Action research as part of an in-service course- effects on professional practice and development

Beskrivning

Inom ramen för symposiet: Action research education influencing teachers’ development work

Tilläggsbeskrivning

Action research education influencing teachers’ development work
Teachers are expected to develop and follow up their practices in order to create the best possible opportunities for student learning and growth. Action research provides processes and tools for such an approach and for this reason, some universities in the Nordic countries have integrated action research into their teacher education and in-service programs. Action research is not primarily technical when it comes to investigating practices but rather strives for critical thinking and thereby empowerment for teachers. Expectations and traditions collide under those circumstances and the question is what action research education leads to.

In this symposium we want to explore (1) if and how teachers, through studying and practicing action research, develop their practices and knowledge, (2) How the education itself and the schools where the teachers work nurture or constrain teachers’ development work.

In Sweden, we have interviewed teachers participating in master programs given at two universities (Gothenburg and Halmstad). The focus in the interviews was on whether their practices in schools have changed and if so how the education has influenced those changes. In Finland, teachers, who have conducted action research as part of an in-service course at Åbo Akademi University, have been interviewed with the same research focus. In Sweden, one teacher, who participated in the master program in Gothenburg, has studied herself in her new role as teacher educator/facilitator at the University and present results from this study.

Our results contribute with knowledge on how educational action research emerges, sometimes easily and sometimes with more difficulties, in two Nordic contexts as a way for teachers to become owners of their own development work.

Period	18 okt. 2019
Händelsetitel	CARN-ALARA conference 2019: Imagine tomorrow: Practitioner learning for the future
Typ av evenemang	Konferens
Plats	Split, OkäntVisa på karta
Omfattning	Internationell