Rethinking Teacher Action Research as Bildungsroman: A Phenomenological Approach to Professional Development

• In Event: Roundtable Session 20
  In Roundtable Session: Action Research: Pathway to Personal Growth, Cultural Awareness, and Quality Mentoring

Abstract

In this study, I examine teachers’ lived experiences of conducting action research in their classrooms. The purpose of my research is to explore the renewed meaning of teacher action research from a phenomenological perspective in the era of standardization. Using interpretative phenomenological approach (IPA), I argue that teacher action research can work as a Bildungsroman, a story of personal growth of becoming. In so doing, I hope to inform educators including administrators and policy makers of the importance of teacher action research as meaningful professional development and urge to support the teacher inquiry movement as a way to use research to improve education thus serve the public good, which is the AERA’s mission.

Author

• Jeong-Hee Kim, Kansas State University