Catholic school teacher as action researcher: A project designed to empower and transform Catholic school teachers into instructional problem solvers and reflective practitioners.

摘要

This capstone project is a multi-tiered study of enhancing teacher efficacy and improving instructional problem solving applied by individual teachers in their classrooms. An urban, co-educational, Catholic high school was chosen for the study due to the demographic diversity of the student enrollment, its Catholic identity, and the challenges identified by faculty and administration.;The researchers enacted an action research study focused on assisting teachers to conduct action research projects in their own classrooms, using the process to identify and remediate challenges that they themselves identified. The three-article dissertation structure is used to report on the problem identification, methods of implementation, and evaluation of the results. An analysis of teacher performance and researcher performance grew in complementary fashion throughout the semester, beginning with the preparatory work of the researchers and the pre-semester work with the building administration.;The researchers developed a plan in which they provided onsite and online support for coaching and mentoring of the faculty. Launching the study with an in-depth principal interview, the three researchers --- themselves high school principals invested in the success of Catholic schools --- implemented a semester-long action research project with the chosen faculty. Obstacles were encountered and addressed throughout the cycle, and the semester concluded with a committed nucleus of teachers prepared to move forward employing action research in their self-directed professional development. Data gathered throughout the project chart the growth in understanding and efficacy within the faculty as well as the growing understanding by the researchers of both the opportunities and challenges faced and the necessary research intervention required. Action research will be presented as a viable means of teacher empowerment and transformation for instructional problem solving especially appropriate in a Catholic school setting.