Beyond Rules of Procedures: Utilising Participatory Action Research (PAR) to Enhance Reflective Practice and Normative Professionalism

This article explores the outcomes of an action research project focusing in particular on how taking joint actions with the teachers in their own local school context helped transform them into reflective practitioners. Specifically, action research was devised as a means to respond to the challenges of professionalism and integrity of teachers in Uganda. It also shows how pertinent it is to empower teachers, especially those working in difficult, constrained environments to design interventions for addressing some of the challenging situations. It is based on a research project where I worked collectively with 21 teachers to break communication barriers by creating a forum for dialogue. We borrowed the theories of reflection, discretionary practice, and normative professionalism, to guide the innovation. Framed around the concept of Professional Institutional Engagement (PIE), our understanding was that professionals should engage with both their profession and the institution for which they work, given that every institution has unique challenges for which teachers are not specifically trained to address. We found opening communicative space for free deliberation on contextual issues to be very important in collective learning. I show that participants had to come to terms with their roles and responsibilities through dialogue and reflection on their day today work practices. Thus, I suggest going beyond generally acceptable rules of procedures and engaging with both the profession and the institutions as being paramount for professional reforms.