Abstract
The study investigated the extent to which teachers who practiced action research changed in light of the new knowledge they gained from their research. A mix of qualitative and quantitative data were collected using a questionnaire, interviews, and focus group discussion guides from teachers of English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) at three Ethiopian public universities. The results have shown that the teachers who did action research gained knowledge and skills for the betterment of themselves and their practices in various ways. The instrumental and catalytic roles of action research for enhancing the teachers’ learning experiences, knowledge, skills, thinking, teaching practices, and their students’ learning were highly valued. The fact that the teachers who did action research learnt from the research processes and the results changed themselves and their practices proved pragmatic validity of their claims. Pearson’s correlation analysis has also shown that there is a positive association between the teachers' actual practice of action research and their change (r =.38, P < .025). Doing action research and change, therefore, progressively move in the same direction. As P-value is low (i.e. below 5%), chance influence is unlikely, and the obtained correlation coefficient is statistically significant. The results imply that action research as a practical philosophy of teachers is a powerful tool for personal and professional development of those who engage in the research processes and those who have a stake in the results. This, therefore, calls for consistently doing the right things right by revitalizing action research as part and parcel of teaching-learning wherein teachers are empowered and committed to take the ‘driver’s seat and base their teaching on action research results with the purpose of transforming themselves, their practices and their learners for the better.
Recommended Citation
Aga, Firdissa Jebessa. (2024). Teachers’ Doing Action Research, Learning and Changing: Claims and Practicality. i.e.: inquiry in education: Vol. 16: Iss. 1, Article 2.Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/ie/vol16/iss1/2