A Single Case Study on Tabor Secondary School Teachers’ Engagement in Action Research Activities in Hawassa City Administration

Abstract

Action research has a potential to produce change quickly because the research is carried out by educators in their own work settings. Action research serves to enhance the professional skills of educators, advance our knowledge, and improve educational processes and outcomes. Teachers involved in action research develop both personal knowledge and sensitivity about their practices and contribute to the professional knowledge of their field. To bring about this effect, teacher’ participation in action research is indispensable. Thus, the main objective of this research was investigating the status of secondary school teaches engagement in action research. To achieve this purpose single case (embedded design) was used. Hawassa Tabor Secondary School was selected as a case for this research based on its long and rich experience in secondary education the teachers’ long experience of teaching in the school.  The data were collected through document analysis, FGD, and semi-structured interview. The data that were analyzed through qualitative method revealed that teachers’ engagement in action research is at rudimentary level. Though teachers have positive perception towards action research, they were not conducting action research following the accepted steps of action research. Lack of recognition for researches, lack of financial support, lack of time, lack of technical support, lack of cooperation and coordination among fellow teachers were the factors mentioned to hinder the teachers’ enragement in action research. Based on the findings, the implications for Education Office, to the case school, and the secondary school teachers were forwarded.