Practitioner research is highly contextualised, being located in the immediate educational and other communities within which participants live and work. Within a community, the potential exists for multiple players, individually or collectively, to carry out research on issues considered important for the betterment of themselves and others. One way of considering contexts for practitioner research is to think about them ecologically, as consisting of several levels or systems – micro, meso and macro – which interact with each other. We take an ecological view of context based on ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979), which emphasises the inter-relatedness of activities happening at each level. Different elements of the ecology affect each other, and a balance within the system will help to support and sustain the learning that can occur through practitioner research.
While we acknowledge numerous ways of conducting studies within the rubric of practitioner research, our focus in this talk is on action research, the area of practitioner research where we have worked most. Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2007) suggest that action research "can be undertaken by the individual teacher, a group of teachers working co-operatively within one school, or a teacher or teachers working alongside a researcher or researchers in a sustained relationship" (p.297). These contexts reflect the different ecological levels: micro (individual), meso (groups within a school) and macro (networks or communities in the broader educational environment). In our recent book, (Burns, Edwards & Ellis, 2022), we advocate the engagement of the whole institution in action research as far as possible, always on a voluntary basis, and/or engagement across institutions, networks and communities. We propose that such a way of thinking about contexts enhances cohesion among practitioner researchers and creates a sense of choice, opportunity and inclusion. Potentially, where educational issues and concerns are common, or even universal, it also provides opportunities for connection beyond national and regional boundaries with other practitioner researchers.
In this talk, we analyse some of the features of the micro, meso and macro levels of context that can affect practitioner research experiences. We look at 'enablers', which are certain factors that will make it easier for practitioners to do action research, for example working with a mentor, critical friend or academic partner, developing an institutional climate of trust and enquiry, or giving teachers collective authority over the research agenda. We also examine the benefits and challenges of conducting action research at each of the ecological levels, drawing on the literature as well as our own research and experiences of setting up action research projects and programs in Australia. Our aim is to provide both theoretical and practical illustrations of ecological systems theory as it relates to contexts.
References
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development. Harvard University Press.
Burns, A., Edwards, E. & Ellis, N. J. (2022). Sustaining action research: A Practical guide for institutional engagement. Routledge.
Cohen, L., Manion, L. & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education (6th ed.). Routledge.
