supporting tiriti-based curriculum delivery in mainstream early ...

with the research, either directly or indirectly, the timing of the meetings, the
number of teachers and the fact that some were also studying, and finally my skills
as a researcher. One reason for my disquiet was the discrepancy between what I
thought would happen in the process and what actually happened. Action research
was not the neat cycle/s depicted in texts. I wrote in my research journal:
It‟s not like the books!! The action research cycles are very
muddy/muddled as observing, planning, evaluating and doing are all
reported [by participants] in an ad hoc way and not in a sequential
manner. (Jl: CJ 28/3/2005)
It occurred to me that the action research more closely resembled a ball of
wool rather than the cyclical figures in books.
Figure 3.3 My Initial Conception of the Realities of Action Research (Source: Google Images).
As I reflected on action research meetings it became clear that during the
discussion process, co-researchers switched back and forth from the supposedly
discrete phases of reflect, evaluate, and plan. Additionally, throughout the action,
co-researchers switched back and forth from act, reflect, evaluate and plan.
Whereas teachers were acting and observing mainly with the children, teachers
were also planning and reflecting whilst they acted and observed. Similarly,
planning and reflecting occurred during research meetings, as teachers reported on
their actions and observations. Was it a problem within me that it didn‟t fit the
neat, circular diagrams I found in books? I noted in my journal:
There are individual teachers acting, observing, evaluating and planning
as well as the team sharing observations, planning together, acting from
this as a team and as individuals to then observe individually to bring
thoughts to share when re-evaluating the thinking /thoughts. „In the
head‟ stuff is what is transported from the session (act and observe) to
the meeting (evaluation and plan). Although indeed, teachers are
evaluating and planning in the session either impromptu and individually
as well as impromptu and collectively. Unless the action is concerned
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