Tag: Action Research

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Ethical Challenges of Research in Secondary Schools: All is well that ends well

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

The topic of my thesis developed from thirty years of teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in secondary schools in the south of Italy. Over the years, I have seen and experimented with many teaching approaches, but one that I found to be particularly intriguing was what I have named Online Community Projects (OCPs).

My experience of working with minors meant that ethical thinking came effortlessly. For example, teachers cannot do anything outside their everyday teaching without obtaining signed permission from parents or informing the headteacher and colleagues in writing. In addition, the experience helped me to foresee complications, such as taking students out of other teachers’ lessons or missing their buses home if I asked them to stay after school. In addition, as an insider, I knew that if I offered rewards, my intentions might be misinterpreted, so care was needed for every decision.

The biggest problem was finding the right time to do interviews, and I waited for an elusive moment that only came once during the whole initial study. I learnt from my mistakes and interviewed during my lessons with the classes in question for the primary research. I put the students into groups to work on their OCP activities, and the group that finished first was the one I would interview. Another helpful solution was to use open-question questionnaires with tick-boxes that gave the participants information about the research and the opportunity to refuse or give consent for their answers to be used for publication purposes. However, analysing these decisions was complicated and messy. Therefore I drew up a table following the BERA and Stutchbury and Fox (2009).

One of the most critical issues arising from my initial study was that my data did not teach me anything that I didn’t already know, and I wanted to learn something new. After substantial reading of literature such as Hammersley (2012), Scotland (2012) and Cresswell (2003), I realised that my paradigm was not aligned with my ontological and epistemological viewpoints. Once I had understood this, everything fell into place, and I realised that I had to change my methodology. I decided to use Action Research and Burns’ (1999) iterative framework. This process led me to rethink my research framework and data analysis. The discovery of Stake’s (2006) Multiple Case Study Analysis was a significant breakthrough for me. It led me to introduce three contrasting voices and define five multiple cases connected through the use of OCPs but with different perspectives.

These changes revolutionised my research and understanding of myself and my worldviews. It also led me to make an important discovery that I had no idea about beforehand, transforming my teaching practice and research. All is well that ends well, as they say. Has anyone else been disappointed with the results of their initial study? Please let us know about your experiences and how you overcame them.

Dr. Lesley June Fearn @lesleyfearn

I achieved my EdD in 2021 regarding learning and teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) using online community projects in secondary schools. This interest stems from more than thirty years of experience teaching English (as a Foreign Language) and English literature in state schools in the south of Italy. During this time, I have continually experimented with new approaches and techniques, especially with technology, to motivate students in their schooling. Other areas of interest include Fine Art and English literature that I studied as a BA and MA. As far as research is concerned, I am particularly interested in Action Research and sociocultural paradigms.
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Academia through the lens of a secondary school teacher

Students working on a professional doctorate such as an EdD usually have to juggle work, family and study. It is not an easy task because, as practitioners, research is a whole new area, and we have less time to come to terms with it than our PhD peers. On the other hand, we have the knowledge and expertise of our practices that no one outside of them could have. Of course, in principle, combining theory and practice would be ideal for research, but in reality, combining the two presents a myriad of problems.

My transition into academia was challenging because of a long career in teaching in secondary schools. Having completed my EdD, I can now see that Action Research (AR) has been critical in my EdD journey as a researcher, guiding me in the correct direction for each mistake I made (and there were many).

The two reasons that AR helped me were:

  • AR follows a spiral of iterative steps encouraging the researcher to reflect upon the research process and observe it from an outsider’s point of view;
  • The research questions arise directly from practice rather than from the literature, as with more theoretical studies and allows for change, modification and progress in all areas, including the research questions.

Although there are many kinds of AR, my research focused upon two collaborative methods:

  • Participatory Action Research (PAR) is a large-scale study aiming at emancipation and change within organisations or communities (Cresswell, 2003).
  • Collaborative AR is when the researcher and a group of like-minded colleagues work together, often (and in my case) as research participants.

For example, I used Burns’s (1999) eleven-phase spiral framework when I needed a detailed analysis, and Altrichter, Kemmis, McTaggart and Zuber-Skerritt’s (2002) four-phase one when I needed a more comprehensive summary of what was happening

Using the AR methodology to organise notes and findings regularly throughout my research clarified what was happening and the best course of action. Measures included changing research questions, discarding unnecessary data and even changing the method of data analysis from a case study to a multiple case study towards the end of the study.

In conclusion, combining research and work has not been easy, but the most challenging thing was to perceive my practice through the eyes of an academic and not a teacher. In my experience, together with my excellent supervisors, AR was the solution. What challenges have other practitioners come across in their quest to combine work and research?

We would be grateful if you could let us know by sending a blog post to: WELS-Prof-Docs@open.ac.uk, please put BLOG as your subject.

by Dr. Lesley June Fearn @lesleyfearn

I achieved my EdD in 2021 regarding learning and teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) using online community projects in secondary schools. This interest stems from more than thirty years of experience teaching English (as a Foreign Language) and English literature in state schools in the south of Italy. During this time, I have continually experimented with new approaches and techniques, especially with technology, to motivate students in their schooling. Other areas of interest include Fine Art and English literature that I studied as a BA and MA. As far as research is concerned, I am particularly interested in Action Research and sociocultural paradigms.