Overview and Objectives-3 In this module, you will work to narrow down and finalize your action research question or topic. You will also need to declare whether you will be completing Option 1 (tradi
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Educat ion Issu es & A ction Rese ar ch 2
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Educat ion Issu es & A ction Rese ar ch
W ithi n t he eve r-c ha ngi ng f ie ld of educ ation, pr oblem s l ike the di gita l di vide , indi vidua liz ed
le arni ng, a nd socioe conom ic di ffe re nc es a re a t t he cent er of what ne eds to be addr esse d. T he
undi str ibut ed t echnol ogy, the pos sibl e pot ent ia l of pe rs ona liz ed l earni ng, a nd incre di bly m ight y
soc ioe conom ic f actor s r epr ese nt an e duc ationa l pr ocess. T his a ction r ese arc h a im s t o s tudy t hese
is sue s, w hich a re e xt re m ely c om plic ate d, l ooki ng for ans wers t ha t w oul d pr ovide equa l
oppor tuni tie s f or eve ry s tude nt. A s a ba ckgr ound t o this i nqui ry , t echnol ogical pe dagogi cal s oc ia l
jus tic e de fine s t he cont ext for an e xpl oration of how certa in pr actic es c an c ont ribut e t ow ards
a lte ra tion w ithi n i nstitut iona l s ettings .
T hree Issu es i n E ducat ion
Thr ee ke y educ ation i ssue s t ha t a ppe al t o m e a re t he di gita l di vide , the pe rs ona liz ed
le arni ng a pproach, a nd s ocioe conom ic ga ps. T he di gita l di vide is a pr essing pr oblem be caus e i t
illus tr a te s t ha t t echnol ogy i s not equa lly a ccessibl e, l im iting t he abi lity of stude nts t o f ully e nga ge in
m ode rn e duc ationa l pr actic es. T his pr obl em shoul d be addr esse d s inc e t he re a re e qua l oppor tuni tie s
and t o clos e t he ga p in r ega rd t o e duc ation r esour ces. I appr ecia te pe rs ona liz ed l earni ng be caus e i t
pr ovi des a n oppor tuni ty t o m odify a nd a djus t e duc ation t o indi vidua l r equi re m ent s a nd pr efe re nc es
as w ell a s t he styl e of acqui ring know le dge (Sagor & W illia m s, 2016) . It i s i m por ta nt to unc over
the effe ctive adopt ion of indi vidua liz ed l earni ng t echni que s i n or der f or the cla ssroom expe rie nc e
to be enha nced a nd f or stude nts f rom divers e ba ckgr ounds to be taught in a qua lity m anne r.
S oc ioe conom ic i ne qua lity r em ains one of the m ost pr essing pr oblem s t ha t de te rm ine pe opl e’s 3
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accessibi lity t o r esour ces, e duc ationa l qua lity , a nd pe rs pe ctive s. I t i s i m pe ra tive to l ook i nto
the w ays in w hich t hese di ffe re nc es m ani fe st t he mse lve s a t s chool s a nd how the y c an be addr esse d
thr ough a ppropria te m easur es, t hus suppor ting s ocia l j us tic e a nd pe rm itting e quita bl e oppor tuni tie s
for all s tude nts.
C om ple tin g A ction R ese ar ch
T he na tur e of action r ese arc h i n e duc ationa l i ssue s t ends to br ing a bout disc om for t be caus e
the se a re c om plex a nd m ultidi mens iona l pr obl em s. T he m ix of factor s t ha t i m pa ct s tude nt out com es
and t he respons ibi lity t o s ugge st a nd a pply interve ntions make s i t a lm os t i m pos sibl e. T he
unpr edi cta bi lity of sudde n obs ta cle s, m oral i ssue s, a nd t he ne cessity t o a djus t i nt erve ntions in
accor da nce w ith s hifting r ealitie s m ay c aus e a nxi ety w ithi n a pers on ( S agor & W illia m s, 2016) .
How eve r, t he recogni tion of the se c ha lle nge s a ls o m otiva te s m e t o a ddr ess a ction r ese arc h
com prehe nsive ly a nd w ith a desir e t o ove rc om e s uc h t roubl es.
R e se ar ch G ain
Taki ng i nto a ccount my r ese arc h, I aim to s tudy di gita l di vide pr obl em s, i ndi vidua liz ed
le arni ng, a nd socioe conom ic i ne qua litie s i n e duc ation. M y goal i s t o l ocate pr actic al s tr a te gi es a nd
int erve ntions which c an be im plem ent ed i n na tur alis tic e duc ationa l e nvi ronm ent s. M oreove r, I
w oul d like to m ake va lua ble a ddi tions to a broader e duc ationa l f ie ld, e ncour agi ng c oope ra tion a nd
sys te m ic r efor ms i n or der t o s olve the se i ssue s.
Q u estion s ab out A c tion R ese ar ch
W hile I a m ent hus ia stic a bout action r ese arc h, t here a re s till c erta in que stions aris ing:
S cala bi lity a nd s usta ina bility of int erve ntions ide ntif ie d, uni ntende d cons eque nces, a nd t he 4
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longe vity of long- te rm cha nge s. S econdl y, I w oul d like to t alk a bout the cons eque nces of
m y s tudy i n term s of pol ic y- maki ng a nd syste m ic c ha nge s i n e duc ation. T his r efle ction on t hese
a spe cts w ill i nf orm and c ontribut e t o t he rese arc h pr ocess by m aki ng i t a ppl ic abl e i n a wide r
se tting.
C on clu sion
Thi s a ction r ese arc h a im s not only to unf old t he m yste rie s of the di gita l di vide , pe rs ona liz ed
le arni ng a nd socioe conom ic i nj us tic es but als o t o pr ovide pr actic al m easur es. A s s uc h, t he resul ts
a re not lim ite d t o this pa rtic ul ar s etting but rathe r i nt ende d for ot her e duc ationa l e nvi ronm ent s. T his
re se arc h s eeks to a chi eve thi s by de sc ribi ng t he unc omfor ta bl e f eelings the y ha d with a ction
r e se arc h, a nd f acilita ting a sui ta bl e s itua tion f or sys te m ic c ha nge . The aim is t o c re ate a n i nclus ive
gr ound f or a tra ns for mationa l e duc ationa l l ands cape w here l earne rs f rom diffe re nt cont ext s a re
e na bled. 5
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R efe ren ce
S agor , R. D ., & Willia m s, C . (2016) . The ac tion r ese ar ch gui de book : A pr ocess f or pur sui ng e quity
and e xcelle nc e i n e duc ation . C orwin P re ss.
