The National Defense University (NDU) trains officers to develop their academic and professional skills. To accomplish this, the university offers two mandatory courses on methodological training for military technology students for master level education. The first course was theoretically oriented, and the second course was practically oriented.…

Conducting research can present a range of challenges for students because of the complex skills and knowledge required to have critical engagement with the entire research process. This paper looks at what was involved in shaping the research journey that I am currently undertaking at a Higher Education Institution (HEI). The focus is on research…

As lines between research paradigms continue to blur with the ever-increasing popularity of mixed methods research, there are useful, and occasionally oxymoronic, opportunities for educational researchers to juxtapose tools from opposing methods. The gold standard is just not possible in so much of what we do with small-scale research, nor is it…

Educational leadership programs face increased pressure to ensure graduates are prepared (Barnett, 2004; Bass, 1990; Yukl, 2002) to guide progress toward student achievement targets. The ISLLC [Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium] Policy Standards (2008) uphold the importance of inquiry in leading school improvement. However,…

Action research is an umbrella term referring to research by practitioners for the purpose of improving their practice. Action research in higher education is being conducted by a growing number of practitioners whose formal training is outside of the discipline of education research. This has precipitated a need for faculty development and…

Recent work integrating Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) with Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) forms a basis for systematizing action research in higher education. This basis strengthens what are often otherwise its methodological weaknesses, namely, the disconnection between analysis and subsequent plans for action and the…

This paper examines the purpose, function, and legitimacy of action research as a methodology that encompasses a complex, authentic view of scientific inquiry. A historical account of action research is presented with a focus in how it merged theory with practice. Cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) is used as a theoretical rationale for…

This paper presents a conceptual model of assessment that defines six sequential, iterative steps: purpose identification; outcomes identification; measurement and evaluation design; data collection; analysis and evaluation; and decision making/action. The conceptual model of assessment closely parallels systematic scientific inquiry, especially…

The main purpose of this study was to look at how we used specific writing assignments in our courses to encourage metacognitive reflection in order to increase the learning that takes place. The study also aimed to aid in the development of higher order processing skills through the development of student reflection. The students involved in the…

This paper reviews four currently recognized modes of inquiry available to reading researchers, including both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The paper discusses empiricism, interpretive research, critical science/theory, and action research, briefly describing the purposes, goals, and assumptions underlying each mode of inquiry. The…

This paper contains informal remarks on action research in social psychology from its post World War II origins to its current status. Kurt Lewin first described action research in the 1946 article, "Action Research and Minority Problems," as a three-step process of program planning, program execution, and follow-up evaluation. Ronald Lippitt and…

As educators seek to bridge the gap between research and practice, action research empowers teachers to inform others of the results found in their own schools. This paper describes a step-by-step approach to help teachers and administrators conduct classroom action research in their own schools. The five steps are as follows: (1) problem…

An action research study that offered students in sixth form, college of education, and university a framework and context for exploring and reviewing their reading-for-learning competencies led to significant improvement on a battery of measures. This paper draws attention to and makes explicit the psychosocial events within the action research…

During research on cultural differences in Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pedagogy, it became obvious that the lack of an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander cultural typology was impeding research progress. The author's cultural heritage group, the Malara People, a subgroup of the Bandjalang People of northern New South Wales,…

A case study of an educational action research oriented project in Quebec--a continuing education project at the elementary level (EPEL)--is described to show the contributions of the case study method to human development, needs assessment, curriculum development, and innovative teaching. The case study method is suggested as a means to pinpoint…