“Activating the procedural Research Prospects in kindergartens in light of the Requirements of knowledge Community”
(A field study in Sohag Governorate)
by/ Dr. Fify Ahmed Tawfeek [1]
Summary
The educational research is of major importance because it aims to achieve the ultimate form of educating the individual that forms the intellectual account in knowledge community due to its role in developing the educational practices. It guarantees acquiring, producing and using knowledge. Hence, it plays a significant role in creating such community as a major tool of developing, improving and enhancing the efficiency of education styles. In addition to its role in forming, directing, identifying the path and supporting the decisions of the educational policy, it aims at creating new educational knowledge fulfilling the requirements of the continuous educational renovation.
Therefore, a new type of educational research appears that differs from the traditional one in which the methodology and procedures can be scientifically defined in a strict way; it is implemented according to a defined theoretical framework.
This new type is known as "action research". It is designed, implemented and controlled by the teacher himself or in collaboration with colleagues who face the same problem or work to achieve professional development. Furthermore, pupils take advantage of performance development in an effective school.
This type of research has become more popular after being adopted as a methodology that may enforce teachers' development by studying their practice in a way that leads to enhancing the pattern of learning. It is a kind of studying self-reflection. It is currently used in improving the curriculum based on school and professional development. It is an alternative to the traditional educational research in which the researcher studies others because, here, he studies his practices and pupils and seeks to improve such practices in order to enhance his pupils' learning.
Many Arab and foreign states seek to apply action research. In addition, the Egyptian Ministry of Education seeks to activate this research in the schools and universities. However, the researcher notices, through her visits to some kindergartens and interaction with female teachers enrolled for MA. and Ph. D. degrees in the department and the female students of professional diploma (kindergarten's section) taught by her, that neither kindergarten's female directors and teachers nor professional diploma's female students have a knowledge of action research. Furthermore, it does not have its due concern by kindergarten's female teachers and directors. Therefore, she seeks to implement the current study to identify how to activate the attributes of action researches in Sohag's kindergartens according to the requirements of knowledge community.
The current study has aimed at achieving various objectives, such as:
- Identifying the extent to which kindergarten's female teacher and staff realize the importance of action research and its role in solving the problems they face.
- Identifying the concept and historical development of action researches.
- Identifying the concept, requirements and characteristics of the individual in knowledge community.
- Identifying the status quo of applying and using action research in kindergartens in Sohag Governorate.
- Providing an educational vision on the manner of activating the attributes of action researches in Sohag's kindergartens according to the requirements of knowledge community.
Therefore, the current study is significant due to the importance of:
- Kindergartens as an important educational stage in the preparation for the primary stage and the significance of kindergarten's female teacher as an alternative mother for the child.
- Activating action research in the educational institutions as a must posed by knowledge community as it requires producing and using technology in overcoming the educational problems and enhancing the educational practices.
- Drawing the attention of the Ministry of Higher Education's officials to the importance of training the students of the Faculty of Education and Kindergarten's department to implementing action research in the educational field.
Hence, the current study has achieved various results, such as:
- The average of subjects' responses to the phrases of the questionnaire's first section "Reasons of activating action research in Sohag's kindergartens" were significant because they exceeded the higher level of confidence mean (0.75). This means that the sample of the study think that the content of the first section's phrases actually represents reasons of activating act research in kindergartens.
- The average of subjects' responses to the phrases of the questionnaire's first section "Fields of activating action research in Sohag's kindergartens" was significant on some phrases and insignificant on the others.
- As for the questionnaire's third section "Constraints of activating and using action research in Sohag's kindergartens", the average of subjects' responses to its phrases were significant on some phrases, insignificant on others and unclear regarding their significance on the rest.
- In calculating the significance of differences on the subjects' total responses to the sections of the questionnaire, various tests were adopted, such as: (T. Test), one way ANOVA and analysis of variance. This indicates that there are statistically significant differences on some sections of the questionnaire and the absence of such differences on the others among the subject's means of responses.
In the light of the theoretical framework and results of the study, the researcher suggests providing an educational vision to activate the attributes of action researches in kindergartens according to meet the requirements of knowledge community. Such attributes are based on a group of starting points and basics and aim at achieving a number of objectives by implementing some procedures and mechanics.
[1]-Dr. Fify Ahmed Tawfeek Khaleel, assistant professor of Fundamentals of Education, Sohag Faculty of Education, Sohag University.