maintains that at a certain research involves a cyclic sequence including
stage of the process, in order to respond to the two major phases: diagnosis and therapeutic.
problem studied, action researchers will These two phases are then divided into seven
formulate an either formal or informal action plan substages as follows:
which will engage few individual or the entire
● Stage 1: In this stage, problem or just
community into research. Especially, action
general idea about state of affair a participant
research is different from other type of research in
wish to change or improve is identified,
terms of sharing the results. Traditionally,
evaluated or formulated.
researchers report their investigation in journals or
book publications but action researchers usually ● Stage 2: This stage is the time for fact
first present their research to teachers and other finding so that a fully drawn picture of the
educational officials. situation is presented to help the researcher
clarify the nature of the problem.
In short, during their studies, scholars may
provide different opinions about action ● Stage 3: This stage is related and
research; some of them say that collaboration is synthesized with the critical review of the
the defining characteristic of action research problem in stage two. It aims at reviewing
while others insist that publication is an research literature to discover what can be
important one. However, although the above learnt from comparable studies, their purposes,
characteristics may slightly different from one procedures and problems they come across
another, they all acknowledge action research come across. Usually, in this stage, the
as a powerful tool for teachers to find solutions researcher generates hypotheses which attempt
for problems in their own education settings, or to enlighten some of the facts of the problem.
to change or improve some of their educational ● Stage 4: This is the stage where the
issues. Personally speaking, the author of this researcher starts to gather relevant information
 T.T.T. Hien / VNU Journal of Science, Foreign Languages 25 (2009) 97-106 101

to test hypotheses proposed in the previous They determine circumstances and methods of
stage. However, it is important to note that this data collection, classification and analysis; they
testing of hypotheses is not statistical testing also together monitor the task and consider the
but an action seeing whether the evidence is choice of evaluative procedures.
compatible with the hypotheses. Lewin also ● Stage 7: This stage includes the
suggests that even when one has finished interpretation of data collected and the overall
testing hypotheses he should keep the status of evaluation of the research. At this stage, the cycle
“hypotheses” rather than “conclusions” as he of research is likely to be repeated. At the end of
may encounter situations where these each cycle, outcomes of the research are studied,
hypotheses do not apply. some suggestions are proposed and test, etc. The
● Stage 5: At this stage, teachers and other projected is finally reported to the public.
participants in collaborative team will discuss, Sharing the view with Lewin’s idea of the
negotiate and made decisions on the selection of repeating cycles of action research, Kemmis [17]
research procedures including material choice, has developed a simple model of the cyclical
teaching methods, allocations of tasks, etc. nature of the typical action research process. He
● Stage 6: This stage get participants asserts that each cycle of an action research has
involved in the realization of the action plan. four steps: plan, act, observe and reflect.

Figure 1. Simple action research mode.

Slightly different, Susman [18] identifies five steps to be implemented in an action research as
follows:
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Step 1:
DIAGNOSING
Identifying or
defining a problem

Step 5: Step 2:
SPECIFYING ACTION PLANNING
LEARNING Considering
Identifying general alternative courses
findings of action

Step 4: Step 3:
EVALUATING TAKING ACTION
Studying the Selecting a course
consequences of of action
an action

Figure 2. Detailed action research mode.

Concerning action research as activity ● Step 1: Identify topic or issue to study;

research, Nunan [19] argues that the seven steps ● Step 2: Collect data related to the chosen
in the action research cycle are: topic or issue;
● Step1: Initiation - A problem triggers the ● Step 3: Analyze and interprete the
idea of action research collected data; and
● Step 2: Preliminary investigation - ● Step 4: Carry out action planning, which
Baseline data are collected to help understand represents the appliaction of the action research
the nature of the problem. results.
● Step 3: Hypotheses - A hypothesis is In contrast, Creswell [16] looks at
formulated after reviewing the initial data. procedure of action research as detail process
● Step 4: Intervention - A number of with 8 steps as:
strategies are devised and applied. ● Step 1: Determine if action research is the
● Step 5: Evaluation - An assessment is best design to use;
carried out to evaluate the intervention. Some ● Step 2: Identify a problem to study;
steps may be repeated.
● Step 3: Locate resources to help address
● Step 6: Dissemination - A report of the the problem;
research is published. Ideas emerged from the
● Step 4: Identify information to be needed;
research are shared.
● Step 5: Implement the data collection;
● Step 7: Follow-up - Alternative solutions
for the problem are continually investigated. ● Step 6: Analyze the data;
To make it simple, Gay and Airasian [20] ● Step 7: Develop a plan for action; and
propose the basic steps in action research as ● Step 8: Implement the plan and reflect.
follows:
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In brief, these above processes of action around emanciaption and the overcoming of
research are different from one another since power imbalances”. The two branches of this
they are either basic, simple or elaborate school is Participatory Action Research and
models. During the research, one may find a Feminist Action Research.
models either more effective or less suitable “Educational action research is founded
than the other ones depending of particular after John Dewey, an American educational
situations and education settings. philosopher, who held that professional
educators should become involved in
community problem-solving”. Naturally, it
6. Types of action research
concentrates on development of curriculum,
According to O’Brien [4], the development professional improvement, and applying
of action research has witnessed four main learning in a social context.
“streams” that have emerged as: (i) Traditional From a different point of view, Creswell
action research, (ii) Contextural action research [16] argues that there are two main types of
(Action learning), (iii) Radical action research action research as follows:
and (iv) Educational action research. Namely, ● Practical action research
Traditional action research is originated ● Participatory action research
from Lewin’s work within organizations. It Practical action research is used in
tends toward conservative, general maintaining situations in which teacher researchers “seek to
the status quo with regards to organization enhance the practice of education through the
power structures. “The growth importance of systematic study of a local problem.” It usually
labour-management relation led to the involves a small-case research project, narrowly
application of action research in area of directs at a specific problem or issue and is
organization development”. undertaken by individual teachers or teams
“Contextural action research, also known as within a particular education setting.
action learning, is stemmed from Trist’s work Participatory action research is usually
on relations between organizations. This implemented in larger scale to improve “the
approach stresses on participants’ act as project quality of people’s organisation, communities
designers or co-researchers and sructural and family lives”. Namely, it has a “social and
relations among actors in a social environment community orientation” and it focuses on
(context)”. research that “contributes to emancipation or
“Radical action research has its roots in change in our society”.
Marxian "dialectical materialism" and it centers

