As scholar-practitioners, we will utilize action research to increase our knowledge of a particular situation as a way of informing our intervention strategies (Walden University Center for Research Quality, n.d.-a). The process of continued reflection in action research provides for continued progress in counseling. Bjorn and Boulus define action research, “as having a primary purpose of responding to local and practical concerns while producing practical knowledge useful to organizations and communities” (p284).
For the purpose of this assignment, I will adopt the Lewin (1946) four-step plan – an approach to research that involves a collaborative, iterative review of data to inform action (Walden University Center for Research Quality, n.d.-a) – to propose the following study.
Scenario: As a local counselor, I have been asked to be a part of a collaborative action research project at the only school (K through 12) serving the entire island of Lanai, Hawaii (“Lanai”, 2015). The school superintendent (project organizer) has considered that a problem exists regarding poor graduation rates. It is her hope that myself, along with a team of researchers, may be able to find reasons why students are not finishing school.
Step 1: Plan
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Open-ended questions allow further exploration of issues and multiple-choice questions provide units for measure (Houser, 2015). We would collaborate with the president of the parent teacher association, the principal and school counselor to determine the correct questions and design of the survey. After completion and review, the surveys would be distributed via mail to all parents of eleventh grade students at Lanai High and Elementary School. The eleventh grade was selected due to the opportunity for implementation and observation of possible