Action research in pre-service teacher education – a never-ending story promoting professional development

Developing Pre-Service Teacher Professional Capabilities through Action Research

“…In this sense, action research produces self-knowledge, and it can be regarded as one way to make the tacit knowledge gained through experiences visible. When viewed through this lens, action research is both a developmental process and an integral part of classroom teaching (Kemmis, 2010;Ulvik & Riese, 2015). This framing of action research is consistent within the discussions on action research as a methodology.…”

“…This framing of action research is consistent within the discussions on action research as a methodology. The study considered a body of research that recommends integrating action research into pre-service teacher education (Ulvik & Riese, 2015). Researchers consistently put forward the claim that a key aspect of action research is that it is underpinned by a continual cycle of self-refection, see for example Israel, Schulz, Parker, Becker, Allen, & Guzman (2003), Kemmis (2008) and Kemmis and McTaggart (2000).…”

“…Day (2007) highlights the importance for individuals in investigating one's own practice in stating that professional development is an inner process, and it cannot be reduced to a checklist of behaviours. It is argued that in order for action research to be successful in pre-service teacher education, the project must be grounded in the student-teachers' own pedagogical content area and own questions (Ulvik & Riese, 2015). That is, each action research project should be unique investigation into one's own classroom.…”

The Enactment Approach to Practice-Based Teacher Education Coursework: Expanding the Geographic Scope to Norway and Finland

“…All of these studies claimed that action research plays a vital role in helping teacher candidates connect theory and practice. However, Ulvik and colleagues described how working with action research in teacher education is both challenging and time-consuming (Ulvik, 2014;Ulvik & Riese, 2016). Analysing 14 action research reports by teacher candidates, Ulvik (2014) argued that for such work to link theory and practice, a proper framework for conducting action research is needed.…”

“…She claimed that if the necessary resources and support are not in place, then the costs might outweigh the benefits for teacher candidates, who might avoid taking an inquiry stance in the future. Ulvik and Riese (2016) further examined questionnaires, pre-and post-focus group interviews, and action research reports by 30 candidates. They stated that the work to connect theory and practice is neverending and that the teacher candidates seemed to need scaffolding and support in doing so, even after completing action research.…”