Doing Action Research in Early Childhood Studies a step-by-step guide
by Mac Naughton, Glenda; Hughes, PatrickEdition: 1st
Format: Paperback
Pub. Date: 2008-09-01
Publisher(s): Open Univ Pr
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Summary
Written in a lively and accessible style, this is the essential step by step guide to conducting your own action research project. The book introduces and evaluates different approaches to action research and explores how they can be applied in early childhood settings to create positive change and to improve practice.
Author Biography
Glenda Mac Naughton is Professor in Early Childhood Studies and Director of the Centre for Equity and Innovation in Early Childhood in the University of Melbourne's Graduate School of Education, Australia.
..Patrick Hughes is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Equity and Innovation in Early Childhood in the University of Melbourne's Graduate School of Education, Australia..
Table of Contents
| Preface | p. ix |
| Acknowledgements | p. xi |
| Introduction: the action research cycle | p. 1 |
| Choosing to Change | |
| Choose a social practice to change or improve | p. 7 |
| Preparing to take Step 1 | p. 8 |
| a case from practice | p. 16 |
| Taking your first step: your actions and reflections | p. 18 |
| Further resources: going deeper | p. 19 |
| Ask a question about your chosen social practice | p. 20 |
| Preparing to take Step 2 | p. 21 |
| a case from practice | p. 32 |
| Taking your second step: your actions and reflections | p. 33 |
| Further resources: going deeper | p. 33 |
| Planning for a Change | |
| Learn more about the action research family | p. 37 |
| Preparing to take Step 3 | p. 38 |
| a case from practice | p. 51 |
| Taking your third step: your actions and reflections | p. 52 |
| Further resources: going deeper | p. 53 |
| Learn more about your topic from the literature | p. 55 |
| What is a literature review? | p. 57 |
| A literature review to meet your need | p. 58 |
| Starting your literature review | p. 62 |
| Analysing the results of your literature review | p. 70 |
| Sharing the results of your literature review | p. 72 |
| a case from practice | p. 73 |
| Taking your fourth step: your actions and reflections | p. 75 |
| Further resources: going deeper | p. 76 |
| Learn more about your ethical responsibilities | p. 77 |
| Introducing ethics | p. 78 |
| Researchers' general ethical responsibilities | p. 79 |
| Action researchers' specific ethical responsibilities | p. 82 |
| Collaborative action researchers' specific ethical responsibilities | p. 84 |
| Action researchers' specific ethical responsibilities in early childhood settings | p. 89 |
| a case from practice | p. 92 |
| Taking your fifth step: your actions and reflections | p. 94 |
| Further Resources: going deeper | p. 95 |
| Learn about reflection, critical reflection and practice | p. 96 |
| Reflection and reflective practice | p. 97 |
| Critical thinking and critically reflective practice | p. 99 |
| Critical reflection in action research for professional change | p. 105 |
| Critical reflection in action research for social change | p. 106 |
| a case from practice | p. 109 |
| Taking (and retaking) your sixth step: your actions and reflections | p. 110 |
| Further Resources: going deeper | p. 110 |
| Map the practicalities of researching in your context | p. 112 |
| Find helpers and anticipate hindrances | p. 113 |
| Inform relevant others about your project | p. 115 |
| Plan your first steps | p. 116 |
| a case from practice | p. 118 |
| Taking your seventh step: your actions and reflections | p. 119 |
| Further resources: going deeper | p. 119 |
| Plan to make your research rigorous and valid | p. 121 |
| Introducing rigour and validity | p. 122 |
| 'Fit-for-purpose' rigour and validity: considering scope and scale | p. 123 |
| Scientific rigour | p. 123 |
| Alternative forms of rigour | p. 124 |
| Rigour in action research | p. 126 |
| Approaches to validity | p. 128 |
| Validity in action research | p. 129 |
| a case from practice | p. 133 |
| Taking the eighth step: your actions and reflections | p. 133 |
| Further resources: going deeper | p. 133 |
| Creating Change | |
| Form an action research group | p. 137 |
| Why research collaboratively? | p. 138 |
| Forming a collaborative action research group | p. 138 |
| Maintaining participation in a group | p. 139 |
| Planning for diversity | p. 142 |
| Maintaining critical reflections, maintaining relationships | p. 144 |
| a case from practice | p. 145 |
| Taking your ninth step: your actions and reflections | p. 147 |
| Further resources: going deeper | p. 148 |
| Gather 'baseline' data | p. 149 |
| Defining our terms | p. 150 |
| An appropriate data collection strategy | p. 155 |
| Sources of data | p. 156 |
| Documenting your data | p. 162 |
| a case from practice | p. 165 |
| Taking your tenth step: your actions and reflections | p. 166 |
| Further resources: going deeper | p. 166 |
| Create a change and collect data about its effects | p. 167 |
| cases from practice | p. 168 |
| Taking your eleventh step: your actions and reflections | p. 170 |
| Further resources: going deeper | p. 170 |
| Analyse your data | p. 171 |
| What is 'data analysis'? | p. 172 |
| Organizing the data for analysis | p. 172 |
| Coding the data | p. 174 |
| Sifting the data for patterns | p. 178 |
| Analysing the data and displaying the results | p. 182 |
| a case from practice | p. 188 |
| Taking your twelfth step: your actions and reflections | p. 190 |
| Further resources: going deeper | p. 190 |
| Deepen and broaden your data and understandings | p. 192 |
| Where next? | p. 192 |
| Broadening and deepening your data | p. 195 |
| Broadening and deepening your understandings | p. 197 |
| a case from practice | p. 202 |
| Taking your thirteenth step: your actions and reflections | p. 204 |
| Further resources: going deeper | p. 204 |
| Choose a further social practice to change or improve, perhaps guided by a new research question | p. 205 |
| Choose another social practice to change or improve | p. 206 |
| some cases from practice | p. 208 |
| Taking your fourteenth step: your actions and reflections | p. 209 |
| Further resources: going deeper | p. 212 |
| Sharing the Lessons of Your Change | |
| Draw Conclusions from your analysis | p. 215 |
| The limits of general advice | p. 216 |
| To conclude or not to conclude? | p. 216 |
| How to conclude | p. 216 |
| a case from practice | p. 221 |
| Further Resources: going deeper | p. 222 |
| Share the lessons of your project | p. 224 |
| A formal, written project report | p. 225 |
| An article in an academic, peer-reviewed journal | p. 229 |
| A book chapter | p. 231 |
| An Article in a specialist magazine | p. 232 |
| A page on a project website | p. 233 |
| A formal presentation to a conference | p. 233 |
| An informal presentation to colleagues, children or parents | p. 235 |
| Deciding how best to share the lessons | p. 236 |
| a case from practice | p. 236 |
| Further resources: going deeper | p. 238 |
| References | p. 240 |
| Author index | p. 247 |
| Subject index | p. 249 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
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