Action research in education: Addressing gaps in ethical principles and practices

Nolen, Amanda L. & Vander Putten, Jim.(2007). Action research in education: Addressing gaps in ethical principles and practices. Educational Researcher, 36(7), 401-407.

This article outlines the ethical pitfalls of practitioner action research in K-12 classrooms. The authors are not talking about the kind of action research where university researchers are hired under contract to do classroom studies or school studies. They are referring to the kind of action research that educators do within their own workplaces, perhaps even in their own classrooms with their own K-12 students, or perhaps with teachers who are under their direct supervision. Access is easy in such situations, and a study done in the workplace won’t interrupt one’s life so much as one done in an outsider role—plus it’s just more comfortable. Perhaps some classroom researchers only do this sort of work as a way of helping their students, but most do have other motives (e.g., completing graduate program requirements), though there isn’t necessary anything wrong with that. No matter what, action research with a “captive audience” and a power differential between researcher and participants is ripe for ethical conflicts. The authors propose addressing these conflicts directly.