Developing Language Teacher Autonomy through Action Research

This book advances the theory of action research, analyzing how it can be used to develop autonomy among language teachers. Although acknowledging that the research process is not always linear, the authors proceed according to a clear progression which teachers can adapt to their needs. They provide examples, narratives, questions and tasks, and give multiple ideas for establishing research questions, choosing appropriate methodologies, adapting to existing contexts, and collecting data. They also suggest possible instruments, and give clear instructions for carrying out the most common kinds of statistical procedures, and ideas for presenting, discussing, and writing up research findings. In spite of its practical bias, the book is theoretically and ethically rigorous, and contains an extensive glossary for quick and easy reference. It will appeal to trainee teachers, in-service teachers wanting to expand their own professional horizons or working for a higher qualification, and is an invaluable reference for teacher-educators and scholars.

Provides practical tools and strategies for those conducting action research Informs scholars about action research as a form of professional development for teachers Discusses other forms of research such as reflective practice, exploratory practice and lesson study

Autorentext
Kenan Dikilita is Assistant Professor in the ELT Department at Bahçeehir University, stanbul, Turkey. He has published articles and edited books on teacher research as a professional development strategy. His primary research interests are language teacher education and educational research. He is one of the committee members of IATEFL ReSIG.
Carol Griffiths is Associate Professor at Sabahattin Zaim Üniversitesi, stanbul, Turkey. She has been a teacher, manager and teacher trainer of ELT for many years. She has taught in many places around the world, including New Zealand, Indonesia, Japan, China, North Korea, UK and Turkey. She has presented at numerous conferences and published widely.

Inhalt
Chapter 1. Introduction to Action Research.- Chapter 2. Clarifying the research questions or hypotheses.- Chapter 3. Research methods: options and issues.- Chapter 4. Thinking about the context: setting (where?) and participants (who?).- Chapter 5. Collecting the data.- Chapter 6. Analysing the data.- Chapter 7. Discussing the data.- Chapter 8. Example studies.- Chapter 9. Presenting and writing up the action research.- Chapter 10. Action researcher narratives.- Chapter 11. Conclusion.