Educational Psychology—Limitations and Possibilities

Action Research and Educational Psychology 491
psychology the influence of constructivism is evidenced in the humanistic, cognitive, and social
constructivist paradigms. The humanistic paradigm was introduced as early as the 1960s, while
cognitivism dominated in the late 1970s through early 1990s; through the 1990s and into the
twenty-first century, social constructivism has superceded cognitivism in terms of influence. For
a constructivist teacher, both knowledge and learning goals are constructed by the student; hence
constructivism entails a student-centered approach to learning. The teacher’s job is to facilitate
personal learning by creating a community of learners of which each student is an important
member.
Constructivism is based on the notion that students must put knowledge together based on
experiences and expand that knowledge through interaction with others and personal reflection.
Thus, constructivist teachers place a premium on the use of cooperative learning and teaching
students metacognitive study strategies. In a constructivist classroom students are presented with
relevant problematic situations in which they can experiment in a search for their own answers.
A constructivist teacher is likely to have students determine their own behavioral standards by
having them participate in making classroom rules and resolve discipline problems through the
use of class meetings and open and reflective dialogue and problem solving. The constructivist
teacher maintains his or her right to determine specific instructional goals and challenges students
to set their own personal goals for learning. Assessment tools focus on individual growth as seen in
portfolio assessment rather than on student placement within the class population. Self-evaluation
and peer evaluation are stressed.
RESOLUTION OF EPISTEMOLOGICAL PARADIGM CLASHES
Clearly the notion of teachers doing action research on first glance smacks more of constructivism
than positivism. In fact, in Great Britain the emergence of action research was viewed as an
alternative paradigm to that of positivism, which was rejected at the time because it was viewed
as an external means of controlling teachers. Secondly, the conceptual framework from which
action research originated was constructivist in nature. Dewey envisioned the teacher as one who
constructed a complex understanding of teaching and learning by engaging in teacher research
instead of solely accepting what authorities tell them works. Thirdly, in action research teachers
continue to learn and grow by reflecting on and self-evaluating their own practice, often with the
involvement of students and colleagues as coresearchers. The action-researcher determines his
or her own research questions and research design on the basis of local needs. These reoccurring
themes are constructivist in nature.
Yet it would be a mistake to completely discount the influence of positivism on action research.
A critical part of doing some forms of empirical action research consists of being able to narrow
the parameters of the study to focus on a set of manageable questions that lend themselves to
some manageable form of interpretation and assessment. And sometimes, albeit not in every case,
this process entails operationalizing concepts and measures. This process does not necessarily
preclude the teacher-researcher’s examination of his or her own assumptions, the assumptions
of other researchers, multiple frames of reference, and whose interests are served by the action
research. This process of operationalization also need not preclude the collection of qualitative
data, which may be useful in depicting the sociopolitical and cultural context in which the action
research study is conducted.
Another possible slice of positivism that may be helpful to teacher-researchers is the use
and/or modification of assessment measures adapted from so-called authorities in the field; some
of the most appropriate designs in action research may have been developed in the context of
the quantitative perspective. Some of these quantitative designs may produce results consistent