Action Research

I've learned that action research is an on-going, introspective, self-assessment of one’s leadership style and the effectiveness of that style in relation to the administrator’s overall effectiveness.  The administrator consistently steps back and reviews his/her actions along with reviewing data and literature relevant to the current situation.  In this way he/she continually reviews their current position to gain an understanding of how to become a more effective leader and develop a personalized plan for professional development.  Because this professional development plan would be based on the direct needs of the administrator, action research becomes a very useful and ever-growing powerful tool to improve the administrator’s leadership performance. This form of administrative inquiry facilitates collaboration with other leaders, and the principal is actively engaged in the research process, and not just handed another new program to implement. There is greater buy-in and the leadership development becomes much more appropriate and meaningful.

I plan to use action research to develop a collaborative leadership style as I complete my leadership internship.  Over this past academic year, I have been fortunate to see action research in practice both on the campus and district level in the use of campus PLC’s (Professional Leadership Communities) and the district instructional leadership team.  I plan to use action leadership in the development of a campus needs self-assessment instrument that will align all of the campus assessments required for federal reporting. I further plan to use it throughout my internship to improve my leadership abilities.