p of educators who work together to help one another design and carry out investigations relevant to learning. However, the focus remains on practical problems experienced by educators in their efforts to assist student learning.
Another important definitional attribute of action research discussed by Schmuck (1997) is that it is democratic which is to say that it is a research methodology that encourages interaction between colleagues thereby becoming a joint attempt to improve teaching. All participants in action research have an equal part in decision-making and equal power. They work together as a team, each member committed to the success of the inquiry and any subsequent implementation of improvements in schooling that arise as a result of the process. This leads to the question as to what constitutes the actual processes of action research?
With respect to the foregoing, Sagor (2000) notes that as a research methodology, action research is a systematic and reflective process consisting of four phases: planning, acting, observing, and reflecting. Each of these processes take place in a cycle; they can be summarized as follows:
1. Planning - In this component of the action research process, the research team reviews the current realities associated with the particular educational practice or practices that they are interested in, asking themselves what these practices ought to be. It is through answering these questions that the research team arrives at an initial plan of practice change/improvement.
2. Acting - At this phase in the process, researchers begin to implement the plan they have developed, noting and addressing all of the problems that arise.
3. Observing - This phase of action research is data focused. The research team is free to use one or more of a vast variety of observational methods in an effort to collect data relevant to evaluating the practice/practices that have been changed.
4. Reflec...