Table 1. Two types of action research

TWO TYPES OF ACTION RESEARCH

Practical action research Participatory action research
- Studying local practices - Studying social issues that constrain individual lives
- Involving individual or team-base inquiry - Emphasizing “equal” collaboration
- Focusing on teacher development and student - Focusing on “life-enhancing” change
learning
- Implementing a plan of action - Resulting in the imancipated researchers
- Leading to the teacher-as-researcher
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7. Benefits of action research to education ● Teacher refelection can be conducted

individually or in a school-based team
Teachers as researcher and students as composed of students, teachers and
change-receiver profit much from action research. admistrators.
When looking at educational dimension of action
Sharing the view with Borgia and Schuler
research, Gay and Airasian [20] prove benefits
[15], Mills [21] admits the importance of action
resulted from the application of action research to
research in education by adding that action
education as follows:
research:
● Teachers investigate their own practice in
new ways, looking deeper in what they and ● Encourages change in schools;
their studenst actually do and fail to do. ● Fosters a democratic approach to
● Teachers develop a deeper understanding of education;
students, the teacher learning process and their role ● Empowers individuals through
in the education of both teachers and students. collaboration on projects;
● Teachers are viewed as equal partners in ● Positions teachers and other eduactors as
deciding what works best and what needs learners who seek to narrow the gap between
improvement in their classroom or classrooms. practice and their vision education;
● In most cases, solutions for identified ● Encourages educators to reflect on their
problems are arrived cooperatively among teachers. practice; and
● Teachers are often more committed to ● Promotes a process of testing new ideas.
action research because they identify the areas
they view as problematical and in need of change.
● Action research is an ongoing process and 8. Action research in research paradigm
its strategies can be widely applied.
According to O’Brien [4], in the past
● Professional development and school several centuries, action research was situated
improvement are core aspects for any teacher in positivist paradigm as follows:
who engages in action research.

Epistemology Objectivism

Theoretical perspective Logical Positivism

Methodology Action research

Methods Qualitative

Figure 3. Action research in traditional research paradigm.

 T.T.T. Hien / VNU Journal of Science, Foreign Languages 25 (2009) 97-106 105

This paradigm is understandable basing on ositivism, used in scientific and applied

a number of principles: a belief in an objective research, has been considered the antithesis of
reality, knowledge of which is only gained from the principles of action research (Susman and
sense data that can be directly experienced and Evered [22], Winter, [23]).
verified between independent observers. However, over the last half century, a new
Phenomena are subject to natural laws that research paradigm “characterized by a belief in a
humans discover in a logical manner through socially constructed, subjectively-based reality”
empirical testing, using inductive and deductive has emerged in social science. Thus, action
hypotheses derived from a body of scientific research, which still keeps hold of the ideals of
theory. Its methods rely heavily on quantitative researcher objectivity, is now situated in
measures, with relationships among variables interpretive paradigm (O’Brien [4]) as follows:
commonly shown by mathematical means.

Epistemology Social Constructionism

Theoretical perspective Interpretivism

Methodology Action research

Methods Qualitative

Figure 4. Action research in modern research paradigm.

9. Conclusion the cycle. Briefly, action research is so suitable to

education as it is a process of exploration in which
In summary, although some people may teachers explore such things as themselves as an
critique that action research is an informal educators, their lives or unique perspectives of
research since teachers are not academic their students, the structure and practices of
researchers, it is widely believed that action educational systems in oder to bring possitive
research is extremely suitable for education as its change to their schools and communities.
main purpose is to help teachers as researchers
solve their teaching problems “in action”. It References
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Tại sao lại nói nghiên cứu tìm giải pháp

phù hợp với lĩnh vực giáo dục?

Trần Thị Thu Hiền

Khoa Ngoại ngữ chuyên ngành, Trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ,
Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội, Đường Phạm Văn Đồng, Cầu Giấy, Hà Nội, Việt Nam

Nghiên cứu tìm giải pháp (Nghiên cứu hành động) thực ra phù hợp với bất cứ ai, bất cứ tổ chức
nào muốn sử dụng loại hình nghiên cứu này nhằm nâng cao chất lượng công việc của mình. Nghiên
cứu tìm giải pháp được các giáo viên trên khắp thế giới sử dụng như một phần quan trọng trong công
tác giảng dạy và nghiên cứu. Thực tế cho thấy, hình thức nghiên cứu này rất phù hợp với lĩnh vực giáo
dục và mang lại lợi ích cho cả giáo viên và sinh viên trong việc giảng dạy và học tập của họ vì nó đáp
ứng được nhu cầu của ngành giáo dục và đảm bảo tính liên tục trong nghiên cứu với tiến trình nối tiếp
và tuần hoàn của nó. Để tìm một câu trả lời thấu đáo cho câu hỏi trên, bài báo này sẽ đi sâu tìm hiểu
tất cả các mặt liên quan đến nghiên cứu tìm giải pháp như các khái niệm, những ưu điểm, các bước
tiến hành, … để thấy được vai trò quan trọng cũng những lợi ích mà nghiên cứu tìm giải pháp mang lại
cho lĩnh vực giáo dục.