Action Research

An Educational Leader's Guide to School Improvement

By (author) Jeffrey Glanz

Publication date:

04 June 2014

Length of book:

364 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781442223691

Action Research: An Educational Leader’s Guide to School Improvement, Third Edition, is a clear and practical guide to conducting action research in schools. Although it offers neither a cookbook nor a quick-fix approach, this book does outline the process of designing and reporting an action research project. Useful as a classroom text as well as a self-teaching tool, Action Research: An Educational Leader’s Guide to School Improvement is a comprehensive training manual. It can be used by practitioners in the field, by graduate students enrolled in leadership and/or master’s thesis courses, or by anyone interested in learning how to conduct action research projects, including classroom teachers ,who are leaders too in their own right. The strategies and techniques of action research described are no different for teachers than they are for administrators.

The underlying assumption of this work is that research is not a domain only for academics, it is also a powerful approach that can be used by practitioners to contribute to school renewal and instructional improvement. Rather than being merely a philosophical treatise or theoretical analysis, Action Research provides concrete strategies and techniques for conducting action research in schools.

Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Brief Description
Uniqueness
Audience
Rationale
Assumptions
Goals
Organization and Content
References
Chapter 1: An Introduction to Action Research: It’s Not All
That Complicated
What Is Research?
Ignorance About the Utility of Research
Research as a Professional Responsibility
Why Educational Leaders Might Avoid Research
A Paradigm for Research
Evaluation Research: The Most Common Use of Action Research for Educational Leaders
Evolution of Action Research
Action Research Defined
Benefits of Action Research
Action Research Is Not Complicated
Steps in Action Research
The Educational Leader as a Reflective Practitioner
Reflective Practice
Summary
References
Chapter 2: Teaching and Doing Action Research Through
General Semantics
Introduction
What Is General Semantics?
Course Description
Another Lesson From General Semantics
Summary and Conclusion
References
Chapter 3: Getting Started on an Action Research Project
Getting Started: The Overall Research Plan
Clarifying Purposes
Considering Logistics
The Plan
Suggestions for Getting Started
References
Chapter 4: Quantitative Approaches to Action Research
Descriptive Research
Correlation Research
Group Comparison Research
Choosing a Research Design
An Inadequate Research Design
Adequate Research Designs (or Simplified Designs for School Research)
References
Chapter 5: Qualitative Approaches to Action Research
Historical Inquiry
Ethnographic Research
Case Study Research
References
Chapter 6: Easy Steps to Program Development and Evaluation Research
Eight Steps of Program Development
Five Steps of Program Evaluation
References
Chapter 7: Data Collection Techniques That Work
Popular Data Collection Techniques Used in Action Research
Primary Data Collection Techniques
Secondary Data Collection Techniques
References
Chapter 8: How to Analyze Quantitative Data Easily
Statistical Analyses
Application of Mean, Standard Deviation, and Percentage
The t-Test
The Sign Test
The Mann-Whitney U-Test
The Chi Square and Other User-Friendly Statistics
References
Chapter 9: How to Analyze Qualitative Data Easily
Analytic Procedures
Computer Applications
Tables, Graphs, and Charts
References
Chapter 10: Putting It All Together: What Does It Mean?
Interpreting Data
Reporting Data
Writing the Research Report
Overview of Steps for Writing Up an Action Research Project
Elements of the Report
References
Chapter 11: Completing Your Action Research Master’s Thesis Project
Step 1: Identify a Topic
Step 2: Write a Literature Review
Step 3: Develop a Research Plan
Step 4: Carry Out the Plan
Step 5: Write Up the Results
Chapter 12: Action Research in Practice
Action Planning and Implementation
Becoming Reflective Practitioners Through Action Research
Conclusion
References
Chapter 13:Seven Suggestions for Action Researchers
Expect the Unexpected
Be Receptive to Both Quantitative and Especially Qualitative Approaches
Give It Your All
Don’t Make a Decision Too Quickly
Keep Lines of Communication Open and Clear
Appreciate Your Enlightened Eye
Take Action
The Ethics of Action Research
Conclusion
References
Appendix A: Pretest
Appendix B: Sample Write-Up of Quantitative and Qualitative Methods and Results
Appendix C: Sample Appendixes
Appendix D: Are You a Good Writer?
Appendix E: Brief Description of APA
Appendix F: Evaluation Criteria for Report
Appendix G: Sample Consent Forms
Appendix H: Sample Cover Letter
Appendix I: Sample Action Research Proposals by Teachers
Glossary
Annotated References
Index
About the Author

Once in a while an educator comes along who sets the bar for the entire profession. In the case of Educational Leadership, that educator is Jeffrey Glanz. As a distinguished scholar who is known worldwide, Glanz has no equal when it comes to his educational expertise as a former endowed professor, assistant principal, and teacher. With this book Dr. Glanz has offered a roadmap for educational leaders of all ranks, whether they are pre-service teachers in higher education, building administrators, or the most important educational leaders of all—teachers in the field. Action Research is a must-read and the most thorough book on the topic that can be found anywhere.