Challenges Encountered by Master Teachers in Conducting Action Research

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Conducting action researches are the most important activities for bringing changes and improvements in the teaching-learning process. The gap, however, is that most teachers admit they lack interest in conducting action research. Although there is annual conduct of action research training and seminars, teachers are still reluctant to conduct for a few reasons like the lack of time, workload pressure, and other administrative work. Therefore, the researcher examined this field to make an intervention and improve the interest of teachers in conducting action research to highly improve the quality of teaching and learning process.

METHODS

The researcher used the descriptive-survey method. Sixty-five master teachers of CarCanMadCarLan area were purposively selected to answer the adopted and modified questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of the demographic profile of the respondents and the challenges encountered by master teachers in conducting action research. All the items followed a 5-point Likert scale format.

RESULTS

Most of the master teachers of the Department of Education stationed at CARCANMADCARLAN area were female, aged 51 years old and above, already 20 years and above in teaching, graduated with Bachelor's Degree and with Master of Arts units, differently specialized in other subjects and were teaching in Mega and Central type of schools. The average mean of the indicators such as attitude, functions and responsibilities, resources and references and crafting action research was 2.8, 3.53, 3.2, and 3.36 respectively. The response of the master teachers to the "ways to cope with the challenges encountered by master teachers in conducting action research" earned an average mean of 4.15 with a verbal description as agree. The study revealed that educational attainment has a significant relationship to the challenges encountered by master teachers in conducting action research.

DISCUSSIONS

The Department of Education has to deploy enough number of teachers to each school to lessen the teaching load of the master teachers so that they can conduct action research within the required period. They also have to instigate seminars, training, and workshops that would develop the analytical capacity and skills of the master teachers in conducting action research. The school administration has to initiate a School Learning Action Cell (SLAC) to give sufficient time for master teachers to conduct action research.