Network for Educational Action Research Ireland SIG – NEARI SIG
The SIG will focus on:
- strengthening the rigour of action research for accreditation and enhancing institutional standards
- ethical issues, in particular on how current ethical standards in educational institutions may impede the undertaking of practitioner action research.
- continuing the work of NEARI as a foundation for action research discourse
We believe these issues are of key importance to those who are leading action research modules in their institutions, while strengthening the research-base for action research.
It offers a safe, hybrid space for interdisciplinary practitioner researchers to dialogue, critically reflect, and disseminate research.
Who will I meet in the SIG
Convenors of the SIG are Drs. Bernie Sullivan, Caitriona McDonagh, Máirín Glenn and Mary Roche (NEARI) with Dr Cornelia Connolly of the University of Galway and Dr Bernadette Wrynn of Maynooth University. We welcome current and emerging educational action researchers and those who teach action research in Ireland and in global contexts. You may join the NEARI SIG by emailing us at info@eari.ie
How will it work?
Three times each year SIG meetings will be held alongside NEARIMeets, (see www.eari.ie) alternately in Dublin and outside the Dublin area as well as virtually. Our website will offer resources for members, members musings and regular communications. You can join our NEARI discussion group or follow us on Twitter at @InfoNEARI. Delegates from the SIG will attend research conferences and report back to the SIG members.
Educational Action Research SIG Annual Report
The Educational Action research SIG with ESAI is organised by the Network for Educational Action Research (NEARI). It is co-convened by: Bernie Sullivan, Bernadette Wrynn, Caitriona McDonagh (co-ordinator), Cornelia Connolly, Máirín Glenn and Mary Roche.
The SIG has three main focus points:
- strengthening the rigour of action research for accreditation and enhancing institutional standards
- ethical issues, in particular on how current ethical standards in educational institutions may impede the undertaking of practitioner action research.
- continuing the work of NEARI as a foundation for action research discourse
The SIG met three times in 2023.
In January, a hybrid meeting that was both face-to-face and online was held in University College Dublin with the theme of Reflections on Educational Action. Thought-provoking presentations were given by Dr. Bernadette Wrynn (Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education in Maynooth University), Dr. Sanja Simel Pranjić (J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Croatia) and Dr. Sarah Peters (Integrated Circles). Further details here.
The second meeting was held in April in Stranmillis University College, Belfast in conjunction with the ESAI Conference 2023. Again this was a hybrid meeting and theme, borrowed from the conference itself, was Education, Change and Democratic societies: New imperatives and creative responses. The inspirational presentations at this meeting were given by Tomás Ó Ruairc (DoE, Dublin) and Dr. Michelle Vaughan (Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Florida Atlantic University, USA). Details of the meeting are available here.
The final meeting of the SIG in 2023 took place in the Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education in Maynooth University, in September and was also a hybrid meeting. The theme was Developing our Action Research Scholarship through First-, Second- and Third-Person Inquiry and Practice. The thought-provoking guest speakers at this NEARIMeet were Prof David Coghlan (Trinity College, Dublin) and Dr. Mags Amond (Trinity College, Dublin and TeachMeets) and Denise Delaney St. Mary’s University Twickenham in London). You may access notes from the meeting here.
oooOOOooo
Plans for 2024:
The SIG plans to continue their work and to attain the objectives outlined above. It hopes to present its work at the special SIG event at the ESAI Conference in Maynooth. It also hopes to develop its membership and convene 2/3 more meetings in 2024. Some questions we hope to work on are:
- How do we put together ethical guidance for educational action researchers in Ireland?
- Should we continue hybrid meetings or have alternate online and face-to-face meetings?
All updates are available at the NEARI site.
