I also felt that my research project leant itself to the four stages of action research as described by Carr and Kemmis as "planning, acting, observing and reflecting" (Carr and Kemmis, 1986, p.165). The planning stage was the preparation of the project title, feedback sheet and interview questions. It was the stage at which I decided what I needed to know in order to support my hypothesis. The acting stage was the stage in which I used my methods of action research to gather my results and findings. The observing stage was the stage at which I observed and my findings and the subjects of my study, in this case I was continually observing my learners during each formal session as well as during evenings spent offering learner support in the IT suite. The reflecting stage was the stage in which I wrote up my findings as a research project. I feel that this portfolio is another part of the reflecting process as it allows me to reflect upon my experience of action research.
I chose action research as Robson argues in Real World Research that it can be a "possible solution to the problem of ensuring that research findings actually get used" (Robson, 1993, p. 60). I did not want to embark upon a research project that would take up much of my time and then for the findings to be neglected by my workplace. I believe, and this view is supported by Oja and Smulyan, that if individuals take part in a research project they often feel some responsibility towards that project and feel driven to implement its findings:
“Oja and Smulyan (1989: 14), in arguing for collaborative research, suggest that teachers are more likely to change their behaviours and attitudes if they have been involved in the research…” (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2000, p. 230)
Although I only interviewed two course managers for my research project, I used the key skills feedback sheet with all of the learner classes and fed-back my results to the key skills team. I also encouraged members of the team, with the support of the key skills co-ordinator, to use the feedback sheet themselves to focus on their own strengths and weaknesses with their learner groups. I felt that if the team as a whole adopted the methods of action research then we would have a stronger case for supporting the integration of one or more key skills into the main course of study for the next academic year.
Methods of Action Research Used
I used Action Research in the following ways in order to obtain my information:
I developed a key skills feedback sheet (Appendix 1) for use with all my learners in order to ascertain their own views of the key skills qualification. I kept this sheet simple as the learners were expected to fill them out during one hour lessons. There are many advantages and disadvantages in using this survey technique in action research. I felt that that in this case the advantages were that I could gather a large amount of data in a relatively short space of time. It would have been unrealistic to have interviewed each individual student as out of the 136 learners on my register for the year I collected results from 102 learners. Robson states that the surveys of the type used in my research project "provide a relatively simple and straightforward approach to the study of attitudes, values and beliefs and motives" (Robson, 1993, p.128). In this case study I was looking for the attitudes of the learners towards key skills and wanted to ascertain their motivation towards the topic. I also wanted to look at the value they placed upon the qualification and what they believed their course manager's attitude to be towards key skills. I acknowledged Robson's criticism of surveys that "respondents won't necessarily report their beliefs, attitudes, etc. accurately" (Robson, 1993, p.128) as they will be hoping to present themselves in a positive light. This led to me not asking for the learners' names on the feedback sheet. I felt that I would gain a more honest response from the individuals if they could remain anonymous. This was particularly important as a number of the questions relate directly, on a personal basis, to the lecturer teaching the learners.
In order to prove my research project hypothesis I interviewed the course managers responsible for the two specific course groups analysed. I decided to use the interview technique in order to clarify my questions and ensure that I gathered the appropriate information for use in my research project. Robson argues that the "presence of the interviewer encourages participation and involvement" (Robson, 1993, p.129). I found the interviews to be the hardest part of the research. This may be because during the interviews the interviewees felt that their answers were not anonymous, as they were speaking with me face-to-face. Denzin and Lincoln argue that “access and entry are sensitive components in qualitative research, and the researcher must establish trust, rapport, and authentic communication patterns with participants” (Denzin & Lincoln, 1998, p. 40). Luckily I have worked at the college for a couple of years and team-teach with one course manager. This meant that I could talk with the participants freely and I ensured that they knew the nature of the project in order to gain their trust. Parrott says that “researchers are expected to be explicitly self-aware about their own motives and biases and to let co-researchers and colleagues know their perspectives from the start" (Parrott, p.51). I feel that during the research project I was open with my colleagues and that both interviewees knew of the nature of my research and were aware of my hypothesis.
Validity of my Action Research
I made notes during the informal interviews and then recorded the responses on a word processed document, which I asked them to sign to ensure validity of the evidence. I felt this to be necessary as Parrott argues that "throughout the inquiry all its processes are open to inspection…” (Parrott, p.51). Validity was a particular issue throughout the research project and I was careful to keep all learner feedback sheets as well as the interview records in order to authenticate my research should I be required to do so. In order to further support my action research I also analysed the attendance and test results for the winter term of the two main courses that the project focussed upon. I wanted to add to the initial questionnaire results and I wanted to support my hypothesis further.
