The Journey Begins Within:
A Teacher's Reflections on Action Research

by Jennifer Webster

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For me, life is a never-ending series of experiences that inform, illuminate, and influence me. As I reflect on and learn from these experiences, I make choices, alter attitudes and take actions that I feel will lead me to a greater sense of satisfaction and will help me obtain my goals. This applies to both my personal and professional life, and since this striving for improvement is ever present, a course about 'The Improvement of Teaching' attracted my attention. After reading the course description and Stephen Brookfield's Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher(1995), I knew action research was going to appeal to my need for professional development. It has been a refreshing change to personalise rather than objectify my academic learning and writing. I have been a victim of the positivist 'domination of thought', believing that those who follow the scientific method must have the knowledge I seek, and if my thoughts differed, then I must prove myself by using the same method. Reading and responding to quantitative research has been informative and thought provoking, but what was lacking were the voices of the teachers and students on whom the research was focused. It always seemed to be the case studies that really got my attention, looking at the individuals within the study. As I began reading about voice, I realised that I not only wanted to hear what other individuals thought and felt, but I also needed to value my own voice. The difficulty, however, with exposing anything personal, is the sense of vulnerability that accompanies it. There is the risk of criticism and non-acceptance by those who consider themselves experts or authorities, or who are stuck within their own paradigms.

Beginning this process of action research in a formal way has been made much easier by a group of like-minded people who believe in the value of critical reflection and admit to struggles themselves. Within a community of peers, we have shared and questioned, and

are on our way to examining the results of our research. This process has convinced me of the importance of moving beyond the walls of my classroom and bringing my concerns and critical reflections into the larger community, seeking the input of others and having them validate what they feel fits within the overall picture of the purpose of education. I suspect this ideal is fraught with difficulties, where beliefs may clash and vulnerability is uncomfortable, but if change is to take place in an atmosphere of collaboration, then we must deal with these obstacles.

As I have progressed with my action research project, the greatest struggle has been in formalising the process by keeping track of conversations, thoughts, actions and reactions. Written, auditory and visual record keeping adds a large time element to this critical reflection and action. If this is to become a common practice among communities of teachers, then time must be made for building these communities, sharing with our peers and validating results. This will require support, encouragement and financial resources from educational institutions and government.

Researchers and educators need to acknowledge the value of listening to the voices of all participants in the educational environment and considering all sources and ways of knowing as we proceed on our journey into the next millennium.