Action Research: Principles and Practice

Action Research is an increasingly popular movement in Educational Research. Its guiding force is its active involvement of teachers in classrooms in the research and educational process. It gives them an opportunity to formulate their own theory from their own practice and also to actively improve the quality of their teaching and the educational experience of their pupils. In this book Jean McNiff, who has been a classroom teacher and researcher, discusses the background of Action Research from a philosophical and historical point of view, explaining how the movement has developed and expanded in a variety of directions. She exhorts teachers to undertake it, explains why they should do it and shows how. The latter part of the book is illustrated with case studies showing how Action Research has been applied by teachers in a variety of real educational situations. The book has been written for the practising teacher, in the classroom or on INSET.