What is Action Research and Why Should I Care?

When you hear the words ‘professional development’ what comes to mind? Do you imagine yourself in a library or presentation room sitting with others like you, absorbing the lesson (or not)? Most people do. Professional development (PD) has certain connotations. It feels like you should be open and receiving what the ‘professionals’ impart. But then something comes out of left field to challenge all those perceptions. It goes by many names, administrator inquiry, action inquiry, and, as I’ll use it here, action research. Action research is when a practitioner, in this case a school administrator, chooses something in his or her work to study in-depth. Through this study, the school leader gains insight about the issue and about him/herself and how he/she reacts to the issue. The idea is to research, reflect, and then take action. The practitioner grows in the process of learning for school improvement. This is professional development at its strongest. To reflect upon a problem and search within and without to find a workable solution is rich and deep growth. That’s why I should care about action research. I want to be able to grow in meaningful ways that serve my school community.