Complete thesis - Murdoch University

• style of presentation adopted – action researchers are accountable in that they aim tomake their learning process and its results public, both to each other and to otherinterested practitioners, using accessible terminology. Brew (2001) suggests one viewof research is to consider it a journey: the researcher embarks on a voyage of discovery,with a set of guidebooks and maps to enable informed decisions on which route to take.However, the journey itself is unique, influenced, as it is, by the researcher’s previousexperience, beliefs and expectations. The journey is also transformational, both for thetravellers, other more transitory participants in the journey, and ideally for the domaintraversed during the journey. In this view, an emphasis is placed on the assimilationof research into one’s own life and understanding. In the transformation conceptionintellectual activities in which the researcher engages, whether or not they appear tohave a direct bearing, are viewed as relevant to the research because they inform thelife issues which underpin the research questions.Brew (1999) suggests that this conception of the nature of research influences thetypes of projects researchers feel comfortable pursuing, the choice of methodology, thequestions, ideas and issues pursued and the ways in which the work is carried out.This research is presented as a reflective travel diary.4.5 ConclusionThe current focus on quality in education has engendered vigourous discussion on techniquesand mechanisms for the evaluation of teaching/learning. An Action Research approach cancontribute very positively to activity within the tertiary sector concerned with teaching qualityissues:Through systematic, controlled action research, higher education teachers can becomemore professional, more interested in pedagogical aspects of higher educationand more motivated to integrate their research and teaching interests in aholistic way. This, in turn, can lead to greater job satisfaction, better academicprogrammes, improvement of student learning and practitioners insights and contributionsto the advancement of knowledge in higher education.(Zuber-Skerritt, 1982, p 15)Traditionally, teachers in a tertiary environment have not been encouraged to draw upontheoretical developments as a means of improving the learning environment. Action Researchoffers a systematic approach by putting the teacher in the dual role of producer of educational209