Action Research

In the "old days" of traditional educational research, principals had to rely on outside resources to provide them with a format for success. Education was thought of as a straight forward system where teachers and principals were little more than technicians. It seems strange that the leader of a school would be so dependent upon someone at a university setting to give them the answers for what's best in their "own back yard". Using the old frame work, principals were set up for failure in my humble opinion. In many cases, school leaders were left try to fit square peg in a round hole. Thankfully a new form of research was introduced and widely accepted in academia.

Action research allows principals to be the experts. The administrator uses their reality to create theory and identify problems. The principal researches the issues and initiates change according to their findings. This system is ideal for many reasons. First, principals are in the best position for deciding what the key issues are on their campuses. Not all communities are the same, so educational leaders can use their front line experience to decide what the biggest barriers to success are in their school. In the past, finding and admitting campus issues was thought of as admitting failure and surely would lead to being in the superintendent's "dog house". This was an unrealistic mind set and surely not one that allowed school leaders to be problem solvers. One of the great benefits of action research is that it allows a principal to be a visionary. Principals using action research don’t have to rely on someone at a university to solve their problems. The principal can further research their schools dilemmas through leadership teams. Collaboration creates ownership and constitutes true and meaningful change.

I plan on using action research to tackle what I feel is a key issue in education (and our society in general). My question is: What effect does not having both parents at home have on an individual student's academic success? I feel that there should be significant data at my school regarding this topic. I have worked in several schools where two parent homes were a rarity. That being said, I have seen many students rise above this adversity and I would like to find out what makes the difference for those kids. It should be interesting. I'm looking forward to the journey.


How educational leaders might use blogs:
Educational leaders can use blogs in several ways. Blogs are a way for an individual to share "news". A principal could use a blog as part of a leadership team. Leadership teams consist of a combination of a principal and two or three teachers. This group works together to identify problems or "wonderings", then they can share their research with one another before deciding on a course of action to solve the problem. With a blog, the team leader could post "wonderings" or research and the other team members could provide feedback through comments on the thread.