Investigating Issues and Challenges in Employing Action Research for Teacher Training in Malaysian Context

In teacher education, action research has served as one of the tools for reflective practice to bridge the gap between the educational theories learned in the teacher training college and the actual pedagogical practice within the four walls of the classroom. In this descriptive and explorative research study, first the concept and characteristics of action research are outlined, supported by a discussion on action research types and models that are relevant to teacher training in Malaysia. Then, this paper explored the implementation of action research component in teacher education in Malaysia by first providing brief background information of action research in Malaysian teacher training institutes. Then, it discussed issues and challenges that are faced in terms of curriculum, teaching methods and objectives. The study also discussed the rationale for integrating action research component in teacher education programme. The result shows that the implementation of action research is hampered by the absence of exposure to action research in the earlier part of the training, the curriculum lacks practical input and the objectives set can be general and vague. It is recommended that action research workshops and trainings are conducted earlier in the training program and that more hands-on learning experience is introduced.