Ph.D. programs in action research

2003 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morten Levin
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Academic Context ◽  
Useful Knowledge ◽  
Implementation Level ◽  
High Level ◽  
Level Training

Can universities ever become a greenhouse for education in Action Research? Would it be possible to create Ph.D. programs in Action Research that are loyal to the genuine characteristics of Action Research? The hegemony of conventional researcher education has dominated university activities. Action Research has inherent characteristics that break radically with the academic tradition. The core challenge is to assess whether high-level training in Action Research can find a home in universities. Training action researchers in conventional academic institutions will in itself be an action research project. The paper presents three different AR projects, all aimed at training cohorts of students to become professional Action Researchers through obtaining a Ph.D. The first program started in 1989, the second in 1995, and the new program began in May 2003. The main conclusion is that it is a feasible strategy to create action research learning opportunities within a conventional academic context. This is partly due to a change in conceptualization of what constitutes knowledge, adding onto a stronger demand for practical and useful knowledge. At the local design and implementation level, curriculum design — both collective learning processes and theses that were closely connected to real life change activities — were important factors for success.

Tutor and international student perspectives on an action research project: use of a business strategy simulation with mixed nationality cohorts

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive R. Kerridge ◽  
Colin Simpson
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Action Research Approach

Purpose This study aims to present the results of a curriculum design intervention, which was undertaken to address the inhibitors and enablers facing international (mainly Chinese) students on a capstone undergraduate strategic management module at a UK university business school. Design/methodology/approach Using an action research approach, the pre-intervention phase identified two main concerns: low levels of student engagement and avoidance of generic academic and language support. The module was subsequently redesigned around a group-based strategic business simulation (requiring collaborative participation of all students), with embedded language and academic support, plus the involvement of bilingual teaching staff. Findings Post-intervention results from the four-year study indicated enhanced academic engagement of international students and a narrowing of the performance (grade) gap between domestic and international students. Practical implications Overall findings should provide strong support for the inclusion of active learning pedagogies in undergraduate business course deliveries, also complementing educational literature that advocates the effectiveness of constructivist pedagogies in mixed-nationality classrooms. Originality/value This study exemplifies a form of participatory action research. The juxtaposition of comments from support and specialist tutors, along with those of students, highlights the validity of views from each stakeholder group.

scholarly journals Disembodied creativity: The role of action research in moderating educator expectations of marketing and public relations students

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 24-37
Author(s):  
Helen Fordham ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Working Environments ◽  
Perception Gap ◽  
Creative Abilities

This paper explores the experience of a communications educator who instigated an action research project in a third year marketing and public relations cohort, to investigate levels of engagement with higher order critical thinking and behaviours associated with creativity. A qualitative methodology was used to 1) identify the key attributes, skills and behaviours of creativity in learning and working environments; 2) invite students to critically reflect upon and assess their own creative abilities; and 3) analyse the implications of the questionnaire data for students, teaching practice and curriculum design. The action research project exposed divergent views of creativity between the students and the educator and this perception gap offers insight into McCorkle et al’s (2007) conclusion that students’ individual creative abilities are inadequately developed for the workplace.

Effektive Zielgruppenansprache am Point-of-Sale

2014 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thorsten Teichert ◽  
Mathias Valentin ◽  
Sabrina Wauker
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Six Sigma ◽  
Real Life ◽  
New Product ◽  
Customer Segmentation ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Point Of Sale ◽  
New Product Introductions

Die Trennung von Vertrieb und Marketing im Unternehmen führt oft zu Konflikten und Missverständnissen zwischen den Abteilungen. Es ist sogar vom „Krieg“ zwischen Marketing und Vertrieb die Rede. Bisher scheint es den meisten Unternehmen nicht gelungen zu sein, eine Integration voranzutreiben. Dabei sind beide Abteilungen darauf ausgerichtet, den Kunden im Fokus ihrer Aktivitäten zu stellen und verfolgen somit gemeinsame Ziele. Ein gegenseitiger Austausch von Wissen und eine kooperative Zusammenarbeit bzw. eine strategische Kombination beider Abteilung kann zu einer besseren Performance der Unternehmung führen. Gerade bei der Einführung von neuen Produkten benötigt der Vertrieb Implikationen aus dem Marketing, um den Kunden zu verstehen und sich an den Bedürfnissen der Kunden (neu) orientieren zu können. Die vorliegende Studie ermöglicht mit Hilfe eines an Six-Sigma angelehnten Vorgehens eine projektbezogene Integration zwischen Marketing und Vertrieb. Daraus ergibt sich ein generalisierbarer Ansatz für den Prozess der Integration der Abteilungen sowie eine Eingliederung der Ergebnisse in ein übergeordnetes Steuerungsinstrument. Am Beispiel des Leuchtmittelmarkts erarbeiteten Experten aus Marketing und Vertrieb gemeinsam eine Zielgruppenansprache für neue Produkte am Point-of-Sale. Anhand von Verkaufsanalysen wird die Effektivität der Zielgruppenansprache, die aus einem Integrationsprozess zwischen Marketing und Vertrieb entstand, empirisch belegt. Die Ergebnisse der Zielgruppenansprache werden sodann in ein gemeinsam entwickeltes Steuerungsinstrument, dem Management-Cockpit, integriert. Marketing and Sales often lack congruency. A Six-Sigma process can help to bridge the competencies and views of both departments. This is especially important for successful new product introductions. The benefits of such a structured collaboration are illustrated in an action-research project. In this real-life case, customer segmentation at the PoS led to upselling, which increased sales by up to 50%. Keywords: unternehmensperformance, six sigma, quot measure quot phase, dmaic prozess, define

