More emphasis should be placed on action research, an approach that allows one to plan and act according to one's judgment of the situation or problem, according to Anthony Sammut, a teacher and part-time lecturer at the University of Malta.

He has conducted various action research projects and believes that this approach should become standard practice in schools, particularly in view of the fact that it is included in both the National Minimum Curriculum (NMC) and the Education Act No. XIII of 2006.

In theory, action research is "a form of self-reflective enquiry undertaken by the participants in social situations in order to improve the rationality and justice of their own practices, their understanding of these practices, and the situations in which these practices are carried out." (Carr and Kemmis)

Mr Sammut, who lectures both on the teaching and assessment of the spoken language and on public speaking, explains the basics of action research. The action research programme involves a self-reflective spiral of cycles of planning, acting, observing and reflecting. First, one must identify a general or initial idea. This is followed by a reconnaissance or fact finding which would act as a preliminary survey. Planning and implementing action steps would be the next part of the cycle. Collecting data to monitor change, analysis and evaluation are the final steps.

The field of action research has become more relevant then ever, he adds, especially with the introduction of colleges, the aim of which is to link schools together. In fact, one of the main functions of each college, as stated in the Education Act No. XIII, is to "ensure the coordination of research activity, including action research, both between the college schools and between the colleges." Furthermore, the approach could be used to overcome certain current problems, such as illiteracy and the inability to express oneself verbally.

In order to give a concrete example, teachers could focus on students' inability to express themselves in a given language (e.g. English). Teachers collect data through a preliminary investigation in order to identify the current status of the classroom. At this stage, they would just act as observers without taking action. This can be done by observing classes over several days.

Next, the teachers would form a hypothesis based on their observations from the preliminary investigation. In this case, the teachers may hypothesize that the students are not being given enough time to express themselves in English in class. The teachers would then plan potential changes to existing practice, along with a method to evaluate the effect of these changes. For instance, this could be done by allocating more time for spoken language activities in class. The teachers must then apply these changes and observe their outcomes.

The next step would be to reflect on whether any additional changes are needed. Finally teachers plan further interventions by repeating the same procedure outlined above, as often as necessary, until they achieve the desired outcome.

The action research process is already embedded in the NMC, which states that "Action research should constitute the fulcrum of curriculum development. Action research is intended to examine the situation concerning aspects of the school curriculum. Experts in the area of research can help the school identify the theme ... The schools should therefore be in possession of a directory listing specialised people and services they offer."

Mr Sammut concludes by stating that this type of methodology is already being used successfully by some educators. Securing this process as standard practice would help educators make better choices by benefiting from the numerous advantages this process brings about. Apart from being a problem-solving tool, action research is a means of in-service training. Moreover, it is a way of introducing new or additional teaching methods and it is a means of improving communication between the practising teacher and the academic researcher, particularly in the case of collaborative action research.

Finally, although not 100 per cent objective, like scientific approaches, action research is less subjective than other approaches currently being adopted by individual educators.

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