Participatory Teacher Development - Research Proposal Example

Analysis of Participatory Teacher Development: Issues and Processes BFP2 Task 2 Introduction The research, "Participatory teacher development at schools: Processes and issues" is authored by Mary Koutselini. The study highlights an action research on the reflective progress at school. In addition, it examines the pedagogical and methodological issues developing from the beliefs and expectations of teachers. The concept of the research extends from the training provided by the University of Cyprus Department of Education. The training involved in-service teachers in various parts of the country. The purpose of the research arises from the request by the department to various pre-primary teachers to contribute and support in improving their communication with the students daily (Koutselini, 2008). The pre-primary teachers highlighted various issues that hinder their communication with the students such as problematic students and the current syllabus. According to the study, the problems, which were identified by the teachers, provided the basis for the purpose of the study. The formulation of the study aimed and utilising an action plan to enhance communication between the teachers and the students. The purpose of the study under analysis is to evaluate the issues at schools based on communication and action research. In this case, the research team plays the role of the teachers in the study. The primary objectives of the study include establishing an understanding of the limitations of communication with students having ‘problematic performance in language among the teachers and researchers. Additionally, the research aims at creating an investigation on the process through which teachers develop into reflective practitioners and researchers. The study also values and investigates the criteria of reflective specifically the aspect of collaborative sense making and self-reflection (Koutselini, 2008). The outcome of the research aims at enabling the teachers to improve their communication with the students. Moreover, there is the need to enable the teachers to establish the difference between curriculums effectively in order to enhance learning. In addition, the teachers should use the findings of the research to understand the limitations of their implicit knowledge regarding their response to the needs of the students. Methodology or Theoretical Framework The study uses action research methodology to establish the factors that hinder communication between the teachers and students. Action plan methodology of research refers to an inquiry into the aspects of various efforts that aim at improving the quality of a particular service and performance of an organisation. Various practitioners in a particular field analyses different data regarding a particular aspect of the field in order to establish mechanisms for improving their practices using the action research methodology. Action Plan research approach also refers to collaborative inquiry (Koutselini, 2008). According to the research, the use of the action plan methodology has various difficulties because it requires actual reflection and an effective interplay between reflection and action. The sample of the research involves an inspector, 16 teachers from three pre-primary public schools and two principles from Cyprus. The population’s participation in the research is voluntary in order to obtain accurate information regarding the communication barriers between them. In addition, the teachers participating in the study are female because of the absence of a male teacher in pre-primary public schools in Cyprus (Koutselini, 2008). The design of the study is based on the theory of phenomenography because of its appropriateness for real school learning environment. The theory is applicable in the learning environment because it enables the teachers to reflect on contextualised actions and pre-understanding of their practice. The data collection instruments in the research are the personal diaries of the research participants. The diary contained information regarding the participants communication with the students as well as their thoughts. Appropriateness of Methodology Action plan methodology is appropriate for the current research because the teachers wish to improve their performance by identifying the limiting factors. In this case, action plan research method provides the teachers with an appropriate platform to examine their teaching practices in real-time in order to develop an action plan. The appropriateness of the action plan for the study reveals in its characteristics, nature and advantages. Action plan research technique does not interfere with the practice of the practice during the research duration. The methodology allows the researchers to evaluate the participants while undertaking their practice. In this case, action plan is suitable for the research because it does not compromise the teachers’ time. The methodology also enables the participants to formulate the hypothesis and establish strategies that are applicable in the classroom environment. In addition, action plan methodology observes the relevant ethical requirement for education research. The teachers can participate in the study willingly, which is essential for obtaining accurate results. Finally, action plan methodology adopts a perspective where various members of the school community share and build a common vision. Methods of Data Collection The data collection criteria used by researchers entail the personal diaries of the participants. The participants are required to document their interaction with the students on different occasions in the school contexts. The teachers are required to document their communication with the students in the classroom environment (Koutselini, 2008). In addition, the study requires the principals and inspectors to write various aspects of the communication during their interaction with the students. Additionally, the research highlights that the participants included their thoughts regarding their communication with the students in the diaries. The data collection process in the study involves various phases based on the context of the action plan methodology. The data collection method promotes the acquisition of reflective information from the participants, which is essential in the development of the action plan. In addition, the reflective aspect of the research is achieved through collaborative approaches to data collection. According to the article, the participants engage in reflective group discussions, which were essential in obtaining information regarding the participants communication approaches in the classroom contexts (Koutselini, 2008). Appropriateness of Data Collection Methods The data collection technique is relevant to the study because of various reasons. The first reason is that, it enables the researchers to real time data regarding the communication of the teachers, inspectors and principals with the students. The instrument used for the collection of data is a diary, which promote real time recording of the communication approaches of the research participants (Koutselini, 2008). In addition, the diaries enable the participants to record their opinion regarding their interaction with the teachers. This real-time concept of data collection enables the researchers to identify various factors that hinder communication between the teachers and the students. In addition, it promotes comparative analysis of the results based on the communication aspects of the various participants. The second reason for appropriateness of the data collection techniques is the ability to acquire reflective data from the participants. The research depends on the genuity of the reflective information, which is easily availed through the collaborative data collection approaches. The group discussions enable the researchers and the participants to acquire crucial information regarding their communication with the students (Koutselini, 2008). The information obtained in the reflective group discussions is essential for the development of an effective action plan in order to improve the teaching practice. Quality of Data Collection Methods The data collection techniques used in the research is of high quality. The methods concur with the requirement of the Action Plan research methodology appropriately. In addition, the data collection techniques enable the researchers to obtain first-hand information regarding various aspects of communication between the participants and the students. The data collection methods also promote reflective actions in the participants, which is essential to the development of effective and reliable action plan. Data collection criteria involve the real-time documentation of the communication between the students and teachers that allows the teachers to develop an appropriate action plan. For example, the diaries promote acquisition of reliable data because it allows the participants to document their thoughts regarding their interaction with the students. Reference Koutselini, M. (2008). Participatory teacher development at schools: Processes and issues. Action Research, 6(1), 29-48. Read More