The Difficulties
Much of the criticism directed towards action research focuses upon the difficulties in implementing change from the outcomes of the research. Atkinson and Delamont argue that action research denies systematic methods and Adelman considers much of educational research to be of a poor quality (Robson, 1993, p. 440). One reason for this may be that within educational institutions there is little time for critical reflection, an opinion supported by Popkewitz (Robson, 1993, p. 440). I feel that another influencing factor is that there is often little support from within the management structure and little value placed upon the action research being carried out by academics.
In my experience I was supported by my key skills co-ordinator, but not by other members within my team. I had specific difficulties in collating the information for any subject other than Information Technology. This was because I primarily teach information technology, whilst one other team member concentrates on application of number and another on communication. Team members were reluctant to use my questionnaire, and without management support I could not 'force' them to do so. Hence the results for the research project were biased towards my own experiences of teaching information technology to the learners. With the support of the rest of the team I may have been able to widen my research and may have even drawn different conclusions.
The other primary difficulty in carrying out the action research was not linked directly to the theory of action research but to the historical situation of my topic; key skills. The qualification was only implemented as a compulsory subject in September 2001 across the country and therefore there were no national beach marks in place to support my project. The University of Nottingham is currently undertaking research into best practice for the delivery of key skills and working towards creating a curriculum model for use in higher education, however the results of this have yet to be published. I searched the Internet for national statistics on the achievement rates for key skills and could find none. I also emailed the Department for Skills and Education requesting this information but they have yet to publish national benchmarks. As I write this the key skills criteria are currently being re-developed for issue in Autumn 2003. This will lead to the new criteria being taught to students from Sept 2004 onwards. If the qualification continues to be adapted at this rate then any action research project will be dated within a year or two of publication.
The Outcomes
I felt that the outcomes of my action research supported the project hypothesis. I used the quote by Karl Popper that “we can never be fully justified in accepting a particular belief is totally confirmed by the evidence. The best we can do… is to show that test after test has failed to refute or falsify our claim” (Noddings, 1998, p. 121). I felt that as the findings of the project did not refute or falsify my initial statement they could be said to support my claim. The results of my action research project also led to the key skills team adopting the feedback sheet as a method of monitoring student progress across the college.
The findings of the learner body as a whole indicated to me that the majority understood the value of key skills (70% strongly agreed or agreed with the statement "I understand the value of Key Skills") and were enjoying the key skills classes (61% strongly agreed or agreed with the statement "I enjoy the Key Skills classes). 91% of the learner body felt that the key skills lecturer was enthusiastic about the subject and 91% also found the key skills lecturer easy to talk to. This was very positive feedback and led me to the conclusion that it was the minority of the group who were vocalising their discontent and in effect 'bringing down' the moral of the majority. This indicated to me that I needed to be firmer in my discipline towards the disruptive group members during my lessons. Prior to this action research I was focussed upon a style of andragogy (Knowles, 1980) in the classroom and now I feel I am more focussed upon leading the group and ensuring a direction for the learners who want to learn.
The other main outcome of the action research project has been the implementation of a college-wide key skills policy on the integration of the communication key skill. During the Easter vacation staff development week the team invited course managers to a training event to educate them on the criteria for communication key skills and the assessment procedure. As from September 2003 this key skills will be integrated into a module of the main learner course of study and assessed by the course leader. The key skills staff will offer support during the initial one year trial. Noddings states that “… before one paradigm actually replaces another, there may be a fairly lengthy period of “paradigm clash”. During this time, it is not clear which paradigm will succeed” (Noddings, 1998, p. 124). I believe this statement to be true and feel that it will be difficult to convince some course managers to take responsibility for qualifications that have traditionally been administered by the key skills team. Only by supporting their work will the integration become successful and the 'winning' paradigm of the future.
Appendix
1: Key Skills Feedback Sheet
2: Research Methods Assignment and appendices
Bibliography
Carr and Kemmis. (1986) Becoming Critical: Education, Knowledge and Research. London: Falmer
Cohen, L, Manion, L & Morrison, K. (2000) Research Methods in Education. Fifth Edition. London and New York: Routledge Falmer
Denzin, N & Lincoln, Y. (Eds) (1998) Strategies of Qualitative Inquiry. London: Sage Publications
Elliot, J. (1991) Action Research for educational change. London: OUP
Knowles, M.S. (1980) “What is Andragogy?”. In: Knowles, M.S (1980) The Modern Practice of Adult Education: From Pedagogy to Andragogy. New Jersey: Cambridge Adult Education.
Noddings, N (1998) Philosophy of Social Science and Educational Research. Oxford: Westview Press
Parrott, A (Unknown) Adult Education and New Paradigm Research (handout - complete reference unknown)
Robson, C. (1993) Real World Research. Oxford: Blackwell.
Stenhouse, L. (1979) What is Action Research? England: University of East Anglia
Teacher Development: an international journal of teachers’ professional development. (2000) Vol 4 No 2. Triangle Publishers. Pgs 165-176
Department for Skills and Education (11/06/03)
Nottingham University (11/06/03)
Word count: 2,862 excluding appendix material