Action Research as a Form of Teacher Professional Development

Abstract

This paper is about the perception of student teachers concerning their role asresearchers and the impact of action research in their professional development. Thispaper is a product of joint collaboration with master-level student teachers of the Facultyof Education of the University of Prishtina. Qualitative data collected through reflectivewritings, open-ended questionnaires and various research project reports implemented bystudent teachers themselves were analyzed using inductive methods.Findings support the fact that action research is a major component in teacherprofessional development. According to teacher-researchers, action research has a majorimpact not only on the improvement of teaching practices and better student achievements,but also on increasing the collaboration among peer teachers and fostering a new culturewhere teachers assume their responsibilities to implement action research in their ownclassrooms.