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NCI’s Early Learning Initiative Community Action Research Update

14/10/24

Community Action Research is an alternative research method that gathers data from members of the community. Community Action Research is particularly significant because this method gathers crucial information from real people who are being impacted by the issues being studied, so the results of Community Action Research can be used to find solutions to issues that people are facing in the local communities.  

At National College of Ireland, research is a principal component of ELI and is essential to develop our understanding of the needs and circumstances of the community. Community Action Research specifically, is the primary methodology in the development of ELI. The action-reflection cycle of observe, reflect, act, evaluate and modify (McNiff 2006) informs the development of ELI’s programmes and ensures that plans are implemented. The continuous aim is to create a structure that allows continuous evaluations and improvements to take place across all ELI programmes, ensuring that individual programmes evolve and change according to the educational needs of all the participants and the community. 

Keep Reading to Learn More About ELI Community Action Research.  

On June 7th and 8th, 2024 the Hybrid 12th ARNA Conference with the theme, ‘PAR in Community: Transformative Possibilities” attracted 145 attendees with a home base at Eastern Michigan University. Presenters shared a rich and varied program including papers presentations, workshops, and panels. In preparation for this year’s conference, seven Early Childhood Education (ECE) educators/ scholars met in August 2023 to see if we could develop a small-scale collaborative project to share at the annual ARNA conference in 2024. Dr Josephine Bleach, Director of the Early Learning Initiative at NCI and Dr Meera Oke, Associate Professor in Early Childhood Education and Care at NCI were enormously proud to be part of this group. The group participated in online sessions throughout the year to develop a critical theme that would reflect our action research project. The group decided on the topic of teacher burnout and poor work-life conditions in three countries, because while teacher burnout is not a new point of discussion, it has become notably more serious post-pandemic, and it is getting worse nowadays everywhere in the world.

A panel discussion was chosen to present four different action research projects at the ARNA conference, covering a range of project titles such as: 

  • Enhancing the workplace wellbeing of Early Childhood Care and Education practitioners working in resource-constrained contexts in South Africa

  • Towards Enhancing Irish Early Childhood Educators’ Wellbeing

  • Supporting ECE teachers: Utilizing the PERMA Model in Participatory Research to combat burnout

  • Early Childhood Educators’ Wellbeing in the Time of Implementing a New Teaching Credential in California 

As we look towards 2024-2025, here are a few guiding questions to frame the themes for the topic of future projects: 

  • To what extent is burnout experienced in the practice of ECEC in different countries and cultures? Is it universal, is it experienced in the same way? What are some of the macro and micro level indicators?
  • How far do interventions at practitioner level such as restorative practice, PERMA based approaches, help build capacity and resilience? 

 

“Regular community action research (CAR) events and dissemination opportunities build capacity and support engagement. CAR has supported transformative change at local and national level, while giving a genuine voice to participants as co-constructors. While assessments provide evidence on how children and young people are doing in terms of educational outcomes and aspirations, CAR also provides data on potential innovations.” ~ Dr Josephine Bleach, Director of the Early Learning Initiative at NCI. 

 

At National College of Ireland, we are delighted that Dr Josephine Bleach and Dr Meera Oke had the fantastic opportunity to work with scholars from different cultures. We want to congratulate them and the team of scholars as it was hugely significant to present at the ARNA conference. The most common sentiment that comes from conferences such as this is that the scholars wish they could have had more time to further discuss and explore their research so already we look forward to next year’s presentations.  

Continue Reading the Full ARNA Report to Learn More.  

 

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