Educational Research

Educational research is essential for the development and change of the learning process. As society and its needs continually change, so too do the needs of educators and students. Improvements are required to keep up with these vital changes. Qualitative research plays an important role in recognising and rendering the necessary amendments. In particular, two forms of this research can be analysed in terms of the contribution they make to the educational process. They are Action Research and Ethnography. To fully understand these approaches, each one must firstly be defined and can then be reviewed by examining the assumptions that are made when each type of research takes place. These are assumptions about the process and outcomes of the approaches. Lastly, each type will be related to an authentic learning situation to understand the contributions that can be made to improve education.

How can action research be defined?

Firstly, to unravel the principles behind action resear...