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Here are some nuts and bolts for your proposal

Theory of Action

The research problem

The research questions

The research design (methodology)

The methods

The analyses

Theory of action for an action research intervention

A theory of action is  as “a graphical or textual depiction of an intervention that explains the cause-effect relationships among inputs, activities, and intended outcomes” You may illustrate (1) the components, (2) intended effects, and (3) ultimate effects.

RESEARCH PROBLEM

■A research problem is a statement about an area of concern, a condition to be improved upon, a difficulty to be eliminated, or a troubling question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory, or in practice that points to the need for meaningful understanding and deliberate investigation. For an action research problem, a solution might be included.

1. –A lead-in that clarifies for the reader the issue,
2. –A declaration of originality [e.g., mentioning a knowledge void, that will be supported by the literature review],
3. –An indication of the central focus of the study [establishing the boundaries of analysis], and a solution or solutions
4. –An explanation of the study's significance or the benefits to be derived from an investigating the research problem and implementing the solution.

From research problem to research questions

■A research question is an answerable inquiry into a specific concern or issue. It is the next step in a research project after clarifying the research problem.  One research problem may have an overarching research questions plus sub questions.

Type of research question Example What do people want? (Needs) What types of solutions are preferred for the problem of gender inequality What’s the balance of benefit and harm of a given intervention? (Impact/effectiveness) How effective is the solution of implementing boy-friendly pedagogies/single sex classrooms? Why/how does it work? (Process/explanation) How is male/female underachievement created in the classroom What is happening? (Implementation) What does the data say about gender inequality in our school? What relationships are seen between phenomena? (Correlation) What is the relationship between socioeconomic status and gender differentials at our school? What are people’s experiences/ perceptions/ views? What are students’ views on differences in attainment by males and females at our school? 



Purpose	Characteristics	Example
To generate theory	Aims to advance understanding concepts and theories emerge from the data Theory is the product	How are gender differentials created in classrooms
To test theory	Aims to inform choice of interventions concepts and theories pre-specified Theory is the starting point	How effective is boy friendly pedagogies in reducing learning deficits in males and females?
To explore theory	Aims to inform development and implementation of interventions Some concepts/theories pre-specified, some emerge Theory guides research	What is known about the factors which result in gender inequalities





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Inequality is a matter of systems and schools.  Ainscow, Dyson, Goldrick, and West (2012) argued that we might look for issues and solutions related to inequity within schools, between schools and beyond schools. One aspect of inequality that appears common within our system is gender inequality.  More specifically, in the Caribbean, there appears the issue of large gender differentials favouring males in ELA. This is a problem that is currently experienced at the Ecclesia high school where many males appear to underperform not only in ELA, but also Mathematics and Science. Despite the abundance of literature on the issue, there are few case studies documenting evidence of such underachievement at a particualr school site and even less documenting the effctiveness of specific solutions such as boy-friendly pedagogy. In this action research study we propose to study the nature of the issue and then explore the effectiveness of implemnting school-wide boy-friendly teaching approaches. This action research study has great importance for the school and the wider community in terms of the social impact and importance of the issue.

1. To what extent are males currently underachieving in ELA, Mathematics, and Science as measured by various indicators, including effect size measures?
2. What is the initial perception of the community of parents and teachers on introducing boy-friendly pedagogies?
3. What is the effect on the achievement scores of males and females after introduction of the boy friendly pedagogy strategy?

 Methods



Complete the following Matrix



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