Enabling Professional Development via Tertiary Action Research Praxis
Main Article Content
Abstract
This integrative review argues that professional development is accomplished within action research with its stepwise acting, reflecting, and revision not unlike praxis. Praxis, or the application of theory while practicing requires committed pedagogical action. I ask: Can praxis and action research be managed within professional development? Secondly, is there enough support within the literature to prove the supposition that AR can be praxis and vice versa? Findings suggest that within tertiary education, many teachers act as researchers of self, and practice, as there is an on-going need for professional development.
Keywords: Action research, professional development, praxis
Facilitando desarrollo profesional mediante la investigación-acción en la educación superior
Esta revisión integradora argumenta que el desarrollo profesional se logra dentro de la investigación-acción con su actuación, reflexión y revisión paso a paso no muy diferente de la praxis. La praxis, o la aplicación de la teoría durante la práctica, requiere una acción pedagógica comprometida. Pregunto: ¿Se puede gestionar la praxis y la investigación-acción dentro del desarrollo profesional? En segundo lugar, ¿hay suficiente apoyo dentro de la literatura para probar la suposición de que AR puede ser praxis y viceversa? Los hallazgos sugieren que dentro de la educación terciaria, muchos maestros actúan como investigadores de sí mismos y de la práctica, ya que existe una necesidad continua de desarrollo profesional.
Palabras clave: Investigación-acción, desarrollo profesional, praxis
Bibliography: Ryan, Thomas G.: Enabling Professional Development via Tertiary Action Research Praxis, IJAR – International Journal of Action Research, 2-2025, pp. 138-152.
Article Details
Literature
Achirri, K. (2020). A dynamic interplay of professional identities: Teacher-researcher’s identity (re)construction. The Qualitative Report, 25(6), 1695–1712.
Altrichter, H. (2005). The role of the professional community in action research. Educational Action Research, 13(1), 11–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/09650790500200274.
Alvesson, M., & Sköldberg, K. (2000). Reflexive methodology: New vistas for qualitative research. Sage.
Blessinger, P., & Carfora, J. M. (2015). Inquiry-based learning for multidisciplinary programs: A conceptual and practical resource for educators. Emerald Publishing.
Bolton, G. (2010). Reflective practice: Writing and professional development. Sage.
Brown Varona, M. C. (2021). Pedagogy is research: Investigating the teacher-researcher identity and pedagogy of teachers who completed an action research project [Doctoral dissertation, University of Northern Colorado]. UNC Open. https://digscholarship.unco.edu/dissertations/770.
Breunig, M. (2005). Turning experiential education and critical pedagogy theory into praxis. The Journal of Experiential Education, 28(2), 106–123. https://doi.org/10.1177/105382590502800205.
Burns, A., & Westmacott, A. (2018). Teacher to researcher: Reflections on a new action Research program for university EFL teachers. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 20(1), 15–23. https://doi.org/10.15446/profile.v20n1.66236.
Clandinin, D. J. (2007). Teacher as knowledge composer: More complex than a question of Knowledge for teachers [Conference paper]. Ontario Teachers Federation & Ontario Association of Deans of Education Conference, Toronto, Canada, January 26–27.
Connelly, F. M., & Clandinin, D. J. (1988). Teachers as curriculum planners: Narratives of experience. OISE Press.
Corey, S. M. (1953). Action research to improve school practices. Teachers College Press.
Creswell, J.W., & Guetterman, T.C. (2019). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (6th ed.). Pearson.
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). Sage.
Coghlan, D., & Brannick, T. (2005). Doing Action research in your organization. Sage.
Boer, A.D., Toit, P.H., & Scheepers, D. (2013). Whole brain® learning in higher education: evidence-Based Practice. Woodhead Publishing.
Dewey, J. (1910). How we think. D.C. Heath.
Dozier, C. L., & Rutten, I. (2005). Responsive teaching toward responsive teachers: Mediating Transfer through intentionality, enactment, and articulation. Journal of Literacy Research, 37(4), 459–492. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15548430jlr3704_3.
Duncan, A. (2009, July 2). Partners in reform: Remarks of Arne Duncan to the National Education Association [Speech]. U.S. Department of Education. https://www2.ed.gov/news/speeches/2009/07/07022009.html.
Fairclough, N. (2011). Semiotic aspects of social transformation and learning. In R. Rogers (Ed.), An introduction to critical discourse analysis in education (2nd ed., pp. 119–127). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781849208918.n1.
Feldman, A. (1999). The role of conversation in collaborative action research. Educational Action Research, 7(1), 125–144. https://doi.org/10.1080/09650799900200076.
Feldman, A., Paugh, P., & Mills, G. (2004). Self-study through action research. In J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. LaBoskey, & J. Russell (Eds.), International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (Vol. 2, pp. 943–977). Kluwer Academic.
Francisco, S., Forssten Seiser, A.,& Olin Almqvist, A. (2024). Action research as professional learning in and through practice. Professional Development in Education, 50(3), 501–518. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2024.2338445.
Fullan, M. (2007). The new meaning of educational change. Teachers College Press.
Hopkins, D. (2008). A teacher’s guide to classroom research (4th ed.). Open University Press.
Hargreaves, A. (2005). Educational change takes ages: Life, career and generational factors in teachers’ emotional responses to educational change. Teaching and Teacher Education, 21(8), 967–983. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2005.06.007.
Ketelaar, E., Beijaard, D., Boshuizen, H. P. A., & Den Brok, P. J. (2012). Teachers’ positioning towards and educational innovation in the light of ownership, sense-making and agency. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28, 272–282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2011.10.004.
Kemmis, S. (2012). Researching educational praxis: Spectator and participant perspectives. British educational research journal, 38(6), 885–905. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411926.2011.588316.
