Action Research: The Challenges of Understanding and Changing Practice

How can practice be understood and developed?
What part can action research play in that process?
What principles lie at the heart of action research and how can they be adopted?
How can action research bring about democratic and collaborative changes to practice? These and other questions are answered in this book which offers both a practical step-by-step guide to action research and an examination of the underlying principles and challenges. Action research as an approach aims to generate knowledge and achieve principled change. This book explores the overarching features and a variety of models of action research to provide advice, guidance, and support on its conduct and to identify challenges that may arise, with a focus on understanding and changing practice as a result. Throughout the book examples of action research illustrate each of the stages of action research so that you can see how action research has been conducted and applied in practice, and how this relates to the principles and practices of action research discussed in the book. Conducting action research can present a number of challenges. This book includes reflection points on the challenges posed, as well as advice on how these challenges may be addressed in order to achieve embedded and sustainable change.

"The book to recommend to your students to help them understand how action research has developed as a form of inquiry and support them to plan their own studies."
Professor Mark Hadfield, Director, Centre for Developmental and Applied Research in Education, University of Wolverhampton, UK

"This book fully embraces the 'glorious and challenging diversity of action research' and is essential reading for anyone interested in undertaking any form of educational research."
Ian Abbott, Director, Institute of Education, University of Warwick, UK

"This refreshing new book will prove invaluable to teachers embarking on Masters-level Action Research studies. It will help teachers to redefine their practices and to confidently establish themselves as principled andprofessional teacher-researchers."
Dr Andy Convery, University of Sunderland, UK

"This book is a rich and useful text both for those wanting to explore the practice of action research and the key ideas underpinning it as an approach. Andrew Townsend brings much experience as a researcher, thinker and developer of action research in educational settings to this book."
Professor Colleen McLaughlin, University of Cambridge (moving to Sussex)

"I have recommended this book for practitioners on the action research programme we carry out. It is much more than a how to guide; it raises the fundamental questions about the nature of action research"
Mick Hammond, University of Warwick, UK