2.2 Disrupting the status quo: the action research dissertation as  (Page 3/13)

According to transformation theory, adults can change their points of view. Specifically, Mezirow (1991) explains that transformation theory is the process of“becoming critically aware of one’s own tacit assumptions and expectations and those of others and assessing their relevance for making an interpretation”(p. 4). One of the goals of transformation theory is to aim the learning toward reflective processes that enable self-evaluation of one’s values, beliefs and experiences. This process is crucial for change.“Becoming critically reflective of one’s own assumptions is the key to transforming one’s taken-for-granted frame of reference, an indispensable dimension of learning for adapting to change”(Mezirow, 1997, p. 9).

Ironically, traditional educational preparation programs and the hierarchical structure of public schools tend to perpetuate compliance and maintenance of the status quo (Brown, 2006b). Thus, transformation theory and its product, transformative learning, aids leaders in understanding and developing the necessary skills and processes which encourage them to challenge the status quo. In essence, transformative learning helps leaders to deconstruct conformity to the many social and cultural canons which have permeated U.S. public schools to the detriment of many of our students. Quality educational practitioners understand that to maintain the status quo (of the existing social and cultural canons) is to“impede development of a sense of responsible agency”(Mezirow 1991, p. 8).

Important in the study of adult learning theory, particularly in reference to praxis, is the concept of emancipatory thinking brought on by transformation. Tennant (1998) describes evidence of transformative learning as a reaction that“incites a refusal to be positioned when the interests served are those of domination and oppression; and encourages alternative readings of the text of experience”(quoted in Mezirow 1991, p. 24).

To this point, much of our discussion has been about how adult learning theory promotes reflective thinking, stimulates potential for transformation, and emancipates one’s thinking to the level of action. To prepare quality educational leadership practitioners who demonstrate those capacities, we suggest action research—a systematic inquiry conducted by teachers, administrators, counselors, or others with a vested interest in the teaching and learning process or organizational environment for the purpose of gathering information about how their particular schools and/or districts operate (Mills, 2003). Moreover, because of the many active stakeholders involved in the daily operations of educating children, it is thought that participatory action research provides an opportunity for collaborative, democratic partnership in this process. Thus, action research can be emancipating because it empowers the participants to decide on the research agenda, enact the research, evaluate the process, and to become beneficiaries of the outcome (Coghlan&Brannick, 2005). This idea differs from conventional research because action research focuses upon“research in action, rather than research about action”(p. 4). Since the focus of the research is on the particular characteristics of the populations with whom a practice is employed or with whom some action must be taken, the results increase utility and effectiveness for the practitioner (Parsons&Brown, 2002). In essence, action research typifies a grassroots effort to find answers to important questions or to foster change. Most important, action research can support the call for transformative educational leadership practitioners to become“frontline civil rights workers in a long-term struggle to increase equity”(Moses&Cobb, 2002, in Brown, 2006b p. 701).