Getting the Word Out, posted by Mary Brydon-Miller

Writing in the conclusion to the Special Issue on Ethics and Action Research, Davydd Greenwood, Olav Eikeland and I suggested that we “develop strategies for making the results of research of direct benefit to community” and “develop innovative strategies for disseminating the results of our work”.  But the hiring committees and reappointment, promotion, and tenure policies of many universities fail to recognize such work as a legitimate form of scholarship, and may even actively discourage faculty from including such contributions on their c.v.s .   Those of us who have achieved senior faculty status should work to implement another one of the recommendations Davydd, Olav, and I made to “realign reappointment, tenure, and promotion policies to reflect both the unique demands of action research and the importance of community engagement.”  We need to make it clear to our institutions that such work is a legitimate—and much needed—form of scholarship.