A collaborative inquiry: ‘how do we improve our practice with children?’
Joan Walton
Educational Action Research September 1, 2011 DOI: 10.1080/09650792.2011.600565 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Collaborative inquiry (action research) Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Practitioners in a local authority Children's Services |
| Intervention | Reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action |
| Duration | Six months |
| Citations | 8 |
| Key points | Describes a six-month collaborative inquiry in which Children's Services practitioners used a living theory approach to action research, grounded in mindfulness and Schön's reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action, to become more aware and reflective of their moment-by-moment practice in efforts to improve children's well-being. No specific outcomes are reported in the abstract. |
Abstract
A collaborative inquiry into how to improve the well-being of children was run over six months, as a partnership between Liverpool Hope University and a local authority Children’s Services. The collaborative inquiry was based on a living theory approach to action research in which practitioners became increasingly aware and reflective of their moment-by-moment practice. The Buddhist concept of mindfulness formed the basis of the practice, which Kabat-Zinn (1994 Kabat-Zinn, J. 1994. Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation for everyday life, London: Piatkus. [Google Scholar], 4) describes as ‘paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgementally’. Schön’s notions of reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action were then developed as enabling means of being mindful in each present moment.