Action Research, Innovation and Change

Action Research, Innovation and Change
Author: Thomas Stern
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2013-12-17
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1317916077

Action research continues to see a growth in interest both internationally and across disciplines. This book demonstrates the diversity in settings and focus for action research and provides a guide to its core aspiration: to achieve principled change. Written by authors from a range of countries and range of disciplines (including education, health care, palliative care, social work and community development), this book answers these key questions: How can action research be used to achieve principled change? How has action research been applied in various disciplines and in different countries? What can be learnt about the conduct of action research from these diverse settings? By means of detailed case studies of successful projects and discussions that challenge and raise theoretical questions, this book explores some of the contemporary cutting edge applications and conceptualisations of action research. Action research paves the way for the empowerment of people involved in social action, and the examples of successful change processes that are the core of this book will prove inspirational and provide practical advice. Written by a range of leading international researchers in the field, this book will define the future for action research for years to come.

Action Research: A Methodology For Change And Development

Action Research: A Methodology For Change And Development
Author: Somekh, Bridget
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education (UK)
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2005-12-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0335216587

This book presents a fresh view of action research as a methodology uniquely suited to researching the processes of innovation and change. Drawing on twenty-five years’ experience of leading or facilitating action research projects, Bridget Somekh argues that action research can be a powerful systematic intervention, which goes beyond describing, analyzing and theorizing practices to reconstruct and transform those practices. The book examines action research into change in a range of educational settings, such as schools and classrooms, university departments, and a national evaluation of technology in schools. The opening chapter presents eight methodological principles and discusses key methodological issues. The focus then turns to action research in broader contexts such as ‘southern’ countries, health, business and management, and community development. Each chapter thereafter takes a specific research project as its starting point and critically reviews its design, relationships, knowledge outcomes, political engagement and impact. Action Researchis important reading for postgraduate students and practitioner researchers in education, health and management, as well as those in government agencies and charities who wish to research and evaluate change and development initiatives. It is also valuable for pre-service and in-service training of professionals such as teachers, nurses and managers.

Action Research, Innovation and Change

Action Research, Innovation and Change
Author: Thomas Stern
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 271
Release: 2013-12-17
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1317916069

Action research continues to see a growth in interest both internationally and across disciplines. This book demonstrates the diversity in settings and focus for action research and provides a guide to its core aspiration: to achieve principled change. Written by authors from a range of countries and range of disciplines (including education, health care, palliative care, social work and community development), this book answers these key questions: How can action research be used to achieve principled change? How has action research been applied in various disciplines and in different countries? What can be learnt about the conduct of action research from these diverse settings? By means of detailed case studies of successful projects and discussions that challenge and raise theoretical questions, this book explores some of the contemporary cutting edge applications and conceptualisations of action research. Action research paves the way for the empowerment of people involved in social action, and the examples of successful change processes that are the core of this book will prove inspirational and provide practical advice. Written by a range of leading international researchers in the field, this book will define the future for action research for years to come.

Action Research in Workplace Innovation and Regional Development

Action Research in Workplace Innovation and Regional Development
Author: Werner Fricke
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
Total Pages: 380
Release: 2004
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9789027217851

The past is an increasingly unreliable guide to the future. European workplaces and the regions in which they are located face unprecedented pressures and challenges. Whereas in recent decades incremental adaptation has largely been sufficient to cope with external change, it is no longer clear that this remains the case. Globalisation, technological development and dissemination, political volatility, patterns of consumption, and employee expectations are occurring at a rate which is hard to measure. The rate of change in these spheres is far outstripping the rate of organisational innovation in both European enterprises and public governance, leading to a serious mismatch between the challenges of the 21st Century and the organisational competence available to deal with them. In this context, there is no clear roadmap. The contributors to this volume address these issues and demonstrate that building the knowledge base required by actors in this volatile environment requires continuous dialogue and learning – a context in which social partners, regional policy makers and other participants share diverse knowledge and reflect on experience rather than seeking and imitating any notion of 'best practice'. Action Research has a crucial role to play, embedding shared learning within the process of innovation.

Action Research for Educational Change

Action Research for Educational Change
Author: John Elliot
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education (UK)
Total Pages: 176
Release: 1991-04-16
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0335231497

This book is concerned with action research as a form of teacher professional development. In it, John Elliot traces the historical emergence and current significance of action research in schools. He examines action research as a "cultural innovation" with transformative possibilities for both the professional culture of teachers and teacher educators in academia and explores how action research can be a form of creative resistance to the technical rationality underpinning government policy. He explains the role of action research in the specific contexts of the national curriculum, teacher appraisal and competence-based teacher training.

