The Impact of Collaborative Action Research on Inquiry Skills, Habits of Mind, and Orientations toward Collaborative Action Research and Collaboration: The Case of a School-Based Project in an Arab Context

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of engagement of TAMAM school teams in collaborative action research experiences on targeted elements of habits of mind, specifically inquisitiveness, reflection, and evidential decisions and on orientations toward action research and collaboration. The paper analyzes how this is mediated by the school and project contextual factors. Results of this study indicate that the targeted habits of mind, the inquiry skills, the orientation toward collaborative action research, and attitudes toward collaboration in school teams were all positively impacted by the TAMAM project. The participants reported that their collaborative action research experience has impacted the habits of mind of openness, recognition of self and others, and being critical and reflective of professional practice. With regard to inquiry skills, the participants reported that their collaborative action research experience has impacted 14 of the 19 inquiry skills close to ‘to a great extent’ on the average, and to ‘some extent’ for the remaining five skills. With regard to attitude toward school team cooperation, the participants reported that they strongly agreed that their collaborative action research experience has been positive and working in TAMAM was an effective way to learn. On the other hand, they have positive attitudes toward the remaining ten statements regarding school team collaboration. Finally, the participants reported positive attitudes toward collaborative action research. The interesting and novel findings from the TAMAM research are those related to the contextual factors variables. Results indicated that schools varied on dimensions related to habits of mind and inquiry skills. The variance could be associated with the schools’ affiliation and status.