What is action research?

Action research gives educational leaders the opportunity to be more actively involved in the study of their administrative practices in order to make change to improve their schools. Instead of guessing at what will work, or simply following ideas provided by outsiders, educational leaders using action research have the opportunity to analyze the data at their own schools to determine the best course of action to make improvements. They gain further insight by studying relevant literature, and then use this knowledge along with their data-based concerns to make changes at their school based in research. This process allows educational leaders to have deeper insight into their role of making improvements in their schools.

Action research will be a valuable tool for me to ensure that the interventions I provide for my special education students are effective. Instead of hoping that what I'm doing is working, I can use data and relevant literature to determine whether specific interventions are leading to the improvement in student performance that I expect. If they aren't, then I can reflect on the reasons why and determine a new course of action. Is it because the intervention isn't being provided with fidelity? Is it because the intervention itself isn't effective? Using action research, I'm able to reflect on my practice, collect and analyze data, read relevant literature, and then make changes to the interventions as needed, based on what I've learned. This process will be much more effective than merely guessing or hoping that what I'm doing is working.