Professionalize Sudanese Teachers' Conception of Work through Action Research

Teacher action research is in the emergent stages in Sudanese schools and needs to be well disseminated and actively supported from the Ministry of education. Although the teacher-as-researcher movement has been in existence for some twenty years, there is a reason to think that the majority if not all, of Sudanese class teachers remain uninvolved. What lies behind their reluctance? This paper looks at the complexities in the role of a teacher engaging in action research. This includes the need to explore further the principles and practice of action research. This study puts forward explanations in four main areas: teachers' perception of action research; teachers' professional status, teachers' confidence, and teachers' difficulty engaging in action research. For this purpose a workshop was held and representatives from seven Universities and 25 school teachers participated in a thorough discussion and further investigation was carried out based on the workshop discussion. The data was analyzed statistically and the results showed that the Sudanese teachers have no idea about action research it is not part of their culture as well as the institutions culture. Teachers are reluctant to do an action research and that due to the lack of knowledge which was an important factor. Teachers are not certain about the adequacy of doing an action research. There are other factors such as time and the over load. Based on these findings recommendations are drawn, it is suggested that classroom teaching is an all-demanding and all-involving task which is excluding of an activity as exacting as research. However, it is argued that with appropriate support more teachers may become involved in an action research.