In the metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri area, the Action Research Collaborative sponsored by the Danforth Foundation has provided financial and professional assistance through conferences and support groups to hundreds of researcher practitioners. The Teacher as Researcher Committee of the International Reading Association has also taken a leadership position on encouraging action research among its members. Educators who have used action research say that it becomes a way of life in their work. Classroom practice and children's experiences are changed, and in the process, there is improvement in learning. Professional development becomes an ongoing process in which educators and children are concurrent learners and teachers.
Action research is a positive, supportive, proactive resource for change.
A Self-Study of the Teaching of Collaborative Action Research. McFarland, Katherine, and John Stansell. International Reading Association. Roadmaps to Success. Patterson, Leslie, and Patrick Shannon.