Action Research: One Moment Please

Chronos and kairos are classical Greek concepts perhaps more often associated with rhetoric. Chronos (after the Greek god of time) likely is the more familiar of the two terms, as it arises to this day in terms such as chronological and chronometer. Chronos thus is concerned with ongoing time, and measuring time. Kairos is a slightly more elusive concept. “Kairos, the qualitative aspect of time, is defined as the right moment, the opportune or due measure”(Artemeva, 2008, p.157).

During a lecture on these notions, I recall Carleton University assistant professor Natasha Artemeva used a unique metaphor to help illustrate the concept of kairos: the moment when the tip of an arrow meets the intersection of threads in the weave of a fabric. As I read Hadfield and Carson, these classical concepts came to mind, particularly in relation to the term moment and its significance in action research in each of the articles.

Simply stated, Hadfield’s concern is with an action research typology he sees as placing him in the role of second-order researcher (2012, p.575). His elegant solution is “to consider technical practical and emancipatory not as separate forms of action research but as ‘moments’ that could occur within any given programme” (p. 576).

As Hinchey point out, “teachers do this kind of analytical thinking all the time” (Hinchey p. 5). What action research does is take this tendency of teacher and make it a more intentional and structured entity “to formalizing the process” (p.5). In this way “the action research process focuses the participant’s attention to one area for an extended period of time” (p.5). Through extrapolation, I might suppose that what Hinchey is suggesting is that the teaching moment thus gets more than a moment’s attention.

 

Carson (2001) documents the workings of his “collaborative action research group” (p.168) in four action research moments.  Specifically, “the four moments in action research described…are examples of new insight into the meaning of developing a peace practice in the everyday life world of [their] work.” (p. 173-174). By focusing on moment, Carson’s group was afforded the opportunity to “reflect on the relationships between these different moments…to support the development of more critically aware practitioners”(Hadfield, 2012 p.576). Action research seemed a viable approach as “traditional educational research cannot tell any individual teacher what exactly will work best in a particular classroom at a particular moment” (Hinchey p.2). Carson’s group very much needed a research approach that would allow examination of moments.

What I thus draw from Hinchey, Hadfield and Carson is a notion that action research is not simply concerned with chronos, but with kairos.  “Action and reflection have made this possible”(Carson, 2001, p. 173-174). Action research involving reflection upon key moments makes this possible.

References

Artemeva, N. (2008). A time to speak, a time to act: A rhetorical genre analysis of a novice engineer’s calculated risk taking. Artemeva, N. & Freedman, A. (eds.) Rhetorical Genre Studies and Beyond. Winnepeg, Manitoba: Inkshed. Retreived from: http://http-server.carleton.ca/~nartemev/Artemeva%20&%20Freedman%20Rhetorical%20Genre%20Studies%20and%20beyond.pdf

Carson, T. (1990). What kind of knowing is critical action research? Theory into Practice, 29(3), 167-193.

Hadfield, R. (2012). Becoming critical again: Reconnecting critical social theory with the practice of action research. Educational Action Research 20(4), 571–585.




Hinchey, P. (2008). Action research Primer. New York: Peter Lang.