Empowering Teachers through a Training on Exploratory Action Research

Professional development is a requirement for Thai schoolteachers for their annual

evaluation. Engaging in teacher-research can be one of the options of the professional

development programs for schoolteachers. Exploratory Action Research (EAR), one kind of teacher-

research, has been introduced to schoolteachers in primary and secondary classes in Thailand.

With the collaboration between the British Council Thailand and King Mongkut’s University of

Technology Thonburi, pilot training on EAR was launched in 2022. The objective of the training is

to provide teachers with knowledge and skills for conducting EAR. During this particular project,

the trainees received guidance from two trainers through webinars and two mentors through

online mentoring to complete their EAR. This research was conducted to investigate how this

training changed teachers who were involved with it. With the recommendation from two mentors

and voluntary participation, seven schoolteachers were interviewed. The results revealed both

benefits and challenges. Schoolteachers experienced significant shifts in their beliefs towards

teacher-research and teaching. The classroom research was perceived practical while the

problems in the classroom were systematically tackled. Moreover, the importance of building

rapport with the students was also reported by schoolteachers. Hence, the EAR training has shaped

the schoolteachers’ roles towards being teacher-researchers.

Keywords: Exploratory Action Research, professional development, classroom research,

teaching practice