Values Based Practitioner Action Research (VPAR) ESAI Special Interest Group

 

 

 

 

We are delighted to announce our participation in the new ESAI Special Interest Group.

The SIG is called Values Based Practitioner Action Research (VPAR) (see http://esai.ie/sigs-2020/ )and it will be an extension of NEARI. The SIG is forum for action researchers and those who teach action research. The SIG recognises, supports or promotes research that is grounded in the researcher’s values. In VPAR we encourage those interested in practitioner research to engage in dialogue and help each other to demonstrate the rigour, validity and authenticity of their research.

The first SIG meeting took place online on 24 April 2020 at 10.00 am, alongside the Spring NEARIMeet.

This SIG will have face to face meetings in April, September/October and January where we will share research stories and resources and continue conversations in an online discussion forum. Meetings will be alternately in Dublin, outside the capital and online. They will include an input from at least one international guest speaker. Delegates from the SIG will attend research conferences and report back to the SIG members and ESAI.

If you would like to become a member of the SIG, please complete the membership form here.


The second VPAR SIG meeting took place Saturday 19 September.

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The guest speaker was Mary McAteer. More details here.


VPAR SIG meeting of January 23 2021.

The Guest Speaker was Dr Mary Brydon-Miller of the Department of Educational Leadership, Evaluation and Organizational Development, College of Education and Human Development, University of Louisville, USA

Mary spoke on the theme of ethics in action research.   

“The Road to Hell” The Problem of Good Intentions in Action Research”

Her comprehensive presentation included a case study which was enthusiastically discussed by the 45 attendees at the joint VPAR/NEARI Meet.

A key question for VPAR SIG members was: Ethics and values-based action research in a COVID world – what has changed and how has this impacted your research?

You are invited to continue these discussions with other members on our Google mail group – Values-based Practitioner Action Research @google groups.com – and in “A Space for Reflection” on http://www.eari.ie/a-space-for-reflection/

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Keep in touch info@eari.ie | Twitter @InfoNeari | www. esai.ie/sigs |www.eari.ie |

Application form for SIG  click here

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Interim Report: Values-based Practitioner Action Research VPAR ESAI SIG

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out these events on www.eari.ie

The SIG was launched online at the Spring NEARImeet on 24th April 2020. Membership has grown at each joint VPAR NEARImeet – from fifteen at the second meet on 19th Sept 2020 to 45 at the third meet on 23rd January 2021. Participants were from many countries around the world. There was also a broad spectrum of ages and research expertise present.

As a SIG we were able to invite two international keynote speakers. Dr Mary McAteer, of Edge Hill University U.K., COMBER, North-West University, South Africa and the Collaborative Action Research Network gave inspirational address entitled The Values-based Researcher: a state of (constantly) becoming and it sparked much critical thinking and animated discussion. Dr Mary Brydon-Miller of the Department of Educational Leadership, Evaluation and Organizational Development, College of Education and Human Development, University of Louisville, USA spoke on the theme of ethics in action research: The Road to “Hell” The Problem of Good Intentions in Action Research. Her comprehensive presentation included a case study about ethical dilemmas which was enthusiastically discussed by the attendees. They also discussed “Ethics and values-based action research in a COVID world – what has changed and how has this impacted your research?”

As these were joint VPAR NEARI events participants shared their value located research stories – Aoife Merrins-Gallagher (DCU) on Supporting English Learners’ Contributions to Storytime Discussion; Denise Delaney (UK researcher) on The Challenge of Spiritual Leadership: Supporting the Spiritual Development of NQTs through the Delivery of a NQT Programme and Jane O’Connell (TCD) spoke about her doctoral work on Is Tusa an Múinteoir all at the second meet. On the theme of ethics Patricia O’Dea of the PDST presented on Self-Study Action Research: a Bird’s Eye View and Amy Stapleton (TRiCC) told us about her research with Dr P Mayock on A Guided Critical Reflection on Research Practice within a PAR Study with Separated Young People at the third meeting.

There were some surprises for the convenors, for example the large international presence and the willingness of international speakers to meet with us online – an indicator of the generous spirit of action research. Participants’ feedback was encouraging and insightful. Participants were open to share ideas in a variety of ways. We needed to facilitate conversations between meetings

For 2021-2022 we propose to hold three joint VPAR SIG and NEARI meets with at least one online to maintain our international members. We aim to encourage members to continue professional and research conversations between meetings in our online forums. International guest speakers will be invited to all meets thanks to our SIG status. To broaden our experiences of action research, delegates from the SIG will attend research conferences. Finally, we hope to write a paper on the work of the SIG

Email info@eari.ie | Twitter @InfoNeari | Application form for SIG  click here


Presentation at ESAI Conference 2021

Our interest in VPAR is in researching our own practice. While we appreciate that traditional research undertaken from an external perspective is hugely important to inform thinking about education, so too is the research undertaken by individuals and groups into their own practice, where the real live story coming from the reality and the values of the workplace is revealed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The move online presented possibilities and challenges. We would like to thank NUIG and in particular Dr Cornelia Connolly for providing Zoom access and chairing our online meetings so efficiently. We combined Zoom with other IT possibilities to sustain the ideals of the SIG: these are inclusion, dialogue and the creation of new knowledge through collaboratively sharing research and ideas. As founders of the SIG we paused and reflected on these. You can see some of ideas in ESAI video presentation, during the conference, on A Living Theory of trans-generational and trans-institutional learning: researching possibilities in a virtual environment.

We have purchased a Zoom licence for when COVID-19 is over we plan to continue some face to face and online meetings because of the international contributions at the SIG. Over 9 countries participated in VPAR/ NEARI meets – from Malaysia, Mongolia, Canada, USA, South Africa, and Sri Lanka as well as Ireland. UK and Germany. Thanks to ESAI SIG funding we have guest speakers. We were surprised by the willingness and openness of international speakers to meet with us online.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see our keynote speakers and participants explored what it means to become a values-based action researcher, with Mary McAteer, and ethical issues in this form of research with Mary Brydon Miller. You can see what we have done including videos and slides on the ESAI SIGS page.

What next? Stephen Brookfield is our guest for our next VPAR/ NEARI meet on 17th April at 4pm. We are always open for new members from all areas of value-based action research whether beginners of life-long researchers. so please consider joining us. Membership form on Values-based Partitioner Action Research section or contact us at  info@eari.ie

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