Action Research

Action research is a powerful tool for teacher professional development. Action research or administrator inquiry refers to the process of a principal engaging in systematic, intentional study of his own administrative practice and taking action for change based on what he learns as a result of the inquiry. Inquiry professionals seek out change and reflect on their practice by posing questions, collecting data and analyzing data, research, making changes based on the data, and sharing findings with others.
Action research is continuous improvement from within the school. Principals identify the problem, brainstorm ideas for a solution, implementation, and clarifying the situation. It is up to the principal to fix the problems of the school, not just report them to someone and then look for help. Many principals have issues with discipline. Students get in trouble and are sent to ISS. However, when students aren’t in the classroom they aren’t learning. This can cause a problem with TAKS scores. I would use action research to try to see if we could have ISS on the weekend or after school hours. It would be something we could try out and see how it works.
There are always areas to improve. Principals must continuously work to try to make improvements on campus. Action research allows you to try something out. You can start a plan and then you can make adjustments. Each school is different so what works for one school might not work for others. Action research allows individualization of schools so principals can make changes.
Educational leaders can use blogs to inform stakeholders what is going on around campus. It can name specific events so that the community and parents can attend. Blogs can also state what is happening around campus as far as academics and discipline issues. Principals can list improvements being made around campus.