ED380884 EA026594
Title: Improving Education through Action Research: A Guide for Administrators
and Teachers. The Practicing Administrator's Leadership Series. Roadmaps
to Success.
Author(s): McLean, James E.
Pages: 87
Publication Date: 1995
ISBN: 0-8039-6186-3
Available from: EDRS Price MF01 Plus Postage. PC Not Available from
EDRS.
Availability: Corwin Press, Inc., 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks,
CA 91320-2218 ($15).
Language: English
Document Type: Book (010); Guides--Non-classroom (055)
Geographic Source: U.S.; California
Journal Announcement: RIEAUG1995
Target Audience: Administrators; Teachers; Practitioners
This book
offers guidelines for action research, a process in which teachers
experiment with various strategies at the classroom level. Action
research is the process of systematically evaluating the consequences
of educational decisions and adjusting practices to maximize effectiveness.
Essentially the examination of one's own practice, it involves three
phases: conceptualization, implementation, and interpretation. Chapter
1 describes the need for action research, defines action research,
and establishes the reasons for implementing such an approach to
school improvement. Chapter 2 discusses the kinds of strategies
to use in school-improvement efforts, how to measure the validity
of the action-research process, and ethical considerations that
must be considered. It also presents detailed information on how
to use an inexpensive computer software program called MYSTAT to
analyze the data. The third chapter provides examples of a classroom
action-research study and a district-level action-research study.
In each case, detailed figures illustrate the steps taken to explore
the problem and collect, analyze, and interpret the data. A working
model for conducting action research is provided in chapter 4, which
also discusses the potential of action research as a means of improving
schools. Forty-two figures, six tables, and a brief annotated bibliography
are included. (LMI)
Descriptors: *Action Research; Computer Software; Data Interpretation;
Database Management Systems; *Educational Improvement; Educational
Research; Elementary Secondary Education; Evaluation Methods; *Evaluation
Utilization; *Participatory Research; Theory Practice Relationship
