Search results for "action research."
showing 10 items of 161 documents
Participation, Involvement, and Application in the Field of Ethnological Research, Museums, and Cultural Heritage
2020
'Why Should I Study English If I'm Never Going To Leave This Town?' Developing Alternative Orientations To Culture in the EFL Classroom Through CAR
2015
This article describes the progress and findings of a collaborative action research project on the cultural dimension in primary levels of EFL education in Valencia (Spain). Its aim was to explore whether the EFL subject tended to ignore the students¿ native cultural background, and if so, whether this omission brought negative pedagogical consequences. It involved ten student-teachers who were carrying out their practicum placements at schools in the region, ten EFL school teachers, and a university researcher. Collective meetings were held to critically analyze the school experiences, and design experimental interventions to give a different orientation to culture in the EFL class. By the…
Breaking the “Fourth Wall” in Qualitative Research: Participant-Led Digital Data Construction
2018
This article reconstructs the typical researcher-participant focus - where the participants are doing for us - instead we followed the participants’ lead in the construction of research. Using a qualitative literacy event case study as an example, we describe how participants unexpectedly co-constructed knowledge through a participant-led digital data collection. In this theoretical article, we provide an explanation of the original study, which used observations, semi-structured interviews, and home visits as a collective qualitative case study on parental participation in social literacy practices. The original investigation led to the important shift that occurred in participant-research…
Between facts and norms: action research in the light of Jürgen Habermas's theory of communicative action and discourse theory of justice1
1998
Abstract An emphasis on democracy is typical of action research. Therefore, theories of modern democracy can be applied within the field of school development through action research. According to Jurgen Habermas, the promotion of democratic will formation requires the promotion of free and rational communicative action that is as free from manipulation as possible. Under ideal communicative conditions, consensus is achieved dialectically through the force of a better argument. The principles of rational argumentation have been developed in detail in Habermas's publications on discourse ethics and in The Theory of Communicative Action. He has recently developed his approach in a book entitl…
Complexity and Action: Reflections on Decision Making and Cybernetics.
2013
This paper highlights some theoretical and epistemological reflections about the relevance of action for managerial studies. These reflections show how the cybernetic paradigm of complexity management can be used for better decision making that unites knowledge and action in a comprising, dynamic, and evolving approach. Cybernetics can help to overcome the fear of decision making in the face of uncertainty in complex scenarios, and can be an effective tool for improving the viability and competitiveness of firms in the twenty-first century.
Action research and narrative inquiry: five principles for validation revisited
2012
The article continues the discussion of the five quality principles proposed by Heikkinen, Huttunen, and Syrjala, published in 2007 in Educational Action Research. In the present article, the authors reconsider the five principles: historical continuity; reflexivity; dialectics; workability; and evocativeness. These five principles are critically examined from two viewpoints. First, the authors discuss comments on the quality of the principles published in Educational Action Research, referring to contemporary discussion within the philosophy of science. Second, they review some empirical action research reports in which these principles have been applied. The authors point out some problem…
La formación docente en Didáctica de las Ciencias Sociales a través de los proyectos socioeducativos en contextos de exclusión social
2015
Presentamos una experiencia formativa innovadora con los estudiantes de la titulación deMaestro/a de Educación Primaria de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación de la Universidad de Almería.Se ha realizado en el marco de un Programa Socioeducativo en colegios públicos de un barrio marginal dela ciudad de Almería mediante la metodología de Aprendizaje-Servicio (ApS). Desde la Didáctica de lasCiencias Sociales queremos contribuir a una educación democrática mediante la participación ciudadana.Mostramos algunas valoraciones de nuestros estudiantes en este proceso de investigación-acción. Elbalance positivo de esta evaluación inicial nos motiva para seguir implicados en el desarrollo de proye…
Socio-technical Congruence Sabotaged by a Hidden Onshore Outsourcing Relationship: Lessons Learned from an Empirical Study
2012
Despite the popularity of outsourcing arrangements, distributed software development is still regarded as a complex endeavor. Complexity primarily comes from the challenges in communication and coordination among participating organizations. In this paper we discuss lessons learned from participatory research carried out in a highly distributed onshore outsourcing project. Previous research established that socio-technical congruence principles alleviate distributed work. In practice we have found that alignment between the systems structure and organizational structure can be studied from different abstraction levels and also during different phases of project lifecycle. We have found that…
Citizens' participation and community orientation – indicators of social sustainability of rural welfare services
2011
The article discusses the issues of social services in rural areas from a theoretical view point of sustainability paradigms of social work. The ecological crisis existing beyond the ongoing global economic crisis is not separated from the increasing urbanization and weakening perspectives in rural areas. The paper is based on results from a participatory action research project in Finland, which aims at strengthening social service provision in rural areas through citizens' participation and community-orientation. The neoliberal politics of centralization, marketization and privatization are heavily transforming rural regions also in the Nordic welfare states right now. The debates in the …
Transforming expertise from individual to regional community expertise: a four‐year study of an education intervention
2010
In this paper we present the empirical results of a study showing that individualised expertise can be transformed into regional community expertise by means of an education intervention programme. In view of the ongoing reform of the municipal and service structures in Finland, during which small municipalities are combined into areas with populations in excess of 20,000, the need for community expertise is obvious. The reorganisation of service arrangements aims at efficiency, lower costs, quality service and increased regional competitiveness. Due to the reform, local actors are expected to provide new, collaboration‐oriented strategies, while healthcare professionals in the municipaliti…