Teachers’ Understanding of Action Research: a Qualitative Case Study of a Specialized School in Kazakhstan

Abstract

A number of positive changes have occurred recently in the educaton system of Kazakhstan. The teachers, as primary implementers, are playing a major role in implementing these changes at schools. Therefore, the teachers are often seen as agents of change, particularly in the specialized schools that have been opened throughout Kazakhstan in order to work as ‘laboratories’ for developing best practices and disseminate the same to the mainstream schools in the country. In the specialized schools, the teachers have been encouraged to be involved in action research, a collaborative inquiry-focused learning approach, which is aimed at developing collaborative and inquiry skills of the teachers. After the teachers were introduced to action research, they have participated and presented their research papers in various conferences within and outside the country. Their action research reports and articles are often published in the educational journals. However, there has hardly been any study that looks exclusively into how the teachers, who are obliged to engage in action research, perceive and approach action research. Therefore a qualitative case study research was conducted to explore teachers’ understanding of the notion and concept of action research, the way they conceptualize and implement action research as a way to improve their teaching practice, and to identify the challenges they face in conducting action research in their school. Using maximum variation purposeful sampling strategy, the participants selected for this study included seven teachers and three action research course moderators. The findings of this study have been derived mainly from the semi-structured interviews, reviews of action research reports and articles written by the teacher researchers and observations of in-school course sessions organized for teachers doing action research in one of the specialized schools in Kazakhstan. The findings provide useful insights about teachers’ conceptions, understanding and approaches to action research, the opportunities and support available to them to facilitate their research work, and the challenges they face in doing research along with their routine school work. The findings of the study will help the school leadership know the different, at times contradicting, views held by teachers about action research. The practitioners will also be better aware of conducting action research effectively, handling research methods, collecting data and analyzing them in a systematic manner. The study may contribute to developing deeper understanding of action research in other schools where teachers do engage in action research. It may also contribute to literature on action research, especially in the context of Kazakhstan.