Kemmis, S. (2012). Phronesis, experience, and the primacy of praxis. In E. A. Kinsella & A. Pitman (Eds.), Phronesis as Professional Knowledge: Practical Wisdom in the Professions (pp. 147–161). Sense Publishers.
Killion, J., & Todnem, G. (1991). A process for personal theory building. Educational Leadership, 48(6), 14–16. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ422847.
Lasky, S. (2005). A sociocultural approach to understanding teacher identity, agency and professional vulnerability in a context of secondary school reform. Teaching and teacher education, 21(8), 899–916. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2005.06.003.
Lather, P. (1991). Getting smart: Feminist research and pedagogy with/in the postmodern. Routledge.
Lawler, S. (2002). Stories, Memories, Identities. Identity: Sociological Perspectives. Polity Press.
Lopes, J. B., & Cunha, A. E. (2017). Self-directed professional development to improve effective teaching: Key points for a model. Teaching & Teacher Education, 68, 262–274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.09.009.
Luttenberg, J., Meijer, P., & Oolbekkink-Marchand, H. (2017). Understanding the complexity of teacher reflection in action research. Educational Action Research, 25(1), 88–102. https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2015.1136230.
Orakcı, Ş. (2021). Teachers’ reflection and level of reflective thinking on the different dimensions of their teaching practice. International Journal of Modern Education Studies, 5(1), 118–149. http://dx.doi.org/10.51383/ijonmes.2021.88.
Page, J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., & Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ (Online), 372, 71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71.
Pillow, W. (2003). Confession, catharsis, or cure? Rethinking the uses of reflexivity as methodological power in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education,16(2), 175–196. https://doi.org/10.1080/0951839032000060635.
Rawes, K. (2019). Praxis, reflexivity and identity: Career learning in the undergraduate Classroom [Master’s thesis, University of British Columbia]. UBC Theses and Dissertations. https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0387301.
Rallis, S., & Rossman, G. (2010) Caring reflexivity. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 23(4), 495–499. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2010.492812.
Ryan, T.G. (2005). When you reflect are you also being reflexive? The Ontario Action Researcher, 8(1), 1–5. https://oar.nipissingu.ca/archive-V812E.htm.
Ryan, T. G. (Ed.). (2007). The reflexive special educator. Temeron/Detselig.
Ryan, T. G. (Ed.). (2009). Canadian educational leadership. Temeron/Detselig.
Ryan, T. G. (2016). The pre-service educator as action researcher and leader. Action Researcher in Education, 7, 1–13.
Ryan, T. G. (2018, April). Educational action research as a global competence in a digital world. Canadian Journal for Teacher Research, 1–8.
Ryan, T. G. (2018). Action research in the faculty of education. In The Oxford encyclopedia of educational research, measurement, and evaluation. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.776.
Ryan, T. (2019). A naturalistic observation of engagement and disengagement within professional development in education. International Online Journal of Education and Teaching, 3(1), 11–15. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1248482.
Ryan, T. G. (2021a, Spring). Becoming [Editorial]. Canadian Journal of Education, 44(1), 3–4.
Ryan, T. G. (2021b). Action research as pre-service teacher inquiry in physical education. International Journal of Action Research, 17(2), 154–170. https://doi.org/10.3224/ijar.v17i2.04.
Ryan, T.G., Young, D.C., & Kraglund-Gauthier, W.L. (2017). Action research within pre-service teacher education. Transformative Dialogues: Teaching & Learning Journal, 10,(2),1–15.
Rudd, R. D. (2007). Defining critical thinking. Techniques, 82(7), 46–49.
Schnepfleitner., F.M., & Ferreira, M.P. (2021). Transformative learning theory – is it time to add a fourth core element? Journal of Educational Studies and Multidisciplinary Approaches, 1(1), 40–49. https://www.jesma.net/index.php/jesma/article/view/9.
Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Basic Books.
Schön, D. A. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner: Toward a new design for teaching and learning in the professions. Jossey-Bass.
Schwarz, G., & Ray, B. (2018). Teacher research in teacher education: Emancipatory potential in discouraging times. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education, 6(2), 49–62. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1341758.
Şenaydın, F., & Dikilitaş, K. (2019). Action research for self-evaluation of teaching. European Journal of Applied Linguistics and TEFL, 8(2), 61–75.
Siems-Muntoni, F., Dunekacke, S., Heinze, A., & Retelsdorf, J. (2024). Teacher expectation effects on the development of elementary school students’ mathematics-related competence beliefs and intrinsic task values. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 76, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2023.102255.
Smyth, J., & Shacklock, G. (1998). Behind the ’cleansing’ of socially critical research accounts. In G. Shacklock & J. Smyth (Eds.), Being reflexive in critical educational and social research. (pp. 1–12). Falmer Press.
Stringer, E. (2010). Action research in education. In P. Peterson, E. Baker, & B. McGaw (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Education (3rd Ed., pp. 569–574). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-044894-7.00657-6.
Suarez, D. H. (2017). The narrative documentation of pedagogical experiences and the democratization of professional development and schooling in Argentine. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 30(5), 474–487. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2017.1303212.
Vaughan, S. (2020). Exploring teachers’ experiences of action research. London Review of Education, 18(3). https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10124827/.
Ventista, OM., & Brown, C. (2023). Teachers’ professional learning and its impact on students’ learning outcomes: Findings from a systematic review. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 8(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2023.100565.
Yuan, R., & Burns, A. (2017). Teacher identity development through action research: a Chinese experience. Teachers & Teaching, 23(6), 729–749. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2016.1219713.
Wedell, M. (2009). Planning for educational change: Putting people and their contexts first. Bloomsbury.
Zimmerman, J. (2006). Why some teachers resist change and what principals can do about it. NASSP Bulletin, 90(3), 238–249. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192636506291521.