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A Study of Perception and Capability to Undertake Action Research Among Lecturers at a Polytechnic in Sarawak

Received: 13 June 2017     Accepted: 4 July 2017     Published: 26 July 2017
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Abstract

This study aims to survey the perception and capability of lecturers in a polytechnic in Sarawak to undertake action research. It is conducted among 39 lecturers from the General Studies Department. The findings of this study show that the lecturers perceived that doing action research involved a lot of time, it can be done at minimum expense and action research can build trustworthiness or reliability. Besides, doing action research requires an effort and guidance is needed in doing action research, especially for novice lecturer-researchers. In terms of capability, most lecturers can distinguish the different parts of action research and able to cite authors appropriately. However, some lecturers are not familiar with the MLS and APA formats. It was also found that most lecturers conducted action research for their professional growth. The study recommended several implications for institutional administrators to enhance polytechnic lecturers’ abilities in conducting action research.

Published in Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies (Volume 2, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.tecs.20170204.11
Page(s) 41-46
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Research Perception, Research Capability, Action Research

References
[1] George Mason University (2016). What is action research? Retrieved from https://gse.gmu.edu/research/tr/tr-action
[2] Ferrance, E. (2000). Action research. LAB, Northeast and Island Regional Education Laboratory at Brown University.
[3] Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi Malaysia (2011). Buku garis panduan kenaikan pangkat pegawai pendidikan pengajian tinggi – edisi calon-versi 2. Pusat Penerbitan Jabatan Pengajian Politeknik.
[4] Izah, M. T., & Nor Mazlina, A. B. (2009). An evaluation of lecturers perceptions towards research. The Social Sciences, 4(5), 416-423.
[5] Khiat, H., Chia, H. T., Tan-Yeoh, A. C., & Kok-Mak, C. P. (2011). The perspectives of lecturers on the action research journey in the Mathematics and Science Department of Singapore Polytechnic. Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 10(1), 29-52.
[6] Sanmugam, S. T., & Rajanthran, N. (2014). Exploring Malaysian polytechnic lecturers’ perceptions towards research: An institutional case study. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 123, 398-405.
[7] Ho, A. P., Woods, P. C., Aziz, A. A., & Sin, N. M. (2013). Lecturers as knowledge workers and the self-management of their intellectual capital growth and development from a teaching to a research-teaching fusion–a Malaysian case study. International Journal of Learning and Intellectual Capital, 10(1), 88-105.
[8] Lertputtarak, S. (2008). An investigation of factors related to research productivity in a public university in Thailand: A case study. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Victoria University.
[9] Mukrim, T. (2012). Sustaining English teacher doing classroom action research: Perception of Palu City’s English teacher. Proceedings of the 6th International Seminar on Research in Teacher Education: What, How, and Why? Salatiga: Faculty of Language and Literature UKSW.
[10] Pati, P. (2014). Indonesian foreign school teachers’ perception and capability to undertake classroom action research: Basis for capability building program. IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education, 4(1), 67-89.
[11] Hadley, G. (1997). Action research: Something for everyone. In D. Griffee & D. Nunan (Eds.) Classroom teachers and classroom research. (pp. 87-98) Tokyo: Japan Association for Language Teaching.
[12] Bay Jr, B. E., & Clerigo, M. E. C. (2013). Factors associated with research productivity among oral healthcare educators in an Asian university. International Education Studies, 6(8), 124.
[13] Wachholz, P., & Christensen, L. (2004). When teachers research: Action research as professional development. Language Arts Journal of Michigan, 20(1), 10.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Marcus Gee-Whai Kho, Ying-Leh Ling. (2017). A Study of Perception and Capability to Undertake Action Research Among Lecturers at a Polytechnic in Sarawak. Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies, 2(4), 41-46. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.tecs.20170204.11

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    ACS Style

    Marcus Gee-Whai Kho; Ying-Leh Ling. A Study of Perception and Capability to Undertake Action Research Among Lecturers at a Polytechnic in Sarawak. Teach. Educ. Curric. Stud. 2017, 2(4), 41-46. doi: 10.11648/j.tecs.20170204.11

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    AMA Style

    Marcus Gee-Whai Kho, Ying-Leh Ling. A Study of Perception and Capability to Undertake Action Research Among Lecturers at a Polytechnic in Sarawak. Teach Educ Curric Stud. 2017;2(4):41-46. doi: 10.11648/j.tecs.20170204.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.tecs.20170204.11,
      author = {Marcus Gee-Whai Kho and Ying-Leh Ling},
      title = {A Study of Perception and Capability to Undertake Action Research Among Lecturers at a Polytechnic in Sarawak},
      journal = {Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies},
      volume = {2},
      number = {4},
      pages = {41-46},
      doi = {10.11648/j.tecs.20170204.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.tecs.20170204.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.tecs.20170204.11},
      abstract = {This study aims to survey the perception and capability of lecturers in a polytechnic in Sarawak to undertake action research. It is conducted among 39 lecturers from the General Studies Department. The findings of this study show that the lecturers perceived that doing action research involved a lot of time, it can be done at minimum expense and action research can build trustworthiness or reliability. Besides, doing action research requires an effort and guidance is needed in doing action research, especially for novice lecturer-researchers. In terms of capability, most lecturers can distinguish the different parts of action research and able to cite authors appropriately. However, some lecturers are not familiar with the MLS and APA formats. It was also found that most lecturers conducted action research for their professional growth. The study recommended several implications for institutional administrators to enhance polytechnic lecturers’ abilities in conducting action research.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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    AB  - This study aims to survey the perception and capability of lecturers in a polytechnic in Sarawak to undertake action research. It is conducted among 39 lecturers from the General Studies Department. The findings of this study show that the lecturers perceived that doing action research involved a lot of time, it can be done at minimum expense and action research can build trustworthiness or reliability. Besides, doing action research requires an effort and guidance is needed in doing action research, especially for novice lecturer-researchers. In terms of capability, most lecturers can distinguish the different parts of action research and able to cite authors appropriately. However, some lecturers are not familiar with the MLS and APA formats. It was also found that most lecturers conducted action research for their professional growth. The study recommended several implications for institutional administrators to enhance polytechnic lecturers’ abilities in conducting action research.
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Author Information
  • General Studies Department, Politeknik Kuching Sarawak, Malaysia

  • Mathematics, Science and Computer Department, Politeknik Kuching Sarawak, Malaysia

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