Action Research in Education is a practice-oriented core course designed for in-service teachers enrolled in the MA in Education programme through hybrid mode, offering a flexible and professionally relevant pathway to develop research competencies without interrupting their teaching careers. The course introduces students to the conceptual foundations, historical evolution, and key methodologies of action research, with a strong emphasis on its application in real classroom and school contexts. This course bridges the longstanding gap between educational theory and everyday teaching practice by placing teachers at the centre of inquiry, aligning with national mandates for evidence-based teaching and continuous professional development while empowering them to address contextual challenges autonomously. The primary objectives of the course are to develop students' ability to identify researchable classroom problems and formulate focused research questions, to equip them with qualitative and mixed-method data collection and analysis techniques suited to school settings, to guide them through planning, implementing, and evaluating complete action research cycles, and to foster a culture of reflective practice and peer collaboration through structured online learning communities. On successful completion of the course, in-service teachers will be able to critically examine and improve their own teaching strategies through systematic self-inquiry, design and conduct independent action research cycles within their school environments, collect and interpret classroom data to make informed instructional decisions, identify context-specific pedagogical challenges and implement targeted theory-informed interventions, engage meaningfully with peer learning communities to share and refine professional practices, and prepare action research reports suitable for school-level dissemination, seminars, or publication. Altogether, this course transforms participating teachers into reflective, research-literate professionals who are equipped not only to improve their own classrooms but also to contribute to broader school improvement and educational reform efforts.
- Teacher: Eram Aziz
