The old traditional style of research required a principal to rely on the so called experts from outside of the campus to come in and tell the principal which direction he should go to fix the problems of the school. This leaves little or no input from the principal. Having to rely on outside experts to solve your schools problems when they do not have first hand knowledge of the school leaves the principal with no options and little respect from his faculty if things do not go so well. Action research at least give a principal a chance to look into what the school has been doing in specific areas. Then, after studying the data and talking with all stakeholders, he can make the necessary changes needed to make the school work at its very best.
To get more specific, the principal needs to choose a issue of concern and then move forward with a deliberate and specific study of the issue to decide if what they have been doing is working, or if changes are needed. Reflection is the key to an action research being successful. The principal must gather the data, analyze the data, look up any relative outside research, possibly get a committee together for more ideas, and move forward with any adjustments recommended. This style of evaluation makes the most sense to me. As a principal of a campus, I know the ins and outs of my school. I know more about why something is not working than an expert that has never been to my campus. I like what the Dana text said about being clear and concise when making these decisions. By doing this all the stakeholders have less questions about what is expected. They also know that the new plan has come from within and has had reflection put into by members of their own campus. Principals need to find the time to do this type of reflection to create an action research style of decision making.
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