In this episode, our team welcomes Dr. Meghan McGlinn Manfra (Ph.D.). She is an Associate Professor in the College of Education at North Carolina State University. She is the author of Action Research for Classroom, Schools, and Communities (Sage) and editor of the Handbook of Social Studies Research (Wiley Press).

Joe and Adam open up the conversation with a lightning round (2:54) aiming to ask-what is action research? What does action research look like in education? What has been the greatest challenge for you using AR in your research? Why is it important for teacher professional development? Based on Meghan’s response to some of the lightning round questions, Adam and Joe continue the conversation with Dr. Manfra to understand the process of integrating with the teacher community (8:48), building relationships and developing socially just power dynamics with teachers (10:21), and incorporating student voices in action research (17:39)? Tune in to listen more!

 References

Manfra, M.M. (2021). Action research for classrooms, schools, and communities. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Reviewed in Teacher’s College Record here {https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Jj6dJKGLnaukNrfBwCKsolW3EhAzV4w6/view}

Manfra, M. M. (2019). Action Research and Systematic, Intentional Change in Teaching Practice. Review of Research in Education, 43(1), 163–196. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X18821132

**If you have your own questions about Action Research or want to share any feedback, contact us on Twitter@The_ARpod or write to us at ActionResearchPod@gmail.com.**

CHECK THIS OUT- https://www.tcpress.com/student-voice-research-9780807767122

Are you looking for an insightful resource to understand how to emphasize youth voice, specific conceptual tools to reflect on research bias, power dynamics, and relationship building in the meaning-making process? Marc Brasof and Joseph Levitan have developed a comprehensive must-have volume for anyone doing research about and with youth.