Influence of Teachers’ Beliefs and Attitude towards Action Research

This study investigated the influence of teachers’ beliefs about research on the teachers’ intent to conduct action research. Two hundred sixteen teachers from the three central schools in the Division of Cagayan de Oro City participated in the study that utilized Mixed Method. The main data gathering tools were survey questionnaires adapted from Savaskan (2013) and Byrnes (2009). The tools have undergone reliability tests.  The quantitative data from the survey questionnaires were triangulated with Focus Group Discussions and Key Informant Interviews. Results show that teachers have positive beliefs and favorable attitudes on research and action research. Teachers also expressed positively their intent to engage in action research. Except for teachers’ beliefs on research, the independent variables in this study significantly influenced their intent to engage in action research. The study established a potential justification for the schools in this study to provide relevant, timely, and responsive professional development interventions to encourage more teachers to engage in action research to enhance their teaching competence and improve student learning. Thus, the result of this study was used as basis for a professional development program that aimed to address teachers’ needs to foster encouraging culture for action research in the public schools concerned that in the long run contribute to the enhancement of student learning.

 

Keywords: Action research, attitudes, beliefs, intent to conduct action research