Action Research Project in Teacher Education Curriculum

E-ISSN： 1447-9540|19|1|13-23

ISSN： 1447-9494

Source： The International Journal of Learning: Annual Review, Vol.19, Iss.1, 2013-01, pp. : 13-23

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Abstract

This study aimed to explore how the experience of engaging an action research project can develop pre-service teachers’ professional conduct. Survey questionnaires that consist of close-ended and open-ended questions were administered to 75 pre-service teachers. Findings showed that on average, pre-service teachers expressed that they somewhat agreed that action research has benefited them in various aspects (mean = 3.57, SD = .50). The open-ended survey analysis showed that the action research projects have developed pre-service teachers’ professional conduct in aspects related to pedagogical content knowledge, understanding of students’ learning, and reflective thinking. Participants also felt that the research experience was very meaningful for their future roles as teachers. This indicated that pre-service teachers are likely to engage in action research to improve their teaching and learning process in the future. This inclination is very encouraging and coincides with the aspirations of the teacher education curriculum to develop teachers as reflective-practitioners. The findings from this research provide important information for teacher educators to continuously improve the implementation of the action research project so as to enhance or at least maintain the quality of teacher education in Malaysia.