Eight Voices of Empowerment

2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 525-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian R. Horn
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
No Child Left Behind ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Language Arts ◽  
Title I ◽  
Eighth Grade ◽  
Student Empowerment ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Left Behind

This article explores student empowerment in a restructured urban Title I middle school. The study includes data from eight participants in an action research project that involved a critical inquiry unit in an eighth-grade language arts class that asked students, “How are you empowered and disempowered by school?” Findings reveal that although No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policies are said to empower students, student empowerment is rather a negotiated process that requires teachers to help students develop an eye for fairness, create opportunities for them to express themselves in new ways, and encourage them to learn from one another.

What Happens When Eighth Graders Become the Teachers?

2009 ◽  
Vol 111 (8) ◽  
pp. 1930-1953
Author(s):  
Stephanie Stecz
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Public School ◽  
Inner City ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Eighth Graders ◽  
Eighth Grade ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Eighth Grade Students

Background/Context Significant research has been done on the cognitive and academic outcomes of older-younger and peer-peer student relationships. Whether in a one-on-one setting or a setting in which responsibility for teaching is shared among members of a collaborative group, well-planned, well-organized, and well-executed student-student interactions have repeatedly shown positive evidence of student progress and learning This action research project differentiates itself from previous research in several ways because it focuses on motivational and attitudinal outcomes when every student in a classroom of eighth graders serves as a teacher of “new-to-everyone” content for three classes of younger students. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study The research question I asked was: What happens when my eighth-grade students teach younger students about Japan? My purpose was to find out if and how teaching younger students affected eighth graders in my K-8 inner city public school. I was also interested in whether and how the project affected the school community. Setting The research took place in a K-8 inner city Chicago public school. Population/Participants/Subjects The participants were 27 eighth-grade students, and a second-grade, a third-grade, and a fourth-grade class of approximately 25 students each. Approximately 96% of participating students were African American, and 4% were Hispanic. Intervention/Program/Practice The project consisted of a 10-week period during which my eighth-grade class was split into three groups that developed and taught lessons about Japan to classes of younger students. Research Design This was an action research project that I did in my classroom while teaching full time.

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.

Wonder-inspired leadership: Cultivating ethical and phenomenon-led healthcare

2021 ◽  
pp. 096973302199079
Author(s):  
Finn Th Hansen ◽  
Lene Bastrup Jørgensen
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Authentic Leadership ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Research Project ◽  
New Type ◽  
Danish Hospital ◽  
Sense Of Wonder

Three forms of leadership are frequently identified as prerequisites to the re-humanization of the healthcare system: ‘authentic leadership’, ‘mindful leadership’ and ‘ethical leadership’. In different ways and to varying extents, these approaches all focus on person- or human-centred caring. In a phenomenological action research project at a Danish hospital, the nurses experienced and then described how developing a conscious sense of wonder enhanced their ability to hear, to get in resonance with the existential in their meetings with patients and relatives, and to respond ethically. This ability was fostered through so-called Wonder Labs in which the notion of ‘phenomenon-led care’ evolved, which called for ‘slow thinking’ and ‘slow wondrous listening’. For the 10 nurses involved, it proved challenging to find the necessary serenity and space for this slow and wonder-based practice. This article critiques and examines, from a theoretical perspective, the kind of leadership that is needed to encourage this wonder-based approach to nursing, and it suggests a new type of leadership that is itself inspired by wonder and is guided by 10 tangible elements.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document