Action Research at the Interface: Personal-Professional Reflections on the First 20 Years

• Main Author: Andy Curtis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cranmore Publishing 2020-10-01
• Series: International Journal of TESOL Studies
• Subjects: action research; interface; teacher development
• Online Access: https://www.tesolunion.org/attachments/files/BNTHJ7M2MZAYTDJFN2RK7NTYZANMVH8YZCX1Y2MWCODFH1ZJBK2ZJJH0ODCW0MGU48YZVM6ZTQ56M2MYBNZAW2NJA32LJC06NZQW0MJC3FLMEW.pdf
• ISSN: 2632-6779; 2633-6898

This is a personal-professional reflection on 20 years of doing Action Research (AR), based on which AR is positioned as being at three different interfaces: the personal-professional; the theory-practice; and the quantitative-qualitative interface. In addition to AR being at those three interfaces, a number of additional key questions are contemplated in this article; questions which appear to have been largely overlooked – or at least under-researched – in spite of their importance. For example, rather than simply assuming that research is an inherently ‘good thing’ to be doing, the question of why we do research is considered, as a valid research question in its own right. Following on from that question, the question of why teachers should become action researchers is also considered. Another key question that is rarely asked but which is explored here relates to time, specifically how much time research requires, and how much time a busy classroom teacher can give to their research. In relation to the collaborative nature of AR, the question of trust is highlighted, as well as the question of who will benefit from the research and how.