Higher Education

Learning Action Research

Action research courses are taught at various university venues from anthropology, sociology, planning, education, nutrition and programme evaluation units but not as a fully realized curriculum or degree programme. Generally, individual courses are offered in unlinked departments, and students thus must find the courses and meet other like-minded students to network with in pursuit of their goals.

There are a few action research Ph.D. programmes worldwide. The Ph.D. programme in Industrial Economics and Technology Management at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) permits individualized courses of study in action research under the direction of Morten Levin. In Norway, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and in Australia, Southern Cross University, Deakin University and Curtin have all had action research curricula or formal programmes from time to time. Previously, an action research centre was run by Peter Reason at the University of Bath, but it ended with his retirement, and a new programme has recently been started at the University of Bristol by Patricia Gaya. The University of Cincinnati in the USA currently offers a doctoral concentration in educational and community-based action research within its educational studies programme. Despite these efforts, the lack of a clear undergraduate curriculum and the instability and short lifespan of action research postgraduate programmes show that higher education is generally a hostile environment for such work. Most students enter Ph.D. programmes in conventional fields such as anthropology, education, sociology or planning and then get part of their training in action research from individual faculty at their chosen university while they receive most of their training within conventional disciplinary structures. Faculty in action research often serve as second or third members of master's and Ph.D. committees, providing action research perspectives on work within the student's main discipline.

If students want to conduct an action research project for their thesis or dissertation, they face additional difficulties. Action research projects depend on the needs, wants and capacities of non-academic stakeholders. Developing and maintaining strong relationships with a stakeholder group while a full-time student on a university campus requires organizational ingenuity. Funding is often problematic since action research projects do not fit the guidelines for many of the typical research funders in graduate education. And getting permission from Human Subjects Review Boards for action research projects often requires complex argumentation.

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