The topics that are best approached through action research
It should be noted that action research is particularly applicable to specific questions that can be related to the quality of programs, instruction methods, or textbooks. As a rule, educators choose this technique when they need to address a specific educational problem arising in a certain setting. In most cases, these topics are related to the classroom activities of students and teachers. Overall, scholars argue that action research applies to so-called local-level settings (Mertler & Charles, 2011). For instance, a teacher can apply this technique to understand what kind of difficulties students face when they do certain tasks such as mathematical problems.
Moreover, in this way, the educator will attempt to design strategies that can help learners avoid these difficulties. This is the main task of the action research. In this case, the teacher will also participate in this activity, and he/she can modify the instruction strategy used during the class. One should mention that action research is more suitable to the topics that can be formulated as an open-ended question. In particular, a teacher can apply this model to identify methods that can facilitate learners’ understanding of the new material (Baumfield, Hall, & Wall, 2010). It is possible to argue that the topics examined through action research are not related to large population groups. This is one of the main aspects that can be identified. They should be taken into account by educators and other professionals who can undertake action research.
Types of evaluation of educational programs
Scholars believe that there are six types of evaluation, and they are aimed at assessing a certain phenomenon from various perspectives (Mertler & Charles, 2011, p. 358). To some degree, they have to supplement each other. Overall, it is rather difficult to conduct a study that combines each of these types of evaluation. The problem is that the techniques described in this section are based on different assumptions. For instance, a teacher can carry out research that involves a participant-oriented evaluation of a certain educational program that is designed to increase students’ interest in natural sciences. In this case, it is necessary to focus on the experiences of teachers and students.
In particular, I would focus on the extent to which a program meets the needs of these stakeholders. Moreover, educators can rely on expertise-oriented evaluation that relies on the opinions of people who are experts in a certain field (Mertler & Charles, 2011, p. 358). The problem is that these models can produce dramatically different results. For example, one can mention that educational programs that were designed by educational standards were not successful because they did not meet the needs of the major stakeholders. This is one of the limitations that should not be overlooked.
Certainly, it should be noted that educators can conduct separate studies of the same program. So, various groups of educators can carry out various evaluations of the same program. However, it is not advisable to incorporate each of the six categories into single research. Furthermore, researchers often tend to look only at the results that confirm their ideas or hypotheses. Therefore, by doing separate evaluations of an educational program, scholars can improve the validity of their results. This is one of the central issues that should be kept in mind.
Reference List
Baumfield, V., Hall, E., & Wall, K. (2012). Action Research in Education: Learning Through Practitioner Enquiry. New York: SAGE.
Mertler, C. & Charles, C. (2011). Introduction to educational research. San Francisco: Allyn and Bacon.