Innovation and change in English language education

Innovation and change in English language education
Author: Ken Hyland
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 301
Release: 2013-06-19
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1135051909

Questions about what to teach and how best to teach it are what drive professional practice in the English language classroom. Innovation and change in English language education addresses these key questions so that teachers are able to understand and manage change to organise teaching and learning more effectively. The book provides an accessible introduction to current theory and research in innovation and change in ELT and shows how these understandings have been applied to the practical concerns of the curriculum and the classroom. In specially commissioned chapters written by experts in the field, the volume sets out the key issues in innovation and change and shows how these relate to actual practice offers a guide to innovation and change in key areas grounded in research relates theory to practice through the use of illustrative case studies and examples brings together the very best scholarship in TESOL and language education from around the world This book will be of interest to upper undergraduate and graduate students in applied linguistics, language education and TESOL as well as pre-service and in-service teachers, teacher educators, researchers and administrators keen to create and manage teaching and learning more effectively.

Territorial Development and Action Research

Territorial Development and Action Research
Author: James Karlsen
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2016-03-16
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 131704617X

Territorial Development and Action Research examines the role of action research within fields such as territorial development and innovation. Most researchers analyse these fields from the outside, developing a theoretical understanding of what should be done, but not of how to do it. Based on their own experience of territorial development processes from the inside out, James Karlsen and Miren Larrea argue that filling the gap regarding social relations in the innovation process makes it possible for researchers to engage in the processes taking place in the territory, thereby revealing how to make things work. This book will help researchers face the pressure to engage and play a useful role in the development of their host regions. It will help policy makers to continuously learn and redefine policy approaches and bring about collaboration through networks, programs and projects where researchers and practitioners in regional, local and urban development work together to construct territorial development. Readers will acquire a better understanding of micro-territorial development processes and the roles played by individuals and coalitions in endogenous development processes.

Managing Change in Healthcare

Managing Change in Healthcare
Author: Paul Parkin
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2009-04-09
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1446243915

`Each chapter flows well and holds the reader′s interest. The book is suitable for learners and experienced practitioners′ Keith Hurst, Leeds University The management of change in the context of new policy directives and agendas is a critical issue for healthcare practitioners. All professionals - not just managers - need to develop and implement new services designed to bring patients into the centre of healthcare delivery. This book looks at the leadership, management and interpersonal skills needed to manage such change effectively within multiprofessional healthcare settings. The book: - Uniquely uses Action Research as a model for planning and implementing change at the patient-service interface. - Makes use of evidence and case studies to demonstrate the stages of the change process. - Includes advice and useful strategies for achieving change. - Shows dynamic change can be achieved at the individual, team, departmental and organisational level. - Covers a range of topics including organisational culture; leadership; conflict resolution; managerial roles; and organisational analysis. Managing Change in Healthcare will be ideal for all nursing and allied health care trainees taking courses in management and leadership. It will also be invaluable for qualified professionals and managers who need a clear and engaging guide to the key issues and skills underpinning effective healthcare management.

Doing Action Research

Doing Action Research
Author: Claire Taylor
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 113
Release: 2006-09-18
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1847878245

′The clear intention of the authors is to motivate, persuade and give confidence to those who might otherwise think that research can only be carried out by teams of university staff′ - ESCalate Most Teaching Assistants (TAs) studying for Foundation Degrees need to do Action Research projects. This book acts as an introduction to research methods, and will be especially useful if you are doing such work for the first time. It: " introduces the basic principles and practice of research methods; " provides an overview of the processes involved in Action Research; " shows you how to identify an issue, design and carry out a course of action and evaluate the impact of this action; " uses real case studies from practising TAs. The content of the book relates to both Early Years and Primary settings, and there are case studies from a variety of settings. Anyone studying for a Foundation Degree, or working towards HLTA status, will find this book meets their needs. Claire Taylor is Programme Leader for the Foundation Degree at Bishop Grosseteste College, Lincoln. Min Wilkie is Programme Leader for the Foundation Degree in Educational Studies for Teaching Assistants at the University of Leicester. Judith Baser has worked in a wide range of educational settings, including 5 years as a teaching assistant. More recently, she has run training courses for teaching assistants in ways to support children′s learning and development.