Action Research

Action Research

After considering several Action Research ideas, I plan to conduct a series of research tactics throughout the allotted time to conclude the factors of the school climate, teacher opinion and overall teacher morale on campus. I have been at the same school for four years, and have watched and witnessed the morale of our staff change and move from high to low points throughout each semester, and each year.
I am certain of a few factors that contributed, but am not fully aware of everything that went into making the staff “high” one year and “low” the next. I am curious to know what are the biggest contributing factors leading to such changes.All staff members need to know that their opinions are valued by the administrative team, especially the teachers and coaches. I would like to include teachers in the study to empower them to take ownership in improving the overall campus morale too. Regardless of the various feelings about this, from one teacher to the next, I want my staff to be excited to come to work, when I become an administrator on a campus someday.
I know that an Action Research Study like this would help me as an administrator, to focus on the certain topics that are affecting morale of the teachers and staff. The study would allow me to see what is harmful to staff morale, what outside influences can have an effect on it, and help me to discover, overall what I could do to improve the working environment that surrounds all of us. I am confident that the administrative team can accomplish this by treating all staff members with respect and listening to what they have to say. The first step in this process will be to conduct surveys in order to give them a voice .
I am excited that this project would do just that. The reading this week really gave me some insight on ways that action research can be viewed as valuable tool rather than more busy work for the staff that is involved in collecting the data. When approaching the staff with this study, I think that they may even feel relieved to know that there is someone trying to fix or improve a problem that currently exists. The purpose of the research is not just to collect data that will never be used for improvements, but instead to follow up with those individuals on their feelings about changes made afterward as well.