Stakeholder perceptions of curriculum design, development and delivery for continuing e-learning for nurses

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (17) ◽  
pp. 1016-1022
Author(s):  
Michael Connolly ◽  
Freda Browne ◽  
Geraldine Regan ◽  
Mary Ryder
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Design Development ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Teaching Learning

Background: This paper reports the qualitative findings from stage 5 of an action research project which involved the redesign of continuing professional education (CPE) courses in one organisation. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore key stakeholders perceptions of the teaching, learning and outcomes of a new curriculum design for CPE involving e-learning. Method: This project used participatory action research, involving stakeholders as participants in a process of inquiry about the change. The study took place in an academic teaching hospital and consisted of three focus group interviews with a total of 20 nurses. Participants included stakeholders who had developed curricula and managers from clinical areas where CPE courses had been undertaken. Findings: Four main themes emerged, revealing staff perceptions on the process of change and their own ‘lightbulb moments’ experienced during this process. Results also indicate that the change has resulted in learner-focused CPE, with a range of opportunities for continued educational development in future. Conclusion: Key stakeholders' experience is seldom reported in studies related to CPE. This study provides an insight into the experiences of key stakeholders in relation to the development and delivery of CPE courses. Stakeholders indicated that they were able to see the benefits of implementing new CPE curricula they had contributed to. They also commented that clinical-pertinent and competence-based courses were more learner focused as a result of combining online content with supported workshops.

Exploring the Fourth Order

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barend KLITSIE ◽  
Rebecca PRICE ◽  
Christine DE LILLE
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Fourth Order ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Building Trust ◽  
Current Business

Companies are organised to fulfil two distinctive functions: efficient and resilient exploitation of current business and parallel exploration of new possibilities. For the latter, companies require strong organisational infrastructure such as team compositions and functional structures to ensure exploration remains effective. This paper explores the potential for designing organisational infrastructure to be part of fourth order subject matter. In particular, it explores how organisational infrastructure could be designed in the context of an exploratory unit, operating in a large heritage airline. This paper leverages insights from a long-term action research project and finds that building trust and shared frames are crucial to designing infrastructure that affords the greater explorative agenda of an organisation.

Educational Digital Media Tools to Reformulate Activity and Object in Indigenous Science and Environmental Education

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 127-134
Author(s):  
Reynaldo Morales Cardenas
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Environmental Education ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Informal Education ◽  
Community Education ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
Learning Programs ◽  
Local Actors

This paper examines the functioning of and underlying assumptions about digital media in collaborative curriculum design processes in public science and environmental education, and community-designed action research learning programs. The article discusses teaching practices in US rural Northeast Wisconsin among Native Youth learning processes, from the complementation and articulation of formal and informal education to meaningful engagement and participation in science. The focus on the transformative use of digital media in science community education is intended to serve two interrelated purposes: First, it helps to address cultural-historical relations around the production of knowledge and relevant curriculums and pedagogies for rural tribal youth. Second, it intersects with the opportunities for the transferability of activity systems and action research centered around the production of mediational artifacts designed for the collective negotiation between First Nations Tribal communities and western modeled schools, institutions, workplaces, and societal roles. The transferability of this model envisions the incorporation of local actors and institutions in a deep artifact-based dialogue around epistemologies of self-determination and sustainability for Peoples who are fighting for their survival. These propositions take a new level when the transformative power of digital media shifts representations of power in historically marginalized communities, serving a larger activity of reorganizing ecologies of learning in education for culturally distinctive communities of practice.

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