Administrative inquiry or action research is the process by
which an administrator systematically assesses and affects change within their
campus. It includes the collection and analyzing of pertinent data and a
continued effort to monitor how effective the resulting changes are. Dana notes
that this method lends itself to the overall professional development of
principals (2009). The main difference between action research and traditional
educational research is that with action research the principal (and anyone
else included in the inquiry) are active participants. With traditional
educational research administrators are given a set of data or curriculum which
they are intended to implement and troubleshoot. This means that administrators
have little or no role in the research they are being presented with and
expected to carry out (Dana, 2009). In contrast, administrative inquiry is
generated by the campus' administrators themselves and is specific to the needs
of that particular campus.
I can think of a couple of different ways I can use action research on my own campus within the next year. I was recently put in charge of a committee which will be responsible for making changes to our campus' week of back-to-school activities this coming August. This basically amounts to a leadership team and one in which our principal will also participate. I plan on using the committee to examine what various teachers think are the most important aspects of our program and begin making changes that would be more beneficial to both our students and teachers.
I am also currently working in a PLC with three other teachers within my district. We are currently researching a portion of our district's new strategic design and developing solutions for how campuses can best meet the needs of that portion of the strategic design. Our research is focusing on creating comfortable and collaborative spaces for 21st century learners. We will collaborate with other teams within the district throughout the remainder of the year.
I think that a leadership team/ committee is an awesome real time kind of tools to use for action research. I ill be excited to hear more from you as you move forward with this idea. Using the team to find out what teachers think are most important in the program will be a great asset.
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