TY - JOUR
T1 - The lived experience of a primary physical education teacher educator engaging in action research
T2 - cycling into change
AU - Macken, Suzy
AU - MacPhail, Ann
AU - Calderón, Antonio
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Educational Studies Association of Ireland.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - This paper presents the lived experience of a practitioner researcher working as a teacher educator engaging in action research with primary pre-service teachers (PSTs). Aligning with the work of Cook (2009) [‘The Purpose of Mess in Action Research: Building Rigour Though a Messy Turn.’ Educational Action Research 17 (2): 277–291] this paper aims to make visible the decisions and reflections that occurred during the multiple cycles of action research that were significant in the transformations that occurred throughout the study. We argue that embracing and acknowledging the chaos and messiness of the process is essential to initiating change. Therefore, in making visible the often invisible actions and discomfort experienced this paper hoped to contribute as a catalyst for greater articulation of mess across research. Employing a seven-phase longitudinal action research approach, this paper draws on data from the practitioner researcher’s reflective journal maintained throughout the research and field notes based on participant observation. The challenges, complexities, and benefits of action research are discussed including the impact on the research study and the practitioner researcher’s practice as a teacher educator in primary physical education. Making visible the challenges of being comfortable in the uncomfortable elements of data collection, in accessing the PSTs, and the multiple roles of the researcher throughout the research are discussed.
AB - This paper presents the lived experience of a practitioner researcher working as a teacher educator engaging in action research with primary pre-service teachers (PSTs). Aligning with the work of Cook (2009) [‘The Purpose of Mess in Action Research: Building Rigour Though a Messy Turn.’ Educational Action Research 17 (2): 277–291] this paper aims to make visible the decisions and reflections that occurred during the multiple cycles of action research that were significant in the transformations that occurred throughout the study. We argue that embracing and acknowledging the chaos and messiness of the process is essential to initiating change. Therefore, in making visible the often invisible actions and discomfort experienced this paper hoped to contribute as a catalyst for greater articulation of mess across research. Employing a seven-phase longitudinal action research approach, this paper draws on data from the practitioner researcher’s reflective journal maintained throughout the research and field notes based on participant observation. The challenges, complexities, and benefits of action research are discussed including the impact on the research study and the practitioner researcher’s practice as a teacher educator in primary physical education. Making visible the challenges of being comfortable in the uncomfortable elements of data collection, in accessing the PSTs, and the multiple roles of the researcher throughout the research are discussed.
KW - Action research
KW - complex
KW - messy
KW - practitioner research
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85173542544&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/03323315.2023.2260789
DO - 10.1080/03323315.2023.2260789
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85173542544
SN - 0332-3315
VL - 43
SP - 1307
EP - 1326
JO - Irish Educational Studies
JF - Irish Educational Studies
IS - 4
ER -