Critical Debates in Action ResearchUniversity of Limerick Department of Education and Professional Studies Look what's new at the University of Limerick! Available as Word Document here Click here to see the list of speakers and their topics Click here to see the Book of Abstracts IntroductionIn June 2003 the Department of Education and Professional Studies organised the first seminar in a series of Critical Debates in Action Research. The event was well attended, and has received favourable notices from key stakeholders. The potential significance of the event is considerable for establishing a view of professional education as a form of educational action research, in Ireland and elsewhere. The aim of the seminar was to bring together prominent theorists in the field to share and debate their ideas. The seminar also provided an opportunity for doctoral students at the University to present their work-in-progress to an audience who would provide sympathetic critique that would help all participants to move their thinking forward. The seminar demonstrated in action the complementarity of more traditional forms of theorising, as well as newer forms of knowledge creation within practice. A key feature of the significance of the seminar was to show how the practical theories of practitioners could have substantial influence for organisational development. The event was organised by Jean McNiff, Adjunct Professor to the College of Education, University of Limerick, and Tom Geary, Head of Department of Education and Professional Studies, University of Limerick. What follows is a brief account of the seminar, for your information and interest.
The eventWhat was the aim of the seminar?The seminar aimed to present a forum for debating critical issues in the field of action research. Key speakers would present their views on the issues and test their ideas against the living theories of practitioner researchers who were pursuing their doctoral self-studies. Because of the interactive nature of the event, participants from the worlds of professional education, educational research and educational policy would be able to participate in the debates. The whole seminar would take the form of critical engagement about what were seen as emergent issues in action research, and how these might be developed in practical settings. What was the form of the seminar?The seminar took the form of a series of six debates. In each debate, a critical issue was identified, and papers about the issue were presented by key speakers and doctoral students. There were subsequent opportunities in workshops for all participants to discuss the issues and ideas raised, and discuss what implications the ideas have for real-world practices in education settings. What was the significance of the seminar?This was the first event of its kind in Ireland that aimed to bring both prominent theorists and doctoral students together, as part of a critical educational community. The event presented the most up-to-date thinking in the field, from which all participants could learn how to take steps to improve the quality of learning in their own organisations. Significant implications arise from the seminar for how the professional learning of educators might be supported through the development of partnerships between schools/workplaces and universities. The programmeThe programme was organised as six critical debates that involved the presentation of papers to show processes of abstract and practical theory generation. Debate 1 Action research and ICT How do we make judgements about the impact of ICT on the quality of learning in schools, colleges and workplaces? Can an action research approach help? What are the potential implications for the professional education of teachers and other professionals? Debate 2 What is the location for action research? Where should action research be located? Schools / workplaces, or universities, or both? What are the relationships between workplaces and higher education? What kind of pedagogical relationships need to be developed to support sustainable forms of learning? Debate 3 Action research for organisational change What are the potentials of action research to impact on organisational change? Are there any necessary conditions? What about the politics of practitioner research for organisational change? Debate 4 Identity, voice and representation In whose voice do we speak our research – our own, our participants, others who share our views, others with alternative perspectives? How do we facilitate the voices of others (if that is an aim of our research) and enable those less privileged than ourselves to speak? How do we represent our work in ways that startle us into new understandings? Debate 5 Forms of theory in action research What forms of theory are most appropriate for doing action research and for generating action research accounts? How do we show the value of different forms of theory? How do we legitimate them? Who makes decisions about these things? Debate 6 Validity and legitimacy in action research How do we validate action research accounts? How do we legitimate them in the public domain? What do we need to learn about processes of validating and legitimating? The people Who took part in the seminar? Presenters at the seminar included prominent key speakers whose work is influential in the world of action research, and doctoral students who are pursuing their action enquiries. Key speakers and their papers Marion Dadds, St Martin’s College Lancaster Rachel Deitcher, David Yellin College Jerusalem Margaret Farren, Dublin City University Revital Heimann, David Yellin College Jerusalem Diarmuid Leonard, University of Limerick Oliver McGarr, University of Limerick Tim McMahon, University College Dublin Gerry McNamara, Dublin City University Victoria Perselli, Kingston University Terry Phillips, University of East Anglia Ron Ritchie, University of the West of England Jack Whitehead, University of Bath (Click here to read Jack's paper at actionresearch.net) Richard Winter, Anglia Polytechnic University Doctoral researchers and their papers Máirín Glenn, primary teacher, Co. Mayo Breda Long, Adult Careers Advisor, Cork Caitríona McDonagh, primary school teacher, Co. Dublin What’s special about the work? Here are summaries of the presentations of the doctoral researchers. What is special about the work is that the researchers are demonstrating their own capacity for generating educational theory by studying their practice and asking questions of the kind, ‘How do I improve my work?’ (Whitehead, 1989). They incorporate the insights from propositional theories into the generation of their own living theories of education as they seek to influence the nature of organisational and social change by asking questions of the kind, ‘How do I improve my work for our mutual benefit as we try to improve our individual and collective situations?’ Abstracts Máirín Glenn
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