Defining the field of literature in action research: a personal approach

Green, Kath

doi:10.1080/09650799900200077

Cited by 17 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Many students still expressed intermittent insecurities and a sense of chaos as to how they would cope 'on their own' after the end of the course. Initially, I had attributed this sense of chaos to the fact that action research is, by nature, an anarchic practice (Straker & Hall, 1999) and that anarchy is, in fact, a desirable state for action researchers to be in (Green, 2002). I soon learned that, whereas previous experience with postgraduate students and in-service teachers had taught me that instances of 'anarchy' are interpreted as potentially conducive to new understandings, undergraduate students express disturbance and disorientation.…”

Section: Towards a Practical Orientation: Year Twomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another aspect dealt with during the sessions was the way in which the literature should ideally 'thread through' the cycles in an action research paper (rather than constitute a closed section). I found the article by Straker & Hall on chaos and clarity (1999) and on defining the field of literature (Green, 1999) particularly informative for these purposes.…”

Section: Keeping a Balance: Year Fourmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Drawing on the work of Gail Stenstad on anarchic thinking, Kath Green (2002), draws our attention to the need to distinguish between anarchic thinking from merely sloppy or chaotic thinking. She argues that in anarchic thinking the tensions are deliberatively maintained and the tendency to try to settle for one explanation is resisted.…”

Section: Keeping a Balance Between Anarchic Thinking And Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What have i learned from all this? four years of teaching an action research course: insights of a ‘second order’

Orland‐Barak

2004

Educational Action Research

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The author examines the development of her thinking in regard to the value, the purposes, the process and the outcomes of teaching an undergraduate course in action research for the past 4 years. The emergent understandings were informed by recurrent hermeneutic cycles of interpretative readings of the formal written and oral feedback conducted with the students at the end of each year, the students' final action research projects submitted at the end of each course and personal field notes kept in journal writing. These sources have yielded rich longitudinal data that sheds light on the impact of a course for the learning of both its participants and the course professor. The article focuses on the actions that the author has undertaken in the design and implementation of the course as a result of her learning or on how action research 'of a second order' has informed the structure of 'first order' action research. The exploration has led the author to important insights regarding her role as course professor, issues of pedagogy, reflection, process and products of learning as they play out in an action research course at undergraduate level.As I prepare for my fifth year of teaching a university action research course for undergraduate students of education, I find myself once again, as in previous years, cutting, pasting, deleting and adding to the content and structure of the course syllabus that I had planned a year earlier. True, such an activity should desirably become a well-known routine in any university professor's teaching career, evidence of ongoing reflection on his/her practice. Yet, the 'cuts', 'pastes' 'deletions' and 'insertions' to the action research course over the years do not entail solely structural alterations (adding more updated bibliography, changes in the sequence of the content or a different division of the final grade). Rather, they pertain to

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Section: Towards a Practical Orientation: Year Twomentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Keeping a Balance: Year Fourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Keeping a Balance Between Anarchic Thinking And Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What have i learned from all this? four years of teaching an action research course: insights of a ‘second order’

Orland‐Barak

2004

Educational Action Research

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“…In his conclusion, Altrichter argues that action research fits well with these theoretical developments. A second and more recent, but obtuse mention is made by Green (1999) who draws on complexity to help come to terms with the 'messy' nature of teaching and her use of literature in her action research. The most explicit connections have most recently been made by , who draw on complexity principles to challenge their own teaching practice and to collaboratively change the culture within their school through action research.…”

Section: Complexity As a Basis For Action Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complexity and action research: exploring the theoretical and methodological connections

Phelps

Hase

2002

Educational Action Research

103

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Complexity theory is essentially a formal attempt to question how coherent and purposive wholes emerge from the interactions of simple and sometimes non-purposive components. Explicit recognition of complexity can provide a fresh and enlightening perspective on action research. Through an expository discussion of the foundational postulates of complexity theory this article demonstrates the theoretical and methodological connections between complexity and action research, with particular emphasis on the relevance of complexity in educational and workplace contexts. Complexity is an emerging theoretical perspective, which presents possibilities for revolutionising approaches to action research, as well as strengthening arguments promoting the value of action research in a wide range of contexts. Complexity, it is argued, can provide a valuable theoretical underpinning for action research.Furthermore, action research provides a valid methodological approach to the study of complexity. This article is primarily theoretical and attempts to demonstrate the application of complexity to a specific action research project will be left to future publication(s). Rather, this article explores the general applicability of complexity as both theory and metaphor in action research. The article begins with a brief exploration of the theory, particularly focusing on its application in the social sciences. The theoretical and methodological connections between complexity and action research are discussed through several of the foundational postulates of complexity, how these manifest in action research and how they add to our understanding of action research itself.

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“…Literature is more important in shaping the ongoing development of action research (Green, 1999) than informing its initial foundation or relating its findings to other research.…”

Section: Mcrmentioning

confidence: 99%

18 Recipe or Performing Art?: Challenging Conventions for Writing Action Research Theses

Hinchey¹

A Critical Action Research Reader

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This paper explores the tensions and incongruities between conventional thesis presentation and the principles of action research. Through the experiences of the authors alternative approaches to thesis structure are proposed which are argued to be more congruent with the epistemological, methodological and ethical aspects of action research. Consistent with our arguments, the paper is presented as a play. Act I considers the tensions facing research students wishing to write up their action research in the context of conventional thesis writing requirements; Act II consists of four 'scenes' each of which illustrates a key learning arising from our own stories-writing in the self, staying true to the unfolding research story, using metaphor and finally weaving literature throughout the thesis. Act III considers the challenges of examination in the face of breaking with tradition. We conclude with a 'curtain call' from the narrator that offers a reflexive engagement with the main themes of the paper.

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Defining the field of literature in action research: a personal approach

Cited by 17 publications

References 6 publications

What have i learned from all this? four years of teaching an action research course: insights of a ‘second order’

What have i learned from all this? four years of teaching an action research course: insights of a ‘second order’

Complexity and action research: exploring the theoretical and methodological connections

18 Recipe or Performing Art?: Challenging Conventions for Writing Action Research Theses

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