Secondary School Teachers ' Experiences of Using Action Research in Classroom Practices

Abstract

This qualitative study reports part of an intervention study that investigatedhow four secondary school teachers enhanced their ability to participate ina teacher-led professional learning through action research. Specifically,this paper focuses on the secondary school teachers ' knowledge and abilityof engaging in action research to improve their pedagogical practices.The most important finding indicated that in the course of intervention,the teachers learned to carry out systematic action research as a formof professional learning that impacted their classroom practices. Whilethe findings from this study cannot be generalized to other teachers andschool contexts, the experiences of the four teachers provide some insightsto other teachers and educational leaders on the use of action research.Keywords: Classroom practices, collaborative action research, teachers ' inquiry cycle, student learning