engleski

Creating an online community of action researchers

Although action research represents research design, intended for practitioners, it is not as simple as it seems. There are several levels to the process, and novices in particular may find it challenging. To conduct action research it is necessary to be a philosopher, a researcher, a change agent and even, to a certain degree, a psychotherapist. All of this is easier to achieve within a learning community, with the help of more experienced action researchers. The education professionals who participated in this project have almost all previously been involved in professional development projects within the Pestalozzi Programme. This is the context in which they have been engaged over a period of time, including experiential learning, co-operative learning, immersion in reflective practice, and critical feedback loops with peers and coaches. In this context, this action research project was envisioned as taking a step forward to develop further the comprehensive structure of the Pestalozzi Programme, the approach of which is rooted firmly in the realm of social constructivism and social constructionism: working together to create new practices ; creating through social interactions ; situated learning in context ; and enriching individual learning through the negotiation of meaning and interaction in a group. This book represents an example of such a project in which several practitioners from different parts of Europe, gathered in the Pestalozzi Community of Practice, set out to learn how to become action researchers. In contrast to numerous books about action research in which the authors attempt to explain how to conduct action research, this book is action research about becoming an action researcher. An additional feature is the collaboration and learning of participants on an international level through online social platforms and affordable web applications.

action research, critical friendship, online community of practice

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