Ince, Amanda; Bullough, Lizbeth; (2023) Facilitated Action Research (FAR): Making a difference in Early Years. Presented at: 2023 Bright Start International Conference – Early Years Excellence in Practice, Athens, Greece.

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Abstract

Facilitated action research (FAR) empowers early years educators to make sustainable changes in their practice that benefit the children, families and themselves. This case study presents FAR led by University-based tutors which supported a group of Early Years professionals to conduct a range of projects in their individual settings. Topics included transition, learning environment, forest experiences, culture and community, child-led learning. In this presentation we view FAR though the lens of one of these projects which focused on bilingualism and the critical role of parents in keeping their home language alive. The project aim was to increase parental knowledge and confidence in supporting their child to speak in their home language as this is crucial for second language learning and to understand the connection between bilingualism and language development. The project followed the FAR cyclical structure of; identify an issue, gather information, generate a research question, plan and implement a change, evaluate impact, consider the future (Ince and Kitto, 2020). An impact evaluation framework (Earley and Porritt, 2010) was adopted which considered three aspects, product- what the project has created, process- what practices have changed and outcomes for parents and children. This case study illustrates the positive impact of FAR in empowering and developing the agency of EY educators which leads to sustained changes in practice.

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